Chamber and committees

A skilled workforce is essential for achieving economic growth, through supporting increased productivity and innovation, and positioning Scotland to benefit from inward investment opportunities, our energy transition and future technological advances. Equipping people with the skills they need to engage in a changing labour market also helps more people enter or remain in good jobs, contributing to higher incomes and reduced economic inactivity.

Therefore, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport will have a pivotal role in the delivery of apprenticeships and skills and workforce development, working across government with other portfolios. This collaborative approach aims to build a responsive skills system that meets the needs of Scotland’s economy, its businesses and its workers.

The Scottish Government is committed to using public resources more efficiently and effectively. Electricity is a matter generally reserved to the UK Parliament under the Scotland Act 1998, including electricity generation, transmission, distribution and supply, and the operation and management of the electricity network. Decisions regarding grid connections are the responsibility of the National Energy System Operator (NESO), not the Scottish Government.

While Scottish Ministers exercise devolved consenting functions under section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989 for generating stations in Scotland exceeding 50MW, applications must be considered and determined in accordance with the statutory framework established by that Act and any applicable regulations.

There is no restriction on any person making an application for consent under the Electricity Act 1989, or for planning permission under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, other than as stipulated under those Acts or any applicable regulations.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the findings of the Royal College of Radiologists' 2025 Clinical Radiology Workforce Census Report. The findings will be considered as part of ongoing workforce planning processes. Following annual reviews of the number of specialty training places needed to meet anticipated future service demand and consultant need, the Scottish Government has funded the creation of approximately 850 additional posts across multiple specialities since 2014, including in radiology. Over the last ten years we have increased the Consultant Radiologist workforce by 24% (from 325.4 WTE as of March 2016 to 403.8 WTE as of March 2026). Over the last five years, a total of 162 Clinical Radiology specialty training places were advertised for recruitment in Scotland, of which all posts were filled successfully.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring access to breakfast clubs for all primary school age children in Scotland by August 2027. Around 50% of primary schools in Scotland already have breakfast provision in place. To support further expansion, the Scottish Government is investing £15 million in 2026-27. From 2027-28, £44 million will be invested annually to support implementation of the national breakfast clubs offer.

The policy intention is that a breakfast club offer will be available nationally across all primary and special schools from the academic year 2027-28 beginning in August 2027. As part of the additional £15 million investment in 2026-27, to support a phased delivery of that offer, many children will have access to a breakfast club before that date.

In line with Getting It Right For Every Child and The Promise, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that any child or young person who cannot live at home must be able to stay in a safe, stable and caring environment.

Last year the Scottish Government ran a national recruitment campaign to increase the number of foster carers and we are providing an additional £22.2 million investment to support foster carers and kinship carers. To help ensure more places are available for local authorities in Scotland, new legislation was brought forward in March 2026 to regulate cross-border placements in residential care. Earlier this year the National Social Work Agency was launched, to strengthen and support the social work profession.

Chief Social Work Officers have overall responsibility for ensuring quality and oversight of decisions, ensuring effective governance arrangements for the management of the complex balance of need and risk to children and social workers, in accordance with professional standards. The National Social Work Agency regularly meets with Chief Social Work Officers to understand what appropriate care arrangements are available for children and that professional supports are available for the social workers that surround them.

I met with Chief Social Work Officers, Social Work Scotland and COSLA representatives on 16 June to discuss the challenges around child placements. There was broad agreement that solutions do not lie solely with one organisation and require coordinated action across national and local government. I will co-chair a cross-sectoral roundtable alongside Councillor Buchanan, COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People in early August, to consider what short, medium and long term actions are required to address these challenges.

We welcome the publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 5 report focusing on the procurement and distribution to end-users across the four nations of the United Kingdom of key healthcare related equipment and supplies, including PPE, ventilators and oxygen during the Covid-19 pandemic. A copy of the report is available online at: https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/reports/

During the pandemic, the Scottish Government’s foremost priority was to protect the public from the novel Covid-19 virus. Ministers sought to be open, transparent and accountable in respect of the decisions made. We extend our sincere and deepest condolences to the many thousands who have lost loved ones and who continue to experience the profound impacts of Covid-19. We recognise the loss, hurt and suffering experienced by people across Scotland and the rest of the UK, and we would like to again acknowledge the efforts and sacrifices of our health and social care workforce during the pandemic.

