Chamber and committees

The Scottish Budget 2025-26 supported local government with £14.4 billion in revenue funding and the 2026-27 local government finance settlement will be set out in the Scottish Budget on 13 January.

Following the decision in the UK Budget to implement lower business rates in England from April 2026 for retail, hospitality and leisure, the Scottish Government has received representations from retail representative organisations including through the Non-Domestic Rates Consultative Group which met with me on 27 November, the day after the UK Budget was announced.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42626 on 22 December 2025. 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 S6W-42536 on 22 December 2025. 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 S6W-42536 on 22 December 2025. 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.

Decisions on non-domestic rates policy for 2026-27, including reliefs, are considered in the context of the Budget in line with other government priorities and will be set out on 13 January 2026.

Ministers regularly discuss matters of importance including budget priorities and the views of stakeholders in the run-up to the Scottish Budget. Decisions on non-domestic rates policy for 2026-27 will be set out in the budget on 13 January 2026.

The Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey (SCPES) is vital in proving information on improving our understanding of peoples experiences as they navigate their own cancer pathway. Findings published from the 2024 survey show that for those aged 16 and over, 95% of people are positive about their overall cancer care experience, illustrating that that we are progressing towards our aim to put people with cancer at the heart of all decision and actions involving them.

The timing and frequency of SCPES are not fixed. Surveys have been conducted in 2015, 2018, and most recently in 2024, from which we are still taking learning.

The number of children and young people diagnosed with cancer in Scotland is small compared to other cancers.

To protect confidentiality, cancer groups with fewer than 50 responses cannot be analysed, as this helps minimise the risk of individuals being identifiable within the dataset.

Understanding the unique support needs of children and young people with cancer is a priority for both the Scottish Government and the Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC), who are responsible for the implementation of the Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care: cancer strategy for children and young people 2021–2026.

The MCN CYPC have a number of support programmes including the National Youth Advisory Forum and Buddy Support Network, which enable young people to share experiences, identify gaps, and help improve service quality through feedback.

The Scottish Government does not currently hold information about how many calls are made on average by a patient before securing access to medical care. The telephony systems currently used by most GP practices do not provide such data.

As part of our recent agreement with the BMA, the Scottish Government will invest in a national programme to ensure every GP practice has modern cloud-based telephony. By January 2027, every practice will need to have moved to cloud-based systems, in line with the national Public Switched Telephone Network switch-off. Work will begin with a full baseline assessment and agreed national standards, supported by training and change management. The main implementation phase for practices adopting digital cloud based telephony will take place in 2026-27, and we will be able to begin collecting data from practices once this work is complete.

Practices will be expected to use a core set of features such as automated call back, call flow, and real-time monitoring. These features are designed to reduce queues, improve safety, and provide the data needed for service planning. We will seek to establish a national programme to oversee this work.

Understanding the unique support needs of children and young people with cancer is a priority for both the Scottish Government and the Managed Clinical Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MCN CYPC), who are responsible for the implementation of the Collaborative and Compassionate Cancer Care: cancer strategy for children and young people 2021–2026.

The number of children and young people diagnosed with cancer in Scotland is small compared to other cancers. Due to small patient numbers it is challenging to produce detailed, anonymised data.

To protect confidentiality, cancer groups with fewer than 50 responses cannot be analysed, as this helps minimise the risk of individuals being identifiable within the dataset.

The MCN CYPC have a number of support programmes including the National Youth Advisory Forum and Buddy Support Network, which enable young people to share experiences, identify gaps, and help improve service quality through feedback.