Chamber and committees

We are committed to ensuring that endometriosis is recognised as a chronic condition and that women with endometriosis experience a continuum of care.

Phase Two of the Women’s Health Plan, published in January, committed to aligning the Endometriosis Care Pathway with the most recent NICE guidance so that NHS Boards in Scotland can ensure that women and girls with endometriosis and endometriosis like symptoms have access to holistic and timely care.

The Pathway has been updated and is available online on the Right Decisions platform.

As outlined in our manifesto, and as part of wider plans to support a just transition to net zero by 2045, the Scottish Government is committed to commissioning a feasibility study into the potential use of tram-trains on the South Suburban line in Edinburgh within the first 100 days of Government.

Transport Scotland regularly report to Ministers on the timelines and related completion and planned readiness for deployment activities of the remaining ferries being constructed at the Cemre yard in Turkey. My initial meetings with Transport Scotland senior management have included updates on ferries projects, including these vessels.

CMAL will shortly provide a further update to the relevant Scottish Parliament committee, following on from the previous updates which were provided to the Net Zero, Economy and Transport committee.

Hospices play an invaluable role supporting patients and families at the most difficult time in their lives and we remain committed to supporting them.

Social Security Scotland regularly publishes statistics relating to its staffing, although it does not routinely publish a breakdown of its staff by corporate function.

The most recent workforce statistics, published on 19 March 2026, show overall staffing levels of 4,140 full-time equivalent staff in December 2025 but do not include a breakdown by corporate function.

Staff work flexibly across all benefits and are deployed to meet demand.

Save a Life for Scotland is responsible for delivering Cardiac Arrest Rescue Zones (CARe Zones), which operate at a local authority level.

Following a successful pilot in Dumfries and Galloway, the Scottish Government has funded Save a Life for Scotland to establish additional CARe Zones over the next three years. Delivery will prioritise local authority areas with the greatest need as part of a phased national rollout.

The first new CARe Zones are expected to be operating by 2027-28.

We will engage constructively with all relevant stakeholders to support considered and informed discussion on this policy, and to ensure effective implementation that delivers on our core aim of making the weekly shop more affordable.

The Scottish Government works collaboratively with a broad range of rural and island stakeholders on a number of housing-related issues. This includes engagement on the development of the Rural and Islands Housing Action Plan, published in October 2023, and on affordable housing delivery more generally.

In February 2026 we announced our intention to develop a Rural and Island Housing Grant Scheme. The development of the scheme will be taken forward with close engagement with rural and island housing partners.

We have already invested an additional £100 million this year to build on the progress made in the 2025-26 Operational Improvement Plan.

We are working closely and at pace with Boards to identify where additional funding can most effectively increase capacity and support further reductions in waits, with a particular focus on those waiting the longest.

From 2027-28 onwards we will be investing £200 million in planned care, supporting our target of nobody waiting longer than 26 weeks by the end of this Parliament.

The installation of an additional 1,000 to 1,250 defibrillators will be led by Save a Life for Scotland (SALFS), which received £1 million in 2025-26 to begin purchasing the first tranche of devices.

Installation will be coordinated alongside the rollout of Cardiac Arrest Rescue (CARe) Zones over the next three years, supported by a further £500,000 in each financial year.

SALFS will work with partners to ensure devices are placed based on evidence and in areas of greatest need.