Chamber and committees

We are aware of collaborative approaches being adopted by a number of local authorities alongside Police Scotland to tackle antisocial behaviour in town centres. The Scottish Government supports local authorities and Police Scotland through record funding.

We seek to complement local action through a range of national programmes aimed at prevention and early intervention. For example, through our CashBack for Communities programme, we support diversionary activities and positive opportunities for young people who may be at risk of becoming involved in antisocial behaviour or offending.

The Scottish Government recognise the particular concerns that the illegal use of quad bikes and off-road motorcycles can cause in rural areas, including road safety risks, damage to agricultural land and property, and disturbance to local communities.

All instances of illegal use should be reported to Police Scotland, which has responsibility for enforcing the law and taking action where appropriate. Reports can also be made anonymously to Crimestoppers Scotland.

The Scottish Government is clear that everyone should be able to go about their daily lives free from harassment and fear, and that those experiencing racially motivated harassment should feel supported to report incidents and seek assistance.

Decisions on the nature of advice provided to individuals are a matter for Police Scotland directly. However, the Scottish Government works closely with Police Scotland on issues relating to hate crime and community safety, including through regular engagement to understand emerging concerns and ensure that responses help to maintain public confidence and provide appropriate reassurance.

We will continue to work in partnership with Police Scotland and others to support those affected by hate crime and to ensure that communities feel safe.

We encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses hate crime, including racially motivated harassment. You can report hate crimes in Scotland directly to Police Scotland, through Third Party Reporting Centres, or via anonymous services such as Crimestoppers by calling 0800 555 111 or submitting information via the Crimestoppers Online Form.

The Scottish Government condemns all forms of racially motivated harassment, intimidation and threats and recognises the importance of ensuring that East and Southeast Asian communities feel safe, supported and resilient.

We are continuing to work closely with Police Scotland, as well as utilising our established relationships with a wide range of communities and local partners to understand the concerns being raised and to ensure that appropriate support and reassurance is in place. This includes ongoing engagement to better understand the impact of these experiences and what is needed to support community safety and wellbeing.

Alongside this, our wider work on hate crime and community safety, including the development of the next phase of Scotland’s Hate Crime Strategy, will continue to be informed by those affected and seek to address emerging issues.

We encourage anyone who experiences or witnesses hate crime, including racially motivated harassment, to report it to Police Scotland.

Aggressive cancer is not a term recognised or used in NHS Scotland. This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government does not centrally hold records of grid connection applications made to National Energy System Operator (NESO), or of the status of any such applications, or of any decisions made by NESO in relation to such applications.

Applications for consent or planning permission are administered under the relevant Electricity or Town and Country Planning Acts and applicable regulations and are considered on a case-by-case basis. Where appropriate, Scottish Ministers will consider any relevant information held which relates to a proposed development’s grid connection, alongside all other application and environmental information, any public representations received, and all consultation responses, in accordance with legislative requirements.

A refresh to the Framework for Effective Cancer Management (FECM) and supporting toolkit has now been published and supports NHS Boards to effectively manage suspected cancer patients through diagnostic and treatment pathways.

NHS Boards have been asked to complete self-evaluation of their implementation of the FECM and devise associated action plans where necessary. NHS Board Executive Teams should be fully sighted on these plans and are supporting teams to implement. This will provide oversight of areas of improvement or concerns and enable the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) Cancer Improvement team to support board implementation.

NHS Boards are developing detailed planned care delivery plans for 2026-27 to support waiting list reductions and improve productivity. The Scottish Government and the CfSD are engaging with boards regularly and continue to scrutinise improvement plans and performance trajectories to ensure they are deliverable, whilst considering how available funding may support additional activity.

Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services are a useful addition to how cancer can be diagnosed in Scotland. They provide primary care with access to a new fast-track diagnostic pathway for people with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer, such as weight loss and fatigue.

Scotland’s six Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDSs) – established within existing NHS infrastructure – are operational in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway, NHS Fife, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Borders and NHS Forth Valley. The development of RCDSs is being led through the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD).

The Scottish Government has commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland to undertake an independent scalability assessment of our Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service Pilots. This project will explore what our options are to expand access to non-specific symptom pathways for cancer in the most efficient and effective way, ensuring we reach population level coverage.

This initial phase of work is due to be complete by Spring 2027 after which we will work with Healthcare Improvement Scotland, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery and NHS Boards to develop an appropriate plan for service expansion.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01326 on 8 July 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 is committed to ensuring that families can access the support they need, including those living in rural and deprived communities, and recognise how vital childcare and family support services are in rural and island areas, both in relation to giving children the best start in life and supporting families to work.

Through our Whole Family Support and the Getting it right for every child (GIRFEC) approaches, the Scottish Government seeks to create the conditions for partners to deliver person-centred services that interact seamlessly so that children and families across Scotland can get the right support, at the right time, in the right place, for as long as they need it, whether those needs are simple or complex.

The Scottish Government’s Third Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, Bringing Hope, Building Futures, sets out a range of actions that we will be delivering to ensure families have access to the services and support that they require, including:

• investing £20 million in a new Whole Family Support Third Sector Delivery Fund, allowing third sector organisations to provide more support that wraps around families in their communities, with specific consideration given to the extent to which applications to the Fund include a focus on rural or island communities.
• continuing to invest £50 million through the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding Programme .
• continuing to invest over £1 billion in 2026-27 in funded ELC, providing 1140 hours of funded childcare for all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds
• delivering a national breakfast club offer for primary school aged children with provision in all primary and special schools by August 2027
• investing £15 million in a Childcare Support Fund to help address childcare cost barriers for families most at risk of living in poverty across Scotland
• investing an additional £2.5 million to increase wrap-around activity clubs for primary school age children.

Since the publication of the plan, the Scottish Government has gone further, committing to expanding childcare support to children from nine months through to the end of primary school over the course of this Parliament. As this work progresses, we will take into account the needs of families across Scotland, including the challenges of delivering childcare in rural and island settings, and the needs of priority family groups at risk of, or living in, poverty.