Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is firmly committed to ensuring that Scotland has the right nursing workforce, in the right place, with the right skills and competencies to support current and future service reform and sustainability.

The Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce sets out a number of recommended actions which are being progressed at pace to expand pathways into the nursing profession, have a meaningful and lasting impact on workforce wellbeing, improve retention, reduce stress and burnout, create a more positive and resilient workforce and ensure nursing remains an attractive career. The Taskforce has recognised the need to develop the career structure in Scotland and enhance the journey through pre-registration to post-registration, to advanced practice and onto leadership. Newly qualified nurses are not specifically mentioned in the recommended actions, however there are many recommended actions that address wellbeing and enhance professional support that would benefit newly qualified nurses.

The Scottish Government values the contribution of the NHS Scotland workforce and is committed to supporting those who choose to pursue a career in nursing. Scottish Ministers have overseen 14 consecutive years of growth in the NHS Scotland workforce, invested in improving the terms and conditions of NHS Scotland staff and continue to deliver activity flowing from both the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce and the Future Medical Workforce Project to support these professions. The Scottish Government is committed to building on this progress and will set out further detail on the proposed job guarantee in due course.

The average cost to train a nursing student in Scotland is approximately £60k over the typical three year course. This includes bursary, tuition fees and teaching grant. Placement costs vary per student and are not included. The Scottish Government has committed to uprating the bursary available for nursing and midwifery students.

Operational matters such as staffing and recruitment, including the recruitment of graduates, are the responsibility of the individual health and social care employers.

The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to students who have not completed pre-registration nursing programmes in each of the last three years. This data may be available via individual institutions. Students do not complete courses for a variety of reasons. However, the Scottish Government recognises the financial challenges faced by all students, including nursing and midwifery students, and understands that this has been exacerbated by the cost of living crisis. This is why we have committed to uprating the student nursing and midwifery bursary.

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 refer the member to the answer to S7W-01438 on 20 July 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01438 on 20 July 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Data relating to vehicle searches conducted by Police Scotland is held by Police Scotland.

Scotland is a welcoming nation that rejects racism, hate, and prejudice. The Scottish Government stands in solidarity with Muslim communities across Scotland and unequivocally condemns the heinous attacks that took place in Edinburgh on 19 June. Each individual impacted by these incidents, either directly or indirectly, is able to seek mental health support and we encourage people to do that via their GP in the first instance.

NHS Lothian holds statutory responsibility to assess and meet the mental health needs of its population. In accordance with its duties under the Equality Act, it provides a range of culturally appropriate and accessible mental health supports and services (delivered in collaboration with local statutory and voluntary sector partners), which ensures responsiveness to the trauma experienced by minority ethnic communities. In practice, NHS Lothian’s evidence-based tiered provision of community-based, psychologically informed, trauma services includes: the Minority Ethnic Health Inclusion Service; Health in Mind; Rivers Centre (specialist psychological trauma service); and CAMHS (Meadows) trauma service.

Nationally, with Scottish Government investment of around £1.5 billion annually, we have record numbers of staff, providing more varied mental health support and services to a larger number of people than ever before. We have provided £99 million for grassroots projects through the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults since 2021, with support totalling £194 million since 2020. A further £15 million will be invested in the Communities Fund for Adults in 2027-28 as part of the Fairer Funding Pilot.

Additionally, over the last 5 years the Scottish Government has undertaken extensive work with delivery partners, including NHS Boards, to improve access to quality psychological therapies, which evidence shows are an effective intervention for supporting people affected by trauma. The National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions sets out what high quality psychological care and practice looks like and acts as a service planning and evaluation resource for delivery partners.

Finally, since 2018, the Scottish Government has invested over £12 million in our National Trauma Transformation Programme. This provides training resources and implementation support for all members of the workforce, supporting the Scottish Government and COSLA’s shared ambition for a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive workforce and services across Scotland.

The National CAMHS Specification establishes a consistent national standard, requiring Boards to ensure all children and young people receive timely support appropriate to their needs, including care-experienced children.

The Specification explicitly recognises the importance of supporting care-experienced young people during transitions between services.

The Transition Care Planning Guidance, published in 2018, places young people at the centre of decision-making and should inform all decisions about their care, including meeting the specific and often complex needs of care-experienced young people.

National performance against the 18-week CAMHS standard has been sustained for over a year, with 91% of children and young people starting treatment within 18 weeks of referral. 1 in 2 children and young people referred to CAMHS now start treatment within 5 weeks.