Chamber and committees

The existing guidance does not set out to cover all the circumstances in which patients might be removed from their current GP practice.

Patients who are concerned about being removed from a practice list when areas are revised should contact their practice or their local health board.

The Scottish Government has had no discussions with the UK Government regarding the findings of its technical report.

The report is a high-level technical desktop study about the in-principle suitability of sites in Scotland.

It provides no new information or evidence that would change the Government’s long-standing opposition to the development of new nuclear power stations in Scotland.

I have asked Linda Pollock, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS publishes prison numbers on a quarterly basis via the Prisoner Information Page (PIP), the most recent of which can be found here: Public Information Page.

Additionally, SPS publish Prison Population Data Reports which illustrate the population in custody broken down by custody type, gender, and age, the most recent of which can be found here: Data, Research and Evidence | Scottish Prison Service.

The Scottish Funding Council collects data on the number of students who have graduated from pre-registration children’s nursing courses across Scotland.

There are no pre-registration neo-natal programmes available in Scotland. Instead, qualified nurses can undertake a specific neonatal qualification post registration course known as Neonatal Care - Qualified in Speciality.

There are two walk-in services open in South Scotland, located in Hawick and Stranraer. Sites in East Ayrshire and Lanark are due to open in high street or former retail premises. These locations require longer lead times, as converting retail spaces into clinically compliant facilities must meet strict safety standards. I have committed to expanding the pilot programme and a Call for Proposals has been issued to Health Boards asking them to consider additional sites across Scotland.

Early work on the Commission has begun, with its Chair Fiona Taylor QPM appointed in March 2026.

In terms of next-steps, Ministers will work with Ms Taylor to finalise the Commission’s terms of reference, and a panel of experts will be appointed to support her. The Commission’s first meeting will take place once its members have been appointed. Updates (including the terms of reference) will be provided on the Scottish Government website in due course.

The Commission will undertake its work independently of government.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the UK Government and the National Energy System Operator on development of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) through formal governance groups and bilateral meetings. Through that engagement the Scottish Government is seeking to ensure that Scotland’s onshore wind potential is appropriately reflected in the future SSEP.

Service delivery and patient care are the responsibility of NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally. Clinical decisions on the care and treatment of individual patients are always matters of professional judgement for the responsible practitioner.

In certain circumstances, NHS Boards may make limited use of alternative providers, including independent sector providers, in response to capacity constraints and to improve access to patient care.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the UK Government and the National Energy System Operator on development of the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan (SSEP) through formal governance groups and bilateral meetings. Through that engagement the Scottish Government is continuing to press for Scotland’s offshore wind potential being fully reflected in the future SSEP.

The 20GW ambition was set out in the Onshore Wind Policy Statement in 2022. The Policy Statement was informed through extensive consultation with interested parties. The 20GW ambition is intended as a statement of Scotland’s potential rather than an allocation or mapping of specific sites.

All development proposals are individually assessed against our Fourth National Planning Framework which ensures that the impacts of proposals, including on communities and the natural environment are important considerations in the decision making process. All applications are subject to site specific assessments.