Chamber and committees

There are no current plans to introduce an annual gynaecological check-up entitlement for gynaecological cancers as there are no suitably accurate screening tests for Ovarian, Uterine, Vaginal or Vulva Cancers.

Our national screening programmes are guided by the recommendations of the UK National Screening Committee, an independent expert advisory group which advises all four nations of the United Kingdom on screening policy. We are working to increase coverage and uptake within the established cervical screening programme.

We are committed to improving the early detection of Gynaecological Cancers by raising awareness of symptoms through our Detect Cancer Earlier programme including featuring people who have been successfully treated for ovarian cancer in our public awareness campaigns.

We know that Gynaecological Cancers often have non-specific symptoms such as bloating, abdominal pain, loss of appetite, fatigue or changes in bowel habits. Non-specific symptoms are associated with delayed diagnosis, higher rates of later-stage disease and poorer outcomes. The revised Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer (SRGs) were published in August 2025 and include a new guideline for patients with non-specific symptoms to support primary care clinicians to identify those requiring urgent assessment by a specialist.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43803 on 5 March 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.

No such information has been sought.

The Scottish Government have been clear that abuse or assault in any form is unacceptable, and everyone has the right to access care or their workplace without fear.

Health Boards are required to meet their legal duties to protect staff, patients and visitors. All incidents must be recorded through existing systems, fully investigated, and escalated to Police Scotland where appropriate.

Scottish Government wants people diagnosed with cancer to be treated as close to home as clinically possible.

As treatments for cancer become more complex and specialist, such as hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery, it is not possible to deliver them in every location. We know that the best outcomes are often associated with specialist centres and patients should be fully supported in accessing these.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to work collaboratively with HIPEC centres of excellence in England and transport providers to make suitable arrangements to ensure that necessary treatment can be provided in a patient-centred way.

The active travel budget was adjusted in the Autumn Budget Revision. The original 2025-26 active travel budget was £164.8 million, comprising £12.4 million resource and £152.4 million capital. In addition, a further £23.9 million for Cycling, Walking & Safer Routes was allocated within the ‘central government grants’ budget line, bringing the total original allocation for 2025-26 to £188.7 million.

The comparator figures for 2025-26 are lower following agreed transfers at the Autumn Budget Revision. Funding was moved from the Active Travel budget to Local Authorities and to the Road Safety Directorate of Transport Scotland so that these delivery partners could take forward active travel projects directly. A further £0.5 million was transferred into the Active Travel budget to support Bikeability.

Following these adjustments, the revised total of £135.9 million, consisting of £13.1 million resource and £122.8 million capital, reflects these transfers and ensures that the budget is aligned with where delivery responsibility sits for the remainder of the year.

This revision is a technical adjustment to support delivery and does not represent any reduction in the Scottish Government’s commitment to active travel investment.

• SSEN’s £950 million framework does not include any public funding, and the Scottish Government does not have the levers to enforce Fair Work conditions on private investments.
• Employment law is reserved to the UK Government.

• The Scottish Government strongly encourages all employers in Scotland to follow Fair Work principles as part of its wider Fair Work agenda, and is using all the levers available to us to make Fair Work the norm by promoting and embedding Fair Work within every Ministerial portfolio and across the economy, including through our Fair Work First conditionality policy.

In dealing with recent Urgent Questions in Parliament (18 February and 25 February 2026), the Lord Advocate has advised the practice of providing updates to Scottish and UK governments pre-dates devolution in 1999. The Lord Advocate explained and provided examples of occasions on which this has been done, which involved prosecutors properly sharing information with the government which is not in the public domain at the time it is shared or will not be made public.

The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to make hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery for ovarian cancer available in Scotland.

Although the value of HIPEC could be recognised for a limited number of patients, any future service establishment would need to be considered in line with patient need and improved patient outcomes. HIPEC is not a standard treatment for Ovarian Cancer and is not considered routinely. It is typically used as a specialised add-on therapy.

Hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (HIPEC) surgery is not routinely provided in Scotland at this time.

NHS Boards may refer patients in Scotland meeting specific criteria who may benefit from this additional specialised therapy to specialised centres in England.