Progress continues with implementing the accepted recommendations of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 1 report which covers pre-pandemic planning and preparedness. Six recommendations from the report have now been delivered, with our third progress report due to be published in July.

Our response to the Covid Inquiry’s Module 2 report into government decision-making was published in March. That response set out the steps we are taking in response to the Chair’s recommendations, and was informed by stakeholder engagement, including from the Covid Inquiries Response Engagement Group, chaired by the former Deputy First Minister, comprising organisations representing those disproportionately impacted by the pandemic and those furthest from decision-making.

Work on recommendations set out by the UK Inquiry in its subsequent reports is under way, and will be responded to within the timescale set out by the inquiry Chair.

We recognise that there is further work to be done. The Scottish Government will now take the necessary time to fully and carefully consider the findings and recommendations set out in the Inquiry’s Module 5 report, and will provide a detailed response to the report’s recommendations in due course.

The Scottish Government works with medical schools and Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS) (previously NHS Education for Scotland) through the Scotland Deanery, to ensure that medical students and foundation years doctors receive appropriate exposure to oncology as part of a balanced medical curriculum and training programme.

Oncology is embedded within undergraduate medical education across Scotland and forms an integral part of the curricula delivered by medical schools. Universities design and deliver their programmes in line with the General Medical Council’s Outcomes for Graduates and the UK Medical Licensing Assessment. This ensures graduates develop the knowledge, skills and professional capabilities required to recognise, investigate and contribute to the management of cancer across a range of clinical settings.

Medical education is designed to prepare graduates for the management of cancer across a wide range of settings and specialties, rather than concentrating on increased exposure to any one specialty in isolation. This ensures graduates are equipped to recognise, investigate and contribute to the management of cancer as part of holistic patient care in a wide range of clinical contexts.

Students are introduced early to the scientific basis of cancer, including genetics, pathology and tumour biology, before developing clinical knowledge and skills through integrated teaching across specialties where cancer is a major component of practice. This is complemented by clinical placements in oncology, haematology, palliative care and general clinical settings, alongside training in communication, multidisciplinary working and patient-centred care.

Following graduation, foundation training is managed by PSDS through the Scotland Deanery. Foundation doctors typically gain exposure to oncology through rotational placements as well as through general medical and surgical placements where cancer care is a significant component. Where oncology is not included in a rotation, doctors are able to undertake taster days or short placements aligned to their interests. There has been sustained and increasing interest in oncology, with growing uptake of these opportunities.

The most recent specialty training recruitment cycle has been the most successful to date, with over 98% of posts filled across Scotland. Performance within Clinical Radiology has consistently achieved a 100% fill rate between 2023 and 2025, while Clinical oncology has risen from a 33.33% in 2023, to 50% in 2024 and 92.86% in 2025.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring families can access the support they need. Support that is joined up, easy to navigate, and shaped around the needs of the whole family. Since 2022, we’ve invested over £154.5 million through the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding Programme to support local areas transform holistic whole family support.

Our Third Tackling Child Poverty Delivering Plan, Bringing Hope, Building Futures, places whole family support at the heart of our approach. In 2026-27 this includes:

• £50 million through the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding Programme to continue the transformation of local whole family support;
• £15 million (per year) of baselined funding to local authorities for community-based mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children, young people and their families;
• £6 million through the Fairer Futures Partnership programme to further test and embed improved delivery of holistic support for families in or at risk of poverty;
• £1.9 million across 2026-2028 through our Child Poverty Practice Accelerator Fund to strengthen approaches to child poverty; and
• £20 million through a new Whole Family Support Third Sector Delivery Fund to provide more support that wraps around families in their communities, making connections to public services and helping to break the cycle of poverty.

These measures are complemented by £15 million through the Childcare Support Fund, for short-term, flexible childcare support to help low-income families manage the cost of childcare and overcome barriers to employment, training and learning. In addition, the significant investment through the Scottish Attainment Challenge and Pupil Equity Funding, is working collaboratively across a range of local services and partners to best meet the needs of pupils and their families impacted by poverty.

Looking ahead we are bringing together the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding Programme, Fairer Futures Partnerships, and the Whole Family Support Early Adopter areas into one integrated system change programme from April 2027. This will streamline and strengthen our approach to systems change, providing a clear offer to local areas that supports the implementation of whole family approaches that best meet the needs of local communities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01058 on 13 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-01058 on 13 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.