Chamber and committees

The outcome of the initial design and assessment work to identify a preferred route option for the bypassing of Springholm and Crocketford is expected to conclude in 2027.

The Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004 places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for, and regularly review support to enable each learner to benefit fully from education, including those who are neurodiverse. Education authorities can ask other agencies (including Social Work Services, Health Boards and Skills Development Scotland) for help in carrying out their duties under the Act. Education authorities and schools take a needs-led rather than diagnosis-led approach. The recommendations of the McManus Review, which will include a new National Staged Intervention model, will inform this new administration’s approach to ASL.

To support parents and carers, young people and children, the Scottish Government funds Enquire, the national advice and information service on additional support for learning, as well as My Rights My Say which supports children aged 12 and over, to access advice and to exercise their rights. Education Scotland provides free professional learning resources and information for educators to better understand and support children and young people who may have or have been diagnosed with Autism/ADHD.

The decision to introduce an international ferry service is a consideration for the commercial ferry operator and relevant port authorities, including the timing for introducing a service.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the reintroduction of direct ferry services to Europe. Ministers and officials have engaged with a number of interested parties regarding the introduction of new ro-ro ferry services from Rosyth to Europe, and Transport Scotland officials continue to engage regularly with potential operators and Scotland’s main ports.

The Scottish Government also recently amended the Minimum Requirements for the Location of a Border Control Post through The Official Controls (Location of Border Control Posts) (Scotland) Regulations 2026. This amendment came into force on 21 March 2026 and provides flexibility by allowing goods to arrive at a point of entry and then transit to an appropriately designated Border Control Post (BCP), provided that both the point of entry and the BCP are located within the same Scottish Green Freeport zone or within the outer boundary of that Freeport. This could enable goods in scope to be processed at BCP facilities at Port of Grangemouth instead of requiring new facilities at Port of Rosyth.

As I set out in my letter of 11 February 2026 to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee regarding Petition PE1900, NHS boards are asked to provide annual updates each November on progress in addressing the issues identified through the rapid review of healthcare provision in police custody.

These annual returns seek information on arrangements for the safe storage and supply of controlled drugs, the existence of written policies to ensure detainees can access prescribed medication (including opioid substitution therapy), and the operation of clinical governance processes such as the recording and review of adverse events, complaints and feedback. Boards are also asked to set out improvement actions and timescales where gaps are identified.

This monitoring is complemented by scrutiny from HM Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland. Their joint work has established an inspection framework for healthcare services in police custody, underpinned by a human rights-based approach and aligned with Healthcare Improvement Scotland’s quality indicators, to provide assurance on the quality and safety of care.

Delivery of healthcare in police custody remains an operational responsibility for NHS boards. The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners to support consistent implementation across Scotland.

Improving access to support for children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs is a priority for this government.

I recognise that many people who have received a private diagnosis of ADHD are struggling to access the medication they are seeking through the NHS, and we are working with NHS Boards and primary care partners to better understand these barriers, including issues relating to shared care prescribing.

The Scottish Government is currently engaging with partners to explore options around shared care arrangements. We are committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders to ensure any approach is proportionate, effective and meets the needs of patients and clinicians.

Shared care was a key issue discussed at the second summit convened by the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing on neurodevelopment; and by the recent parliamentary inquiry by the Health and Social Care Committee. These will inform our work as we look to deliver manifesto commitments to improve pathways for those seeking support for neurodivergence.

As you will be aware medication is only one form of support for children and young people with an ADHD diagnosis and many children and young people will benefit from other forms of support including through community and education settings, which are available based on need and do not rely on diagnosis.

Work continues towards the implementation of the first phase of a national targeted lung screening programme. It is anticipated that the initial roll out will focus first on inviting eligible individuals in areas experiencing the highest levels of socio-economic deprivation, as evidence shows that they are at higher risk of lung cancer, and have poorer outcomes.

Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland (SOAS) has established a multi-disciplinary Programme Board to provide subject matter expertise to the planning process. Formal workstreams have been established to consider delivery models for each element of the programme including call-recall, risk assessment, smoking cessation, CT scanning, image reporting and downstream assessment and treatment services. The Reference Group will meet again this month (June 2026) to review the work that has been undertaken so far.

It is expected that implementation of a national screening programme will take a minimum of 7-10 years, in line with the establishment and roll-out of similar programmes by NHS England and Public Health Wales. A screening programme of this size and scale must be implemented in a way which allows careful management of the impact on wider NHS services.

