Chamber and committees

There are two members of the Programme Board for Public Service Reform who have backgrounds in the voluntary sector. They are affiliated with Carnegie UK and the Corra Foundation; however, all Programme Board members are appointed and participate in an individual capacity rather than as representatives of their organisations.

The Programme for Government commits to seeking to give statutory backing, where required, to reform the public service delivery landscape in support of the aims of the Public Service Reform Strategy. This could include the possible merging and abolition of public bodies and the transfer of functions between core government and public bodies. Officials are currently working with stakeholders to determine the content of the Public Service Renewal (Scotland) Bill and no decisions have been as to whether this will include any legislative changes required to implement local governance proposals.

The Scottish Government values the significant contribution migrant workers make to Scotland's economy, public services and communities, and believes that everyone working in Scotland should be treated fairly, paid fairly and protected from exploitation, regardless of their immigration status.

We recognise that workers on employer-sponsored visa routes can face particular vulnerabilities, including an increased risk of exploitation where their immigration status is linked to a single employer.

Although the Scottish Government is not a social care employer, we remain committed to using the full extent of our devolved powers to support domestic, sponsored and vulnerable workers receive Fair Work in their careers.

The Scottish Government funds a range of services to support vulnerable migrant workers, including the Worker Support Centre, which provides advice on employment rights and routes to relevant enforcement agencies. We also work with regulators, enforcement bodies and third sector partners to help prevent and tackle labour exploitation and human trafficking.

The Scottish Government have also funded the Displaced Worker Scheme which has supported a number of social care providers in the South of Scotland, offer re-employment to displaced workers who have lost their employment and sponsorship through no fault of their own. These employers are all required to offer pastoral care to the migrant workers they employ.

Bereavement affects many aspects of our lives, often leading to poorer mental wellbeing, loneliness and social isolation, with some research suggesting that men can be more vulnerable to some of these negative impacts than women. The Scottish Government recognises that getting the right care and support following a bereavement is crucial for people’s health and wellbeing.

With this in mind, bereavement support is a priority within our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which supports local groups and organisations to help people make connections and look after their mental health and wellbeing. A total of £99 million in funding has been awarded since the fund was introduced in 2021.

The Fund is distributed by Third Sector Interface (TSI) organisations, in collaboration with other local partners, based on local priorities and in line with their local partnership plans.

TSIs are required to submit monitoring and reporting data annually, which informs the content of the Reporting and Monitoring Summary, which is published for each year of the Fund. The published reports can be found at: Wellbeing and prevention - Mental health - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Further to this, the Scottish Government continues to fund Cruse Scotland in 2026-7. This includes funding for a bereavement freephone helpline, webchat and email support facility, with Cruse providing regular reporting on the take-up of these services as part of its grant.

We also provide funding to the Scottish Partnership for Palliative Care (SPPC) to support their work on bereavement, including Good Life, Good Death, Good Grief, and End of Life Aid Skills for Everyone (EASE) - a course designed to enable people to be more comfortable and confident supporting family and community members with issues they face during dying, death and bereavement. Over the last year, the number of communities where EASE is being offered has increased, with participants feeding back that it has helped to increase their confidence and ability to support others.

There are no plans to publish a national action plan for arthritis and wider musculoskeletal (MSK) conditions. We will publish our Long Term Conditions Strategy for Adults in March 2027, which will include both arthritis and wider MSK conditions. This will allow us to take a more strategic approach to long term conditions, recognising the impact of multimorbidity and the fact that an increasing number of people in Scotland are living with one or more long term conditions.

During the course of the Community Right to Buy review, the Scottish Government worked with stakeholders including Community Land Scotland, Development Trusts Association (Scotland), National Farmers Union, Scottish Land and Estates and a number of community groups who had interacted with the legislation over the years. In addition, the Scottish Land Commission chaired a review group that were involved in the review at various stages, including the drafting of the final recommendations.

It is envisaged that those same stakeholders will again be involved going forward.

We are committed to strengthening community right to buy policy following the recent review and have already started taking forward recommendations that do not require legislation. Our manifesto also signalled that we would take forward changes requiring primary legislation. We are considering the best way to do this, with future legislative programmes to be agreed and announced through future Programmes for Government.

We are committed to strengthening community right to buy policy following the recent review and have already started taking forward recommendations that do not require legislation. Our manifesto also signalled that we would take forward changes requiring primary legislation. We are considering the best way to do this, with future legislative programmes to be agreed and announced through future Programmes for Government.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-03080 on 21 September 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 has not commissioned any private sector consultancy firms or other external consultants to support work associated with the reform of local government, education and NHS boards. Professional services support, at a minimum level, for the NHS and Civil Service’s work programme to deliver a final outline business case on NHS reform is currently out for procurement.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the prompt payment of freelance creative workers and all other suppliers, and to promoting fair payment practices throughout public sector supply chains.

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 requires public bodies with an estimated annual regulated procurement spend of £5 million or more to set out in their procurement strategies how they will ensure payment of valid invoices within 30 days throughout their supply chains. Public bodies must also report annually on the effectiveness of these arrangements.

In addition, Scottish Procurement Policy Note (SPPN) 02/2022 sets out how contracting authorities should assess bidders' previous payment performance and seek commitments from suppliers to pay sub-contractors within 30 days as part of the procurement process.

The Scottish Government continues to lead by example, with a target of paying valid invoices within 10 days of receipt. During 2025-2026, 86.6% of valid invoices were paid within 10 days and 96.1% within 30 days.

Together, these measures support prompt payment for suppliers across all sectors, whether they contract directly with a Scottish public body or as part of the supply chain for a public contract, including provision for valid invoices to be paid within 30 days.