Chamber and committees

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes national measles case numbers on a weekly basis. Further information is available in the latest Immunisation and Vaccine Preventable Diseases Quarterly Report, which currently covers the period to March 2026. The next quarterly report, covering the period to the end of June 2026, will be published on 1 September 2026. A summary of trends is also provided in the annual publication Protecting the population of Scotland from vaccine preventable diseases: Vaccination and Immunisation Report - Publications - Public Health Scotland.

Scotland continues to experience relatively low levels of measles. While this is welcome, the small number of cases means that publishing more detailed information, such as NHS Board-level case numbers, hospital admissions, or whether infections were imported or locally acquired, could risk identifying individuals. For this reason, such breakdowns are not routinely published.

Information on MMR and MMRV vaccine uptake is published through the PHS Vaccination Surveillance Dashboard. Although uptake remains high in Scotland, there have been long-term declines, consistent with trends seen elsewhere. Work is ongoing at both national and local levels to improve uptake and reduce inequalities. For example, the five-year Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme Framework sets out priorities to improve vaccine uptake and reduce vaccine-preventable disease, while bi-monthly liaison meetings between PHS and NHS Boards provide opportunities to review local data and address operational challenges.

Improving access to support for people with neurodevelopmental support needs is a priority for this Government.

The Scottish Government is aware that some people who have received a private diagnosis of ADHD experience difficulties accessing medication through the NHS. Shared care was a key issue discussed at the second neurodevelopment summit convened by the Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing and during the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee inquiry. The outcomes of these discussions will inform ongoing work to improve neurodevelopmental support.

We are committed to working with partners to explore options for shared care arrangements and to consider approaches that are proportionate, effective and meet the needs of both patients and clinicians. Guidance on prescribing ADHD medication to adults following a private-sector diagnosis in Scotland was also published by NAIT in April 2022.

Medication is one form of support for people with an ADHD diagnosis. Many people may also benefit from support available through community and education settings, which can be accessed on the basis of need and do not depend on a formal diagnosis.

Long-term declines in uptake are seen across immunisations across the UK 4-nations and beyond, with Scotland comparing favourably. The reasons are multifaceted and include attitudinal and behavioural, as well as structural, and are described here: Understanding and Addressing Declines in Childhood Immunisations - Understanding and Addressing Declines in Childhood Immunisations - Publications - Public Health Scotland

Immunisation uptake varies by NHS Board, local authority and a range of demographic factors, including deprivation, ethnicity, sex and urban-rurality, reflecting a range of interrelated demographic, behavioural and structural factors. In January 2026, the second MMR dose was brought forward from 3 years 4 months to 18 months, creating more opportunities for vaccination before school age. Ongoing improvement activity includes implementation of the five-year Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) framework and regular engagement between Public Health Scotland and NHS Boards.

There is an established body of UK and international evidence showing that gambling-related harm can have significant consequences for mental health, financial wellbeing and family and personal relationships. Gambling-related harms can affect not only people who gamble, but also families and others close to them.

Through funding from the UK Statutory Gambling Levy, the Scottish Government funded several exploratory projects in 2025-26 to help us understand more about the mental health impacts of gambling harms in Scotland’s communities. Key learning from across the range of projects was highlighted in a flash report published by the Health and Social Care Alliance (the ALLIANCE) in May 2026. We have made further funding available in 2026-27 through the Gambling Harms and Mental Health fund, administered by the ALLIANCE, to continue to support mental health focused work and develop this learning.

The UKRI Research Programme on Gambling is investing in a coordinated programme of independent research to strengthen the evidence base on gambling-related harms. Scottish Government will continue to work with partners to understand how to best prevent and treat gambling-related harms based on the available evidence.

In 2024, following a commission from the Scottish Government, Public Health Scotland began publishing nationally collated data on waiting times for NHS gender identity services, making Scotland the first country in the UK to publish such data. The third annual instalment of these data was published on 30 June 2026.

These statistics are essential for understanding local progress and variation in the impact of Scottish Government funding, and provide a foundation for ongoing improvement work. While these data demonstrate good progress in some areas in, we recognise that performance is not yet at the level we all want to see, particularly in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde.

Scottish Government officials are engaging closely with the leadership of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to ensure that the Board is appropriately supported to improve its service delivery, and we will continue to share best practices and work collaboratively across NHS Scotland to build on improvements to date.

The Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland and NHS Boards, including NHS Tayside and NHS Grampian, to improve childhood vaccination uptake. Nationally, the five-year Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) Framework sets out priorities to increase uptake, reduce inequalities and minimise the burden of vaccine-preventable disease. Public Health Scotland also holds regular liaison meetings with NHS Boards to review local data, share learning and discuss quality improvement activity. Boards continue to implement measures based on local need, including reminder and recall arrangements, flexible appointments and community-based delivery, supported through existing national improvement arrangements.

The information requested on how many dedicated mesothelioma nurses are currently employed in Scotland, and whether this number has increased over the past 20 years is not held centrally.

The following table sets out the known coming into force dates for relevant provisions in the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with Trading Standards and COSLA during the development of the Tobacco and Vapes Act 2026 (2026 Act) and will continue to do so during its implementation.

All Scottish Statutory Instruments resulting from the 2026 Act will be supported by the appropriate impact assessments as part of our usual policy development process.

Local Authorities have responsibility to ensure local budget decisions deliver local and national priorities including enforcement of existing legislation around sales, illicit tobacco and vapes, and the single use vape ban. The 2026-27 Scottish Budget provides a further real-terms increase in the Local Government Settlement, delivering record funding of almost £15.7 billion, including a quarter of a billion pounds of unrestricted General Revenue Grant.

On 30 July 2026, the Scottish Government published statutory guidance for retailers of tobacco, vaping, nicotine or herbal smoking products on creating an age verification policy for their store, found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/selling-tobacco-products-vaping-products-nicotine-products-cigarette-papers-herbal-smoking-products-age-verification-guidance-age-verification-policies-retailers/ .

On 11 August the UK Government published UK-wide guidance on implementation of the 2026 Act which covers the following topics:

• Selling tobacco, herbal smoking and cigarette papers:https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-tobacco-herbal-smoking-products-and-cigarette-papers
• Selling vaping and nicotine products: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/selling-vaping-and-nicotine-products
• Tobacco, vaping and nicotine products: fixed penalty notices: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tobacco-vaping-and-nicotine-products-fixed-penalty-notices#nations-in-scope
• Tobacco and vaping product vending machine ban: https://www.gov.uk/guidance/tobacco-and-vaping-product-vending-machine-ban .

The Scottish Government supports strong alliances to tackle the availability of illicit vapes.

Officials meet regularly with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) alongside HMRC, who work with Border Force, to take action to tackle the import of illicit tobacco and vaping products at the border.

Intelligence is also shared across the 4-nations as part of the Cross Government Vape Enforcement Committee, which is led by the UK Department of Business and Trade and includes representation from HMRC and Trading Standards.

HMRC, Border Force and the NCA are also valued members of Scotland’s Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT). The SOCT meets every three months to discuss current and emerging threats and agree where action is required by partners to disrupt serious organised crime.

HMRC also sit on the Multi Agency Tasking and Delivery Board (MATDB) based at the Scottish Crime Campus, Gartcosh. As part of the MATDB, HMRC takes part in the intensification periods organised under Operation Machinize which disrupts a range of criminal activity on the high street.