Chamber and committees

Scotland’s food system is resilient but faces growing risks from global and domestic shocks. While Scotland benefits from diverse supply chains and strong domestic production, recent events in the Middle East have highlighted vulnerabilities to disruption.

Food resilience is a shared responsibility, and collaboration is essential. The Scottish Government monitors food security, including fertiliser, fuel and food supply, working with industry through our Food Sector Resilience Group to share intelligence, identify risks and support coordinated responses.

These arrangements are underpinned by established resilience structures, including the Scottish Government Resilience Room, which can be adapted to respond to specific disruptions, including those affecting food supply. In addition, we liaise with Local and Regional Resilience Partnerships to plan, prepare for and respond to emergencies in ways that reflect Scotland’s unique geography and supply chain challenges.

As the member will be aware, the Rail Enforcement Powers Working Group published its final report and recommendations on 11 February 2026. This contained an output which recommended that the Scottish Government explore whether primary or secondary legislation can be used to create greater protections for rail workers. Since the report was published, Transport Scotland officials have been conducting a feasibility assessment of each of the Working Group’s recommendations.

As part of this, the feasibility work regarding the proposals for specific legal protections against assaults and abuse towards rail workers has now been widened to include all public transport workers, following the manifesto commitment.

This work will inform any potential future approaches towards implementation.

We recognise that diabetic foot screening is a proven way to determine the chance of an individual with diabetes has of developing a future foot ulcer that may lead to amputation. Foot screening is also one of the key processes for good diabetes care.

Clinical guidance recommends that people who are deemed to be at low risk from diabetic foot complications are reviewed every two years whereas those who are deemed to be at medium or high risk should be referred immediately to podiatry services for assessment. Our expectation is that clinicians and GPs consult all relevant clinical guidelines when assessing someone with diabetes and refer for most appropriate treatment.

The Scottish Government remains intensely focussed on reducing waiting times. In 2025-26, we allocated more than £150 million additional funding to health boards to help tackle the longest waits for planned care. This funding delivered thousands more appointments, operations and procedures in 2025-26 compared to 2024-25. We are working with Health Boards to support the continuation of this progress in 2026-27.

The Scottish Government recognises that reform of the legal aid system is needed, which is why we have committed to launching a consultation on a Legal Aid Reform Bill within our first 100 days.

Work continues at pace, including engagement with key stakeholders and consideration of options for reform.

The consultation will explore how the system could be more responsive and user-centred, while ensuring transparency and accountability in the use of publicly funded legal assistance.

We will carefully consider the responses to ensure we deliver an adaptable, flexible, affordable and sustainable legal aid system in Scotland that supports people who are facing challenging issues and problems.

That process will shape the content of the Bill and inform when it can be introduced to Parliament.

Transport Scotland officials engage regularly with Network Rail Scotland to ensure that Scottish Minister’s requirements as specified here: Scottish Ministers’ High Level Output Specification (HLOS) - Control Period 7 - 2024 – 2029 | Transport Scotland are met by Network Rail.

Transport Scotland works with Network Rail to review and revise its programme of works against priorities in the context of available funding. This ensures Transport Scotland can deliver the right projects at the right time as it seeks to progress its rolling programme of decarbonisation, whilst also delivering rail passenger and freight services that meet user expectations.

The railway delivery partners will continue to review and assess suitability of railway infrastructure to ensure it continues to meet the current and future passenger demand, as much as possible and in the context of the available funding.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. In 2026-27 we have added £14.4 million to the record £17.6 billion of core funding to Health Boards to ensure that the ongoing costs of consumables for people currently using closed loop systems continue to be met.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Care wrote to Board Chief Executives on 29 May 2026 stating her expectation that this funding is spent on closed loop system consumables as intended and asking them to confirm the steps being taken in their Boards to ensure this happens.

Barnett consequentials are not expected to arise from the support provided to the British Steel plant at Scunthorpe. HM Treasury has confirmed that the Department for Business and Trade’s intervention is classified as a UK-wide measure; as such, it does not generate additional funding for the Scottish Government.

The responsibilities of all Cabinet Secretaries are published on the Scottish Government website; the detailed responsibilities for the role of Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform is available here: Cabinet Secretary for Public Service Reform - gov.scot.

I am responsible for the overarching policy on Public Service Reform (PSR) including implementation of the PSR strategy (published June 2025) which sets out how we will increase the scale and pace of reform through changing our system of public services to be more preventative, joined up and efficient, to deliver excellent public services that are fiscally sustainable. Further, I am responsible for public bodies and public sector productivity and efficiency, procurement and shared services, and civil service operations and efficiency.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. We would direct the member to the NHS Grampian health board to obtain this information.

In order to support the reduction of waiting times, patients may be asked to travel to appointments out with their local health board. It is expected that most patients will be seen and treated locally wherever possible and appropriate, based on clinical need and operational effectiveness. However, it may not always be possible for Health Boards to provide access locally, for all patients and for all services, where Health Boards are, for example, constrained by geography or specialist services.

The safety of our maternity services is a priority to this government, which is why we have committed to undertake an independent review of maternity services in Scotland. I will shortly be setting out a statement to Parliament detailing what the review will consider, when it will be delivered, how it will engage with stakeholders, how it will be led and the timeframe it will operate in.