The Scottish Government continues to make progress in delivering the National GP IT Reprovisioning Programme, working closely with NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), system suppliers and territorial health boards.

Migrations to the Vision hosted GP IT system are ongoing and continue to scale up. The Primary Care Digital Services (Scotland) programme team is currently working with each health board to agree Quarter 3 2026-27 deployment plans, and in some cases Quarter 4 plans, to support the continued rollout of the new system.

As at 30 April, a total of 395 GP practices have successfully migrated to the Vision hosted system. This includes 343 Vision-to-Vision migrations, representing 85% of all planned Vision-to-Vision migrations, and 52 EMIS-to-Vision migrations, representing 11% of planned EMIS-to-Vision migrations. Overall, around 45% of Scottish GP practices have now transitioned to the Vision hosted platform.

Migrations resumed in late 2025 and will continue to accelerate throughout 2026 as deployment plans are finalised and capacity increases. NSS and suppliers remain actively engaged with health boards to support local readiness, data migration, and assurance activity.

The Scottish Government remains committed to modernising GP IT systems to support integrated care, improve services for patients, and reduce administrative burden for general practice.

To ensure capital funding is targeted effectively, we are working with all health boards to develop a whole-system NHS infrastructure plan for Scotland, which will inform future investment priorities.

As part of this, we are taking forward a primary care infrastructure investment strategy, as set out in the Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline published on 13 January 2026. An initial tranche of 12 priority areas has been identified, based on health needs, population demographics and the condition of the existing estate, with work on three projects commencing immediately:

1. Port Glasgow; 2 East Calder and East Livingston; 3 Cowdenbeath and Lochgelly

Followed by:
•South/West Edinburgh
•Edinburgh City
•Cumbernauld area of Lanarkshire
•Hamilton area of Lanarkshire
•South Glasgow, Langside
•East Dunbartonshire
•West area of Ayr
•Inverness and Nairn
•Kincardine

This programme includes the development of a sustainable revenue funding model to support further investment in primary and community care infrastructure, including a network of local care and wellbeing centres across Scotland. To accelerate delivery, business case development and the revenue model will be progressed in parallel.

On current assumptions, construction is expected to begin from around 2031.

The UK Government launched a Crisis and Resilience Fund (CRF) from 1 April 2026, replacing English Discretionary Housing Payments and the Household Support Fund. The CRF also now incorporates elements similar to Scotland’s Scottish Welfare Fund. The CRF is discretionary in nature and designed to meet a broad set of short-term pressures.

The approach to Discretionary Housing Payments in Scotland differs in both purpose and delivery. Our policy is to fully mitigate the bedroom tax and provide targeted support so that low income households are protected as far as possible from the impacts of other UK welfare reforms, including the benefit cap and the freeze to Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates.

Given these different policy objectives and delivery mechanisms these schemes are not directly comparable.

However, Scotland’s investment represents a significant commitment to protecting low income households, with spending per head notably higher than that in the rest of the UK.

This year alone the Scottish Government is investing £115 million in Discretionary Housing Payments, supporting up to 92,000 households and nearly 20,000 children impacted by the bedroom tax; up to 3,000 families impacted by the benefit cap; and up to 15,000 families affected by the freeze to LHA rates. In addition, £41 million is being invested in the Scottish Welfare Fund to provide vital crisis support and help people establish independent living.

The Scottish Government wants all patients, regardless of location to receive the right care, at the right time, in the right place. The Centre for Sustainable Delivery supports clinical improvements across Scotland, including for cataracts and orthopaedics through Specialty Delivery Groups.

The NTCs are currently delivering one cataract every 30 minutes as endorsed by the Royal College of Ophthalmologists. This is patient centred, particularly where patients are travelling longer distances for treatment.

Out of area transport is covered by Health Boards’ own standard travel policies.

NHS Grampian & NHS Tayside have a joint intention to develop high volume, single procedure lists at Stracathro, however these are not in place currently.

Queen Margaret Hospital has a strong, well-established reputation, both nationally & internationally, for their Ophthalmology & Urology services. The responsibility for the Queen Margaret Hospital is with NHS Fife, who continue to look at opportunities to further enhance their current services.

The Stracathro Regional Treatment Centre & the Queen Margaret Hospital provide crucial cold site (ie protected) elective capacity, and we are committed to working with Boards to continue to maximise the efficiency and use of the sites.