Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises that NHS Scotland’s oncology capacity has been increasingly tested due to steady, long-term increases in demand driven by new medicines approvals, increasing complexity of treatment, an ageing population, more treatments for incurable cancers, and delayed presentations exacerbated by the pandemic.

Despite these pressures, we are treating more patients with cancer on time, within both standards, compared to the same quarter 6 years ago – 7.7% more within the 31-day standard & 0.1% more within the 62-day standard.

We continue to take action to address workforce pressures and have increased consultant radiologists by 27.7% in the last ten years. We continue to invest heavily in radiology training - for example we are currently funding around 190 specialty training places in clinical radiology, including 78 extra places we have added since 2014 based on modelling and future workforce need. This enables doctors to train and enter the workforce following completion of training - which takes a minimum of 5 years. This programme has been filled at 100% in Scotland from 2014 to 2024, with 230 resident doctors successfully completing the training.

Further, over £106 million has been allocated to NHS Boards in 2025-26 to address waiting times, with £21 million for imaging. We will reduce the radiology backlog so that 95% of referrals are seen within six weeks by March 2026, through expanding to seven-day services, recruitment, and utilising mobile scanning units.

I have written to the Royal College of Radiologists following their report as I hope to work together to support the development of solutions. This will ensure that our NHS continues to deliver excellent and equitably accessible cancer care.

The transfer and repatriation of mother and babies is a normal component of neonatal care provision in Scotland, ensuring babies receive the best care in the right place at the right time.

The RSM report, published on 29 May 2024, New Model of Neonatal Care – RSM UK Consulting - Report, modelled demand and capacity requirements for the new model of neonatal care. The report was compiled based on data collected from each of the eight neonatal intensive care units, as well as information from Public Health Scotland (PHS) and, Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) / Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). The RSM report included a section covering the impact on transfers. The Regional Planning Directors continue to work closely with ScotSTAR and the Scottish Perinatal Network to consider the ongoing impacts as the implementation work continues.

Local Government have the statutory responsibility for education so this information is not held centrally.

We have carefully considered the impact that the proposals in Part 1 of the Land Reform Bill will have on landowners across Scotland. The 1000 hectare threshold means that only the largest 1.4% of Scotland’s farms are expected to be in scope, according to 2023 Agricultural Census figures.

For further assessment of the impacts of proposed measures in the Bill, please refer to the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).

The Annual Participation Measure is published by Skills Development Scotland. This publication began in 2016. The national average participation level is included in several tables, including supplementary table 1.1a – https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/publications-statistics/statistics/annual-participation-measure.

The stated aim of the Flanders-Scotland Memorandum of Understanding is further cooperation between the Scottish Government and Government of Flanders. The Joint Working Action Plan sets out specific areas for further cooperation. This will therefore be progressed by existing teams within our Directorate for External Affairs and EU Directorate and policy areas related to the themes of the Plan - responsible for strengthening Scotland’s energy, research, tourism, culture and other vital links with European partners.

Scottish Government utilises the National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) to both assess children’s oral health over the longer-term, and to understand the impact of dental policy and services, including Childsmile. As part of dental payment reform, we have also introduced adult oral health metrics for the first time. These are based on key data points routinely collected through dental examinations, and can be used by dentists to monitor the long-term oral health of their population cohorts.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) statistics published in May, and showing data to 31 March 2025, report that adults in the most deprived areas are more likely to be registered with an NHS dentist than those in the least deprived areas, however participation (the number of registered patients who have been seen by a dentist in the past two years) is lower.

To help address this, we work with NHS Boards to make available additional financial incentives to grow and sustain access to primary care dental services, this includes the Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI), which financially assists dentists in either opening a new or expand an existing dental practice in a designated areas where there is unmet demand for NHS dental services.

Digital technology is a vital aspect of modern education and the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring online safety is appropriately recognised in Scottish education and wider child protection policies.

It is crucial that schools prepare our young people for life in the digital domain and reinforcing positive online behaviours is a key part of any safeguarding approach. Curriculum for Excellence sets out expectations for learning and progression in digital literacy (which includes cyber resilience and internet safety) from the earliest stages of learning.

In collaboration with Education Scotland, we have supported the development of professional learning and a wide range of teaching resources to support the integration of internet safety and cyber resilience within the curriculum.

The Scottish Government Programme for Government 2025-26: Building the Best Future for Scotland , includes our commitment to supporting Time for Inclusive Education’s Digital Discourse Initiative to equip children and young people with skills to navigate digital media and counter the impacts of disinformation and online hate. In addition, we have also committed to take forward the Ministerial Online Safety Taskforce to strengthen our approach to keeping children safe online, providing oversight and direction across Scottish Government and identifying what more can be done to protect children and young people.

There are no agreed plans at present but we will continue to consider the appropriate reporting on actions related to the Memorandum of Understanding, with the government and public agencies of Flanders.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of cybercrime units within Police Scotland as this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable.

We recognise the crucial role that Police Scotland officers and staff play in keeping our communities safe, including from sexual abuse.

In 2025-26, we have increased police funding to £1.64 billion, an increase of £90 million on 2024-25, to support police capacity and capability.