Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring equitable access to genomic tests associated with Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved medicines.

While the work of the Scottish Genomics Test Advisory Group (SG-TAG) is currently paused, processes remain in place to support test development and implementation.

Requests for new genomic testing can still be submitted via an interim process in place since October 2024. New submissions are regularly reviewed by the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine (SSNGM) horizon scanning group for consideration of next steps.

The Scottish Government continues to invest in Scotland’s genomic capabilities, and we are working in conjunction with NHS Scotland National Services Division (NSD) on a transformation programme to ensure we can commission and implement additional testing.

The Genomic Laboratory Transformation Programme, initiated in 2022, is ongoing and has not yet been completed.

In March 2024 the NHS Scotland National Services Division (NSD) transformation team developed a two-year delivery plan to guide the next phase of transformation, running through to 2026.

The programme aims to deliver a more efficient, equitable and sustainable genomic laboratory service across Scotland. Key areas of focus include service delivery models, workforce planning, bioinformatic support, data and digital infrastructure and financial sustainability.

The operation of Police Scotland, including staffing, is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is supported by the Scottish Government to shape the workforce in response to operational needs. Police Scotland’s 2024-25 Annual Policing Plan outlines a future model focused on strengthened community policing. As of 31 March 2025, there were 16,553 FTE officers and 5,929 support staff, totalling 22,482 FTE. The Chief Constable has confirmed that the 2025-26 budget will maintain officer numbers between 16,500 and 16,600. We are increasing policing investment by £90 million this year, bringing total funding to a record £1.64 billion.

The recruitment and deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government has increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £14.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013, with £1.64 billion being invested this year. Scottish Government funding in 2024-25 enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception and Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales.

The Chief Constable has made it clear that she intends to bring the frontline of policing to its strongest possible position and that frontline strength goes beyond an overall officer headcount to focus on the whole policing workforce. Police Scotland’s three-year Business Plan 2024-2027 sets out an ambitious programme of workforce modernisation, reducing back-office duplication and creating capacity to deal with new and emerging threats. The current Police Scotland workforce figures indicate that the total policing workforce stands at 22,482 (FTE).

As part of preparations for the public consultation on the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, the Scottish Government collated existing information on how current barriers in society affect the outcomes and wellbeing of neurodivergent people. Whilst we did not secure specific data for ADHD, we identified that employment rates were 29% for autistic people compared with Scotland's national employment rate, which in 2024 was 83% for non-disabled people and 51.7% for disabled people. Responses to the consultation suggested that various barriers prevent neurodivergent adults from securing and maintaining employment, meaning that our economy is not benefiting from neurodivergent people’s skills and talents as much as it could.

Research conducted both in the UK and abroad suggests that there are further economic impacts of not providing appropriate support for neurodivergent people, including increased healthcare, education, and benefits costs.

In 2016, we committed to halving the Disability Employment Gap, outlining the initial steps that would be taken to achieve this by 2038 in A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan, published in 2018. To improve employment opportunities for those who face many structural barriers on the labour market, we have carried forward several actions into our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan: Becoming a Fair Work Nation by 2025, published in December 2022. Input was provided by disabled people and their representative organisations.

To help improve the wellbeing of autistic adults, including those with ADHD, we invest £1 million a year through our Adult Autism Support Fund to provide community support to autistic adults, both before and after their diagnoses. In a recent independent evaluation of the current Fund, 77% of participants reported feeling more confident about the future, and 66% said that their quality of life had improved. We hope that, correspondingly, such support will help ensure that autistic adults, including those who also have ADHD, continue to experience positive outcomes in healthcare, employment, and other areas that in turn helps maximise any economic contribution that they may wish to make to Scotland.

The Scottish Government will take forward discussions with the UK Government on the matter of quota distribution following the recent agreement with the EU. Those discussions will include how sea fish quotas are apportioned. The majority of quota is currently apportioned by the UK Government on the basis of each Administration's share of Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) units.

The Scottish Government received an Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP), Draft Programme Business Case (PBC) from the Home Office in May 2024. This indicated that the Emergency Services Network (ESN) would be delivered by 2029-30.

Since then the Home Office has completed a major re-procurement exercise, which has resulted in the appointment of new commercial suppliers to deliver the Programme. The Home Office is currently updating the 2024 PBC and associated documentation, to reflect the impact of the new suppliers. This information is expected to be shared with partner organisations, including Scottish Government, in the coming weeks.

While the re-procurement exercise has introduced delays into the Programme, this has not had any operational impacts on the emergency services in Scotland, who continue to use the Airwave network for critical communications.

The Scottish Government continues to support Angus Council to address the erosion issues affecting the sand dunes in Montrose through the Coastal Change Adaptation Fund.

Dredging license applications from Montrose Port Authority have been carefully considered by the Scottish Government ensuring that most dredged material is deposited within Montrose Bay and the dredged material remains in the same coastal circulation cell.

We continue to progress our Dynamic Coast project and between 2022-23 and 2025-26 Angus Council have received almost £730,000 from Scottish Government’s Coastal Change Adaptation Fund: £290,000 in direct distribution and £440,000 to fund a case study to improve the flood resilience of sand dunes at Montrose.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The selection of countries and sites for global clinical trials for new cancer treatments is dependent on a complex range of factors, including the wider regulatory environment.

The Scottish Government and the Chief Scientist Office work closely with NHS Research Scotland and with the UK National Institute for Health and Social Care Research to ensure that Scotland continues to offer the best environment for clinical research and cancer clinical trials.

We sympathise with the pressure the social care sector is facing and that is one of the reasons that the 2025-26 budget includes almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million. At £21.7 billion, the overall financial envelope for Health and Social Care also reached record levels.

However it is important to note that while the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, it is for local authorities and health boards to work with the Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to ensure that social care support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support.

While agreeing budgets is the responsibility of partnerships, The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with the health and social care sector to understand key pressures and opportunities to ensure we achieve best value of money and improve the outcomes of our population.