Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government remains in regular contact with NHS Boards regarding the development of specialist support services funded through the £4.5 million annual allocation for long COVID, ME/CFS, chronic fatigue and other similar conditions. NHS Boards are responsible for the planning and operational delivery of services for their local populations and are best placed to determine implementation timescales considering local circumstances and workforce considerations.

The Scottish Government monitors NHS Boards' progress in developing specialist support services for long COVID, ME/CFS and other similar conditions through ongoing engagement with boards and by reviewing the plans they submitted as part of the allocation of the £4.5 million annual specialist support services funding.

The Scottish Government has established arrangements to respond to and manage confirmed cases of bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), working with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA), Food Standards Scotland (FSS) and other relevant partners. These arrangements include epidemiological investigation, movement restrictions where required, tracing of offspring and cohort animals, and the implementation of statutory disease control measures.

These arrangements are activated following confirmation of a BSE case through the statutory surveillance and testing regime. Following confirmation of the recent case in Dumfries and Galloway, established control protocols were implemented and APHA commenced epidemiological investigations.

The Scottish Government remains in regular contact with the UK Government, APHA, FSS and industry representatives on animal health preparedness and disease response matters. Following confirmation of the recent case, officials engaged with relevant partners through established channels to support the implementation of the multi-agency response arrangements and to keep stakeholders informed as investigations progressed.

The affected animal did not enter the human food chain and FSS has confirmed that there is no risk to human health arising from this isolated case. The owners of the affected animals are continuing to work with the relevant authorities as epidemiological investigations progress and any necessary follow-up actions are taken.

The residential rehabilitation bed capacity survey, published in December 2025, confirmed a maximum capacity of 574 beds across 28 facilities in Scotland as of October 2025. Of the 28 facilities that responded, 96% reported that they accepted publicly funded placements.

The Scottish Government has not received any proposals for the introduction of a mobile drug consumption unit, as a result has not undertaken any detailed consideration of this model.

The Scottish Government's focus has been on supporting the establishment and operation of Scotland's first safer drug consumption facility, The Thistle, in Glasgow. The Lord Advocate’s Statement of Prosecution Policy applies only to that fixed facility and does not extend to mobile units.

On 22 September 2025, Scottish Ministers met with Vincent Bryson, Chief Executive of Scottish Curling, and Richard Lochhead MSP to discuss issues affecting curling and ice sports in Scotland. Discussions were centred on the sustainability of ice rinks, the impact of rising energy costs on facilities, investment in sport, and opportunities to host major events.

The Scottish Government remain engaged with Scottish Curling directly and through our national agency sportscotland.

Patients subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order can only be conditionally discharged by the Mental Health Tribunal where detention in hospital is no longer necessary.

Conditionally discharged restricted patients remain subject to their orders, must comply with conditions of discharge imposed by the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland, and are subject to ongoing supervision by their Responsible Medical Officer, Mental Health Officer and Community Psychiatric Nurse, with regular reports provided to Scottish Ministers by each of them. Scottish Ministers can vary the conditions of discharge where necessary or recall a conditionally discharged patient to hospital. The clinical practice of the Responsible Medical Officer and the wider multidisciplinary team is, in turn, subject to the relevant NHS Board’s clinical governance arrangements.

Formal multidisciplinary risk assessments must be updated annually. Monitoring and review are ongoing and are undertaken by the multidisciplinary team through the Care Programme Approach, with arrangements reviewed in light of any changes in the patient's circumstances or risk. Restricted patients are also managed through Multi Agency Public Protection Arrangements (MAPPA), which provide for information sharing, coordinated risk management and regular multi-agency review.

The Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland’s (MWC) 2006 inquiry into the care and treatment of Mr L and Mr M examined aspects of the management of a restricted patient following conditional discharge and identified lessons for the care, treatment and risk management of other restricted patients. Its recommendations informed the revised Memorandum of Procedure on Restricted Patients, published in 2010.

The MWC inquiry was case specific rather than a review of the national arrangements as a whole, and there has been no subsequent independent review of the current national arrangements in their entirety.

(a) The Scottish Government does not hold data regarding individuals subject to community based Compulsion Orders.

Data shows that there are currently 15 individuals subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order and conditionally discharged to the community from medium secure care.

• 9 individuals under the responsibility of NHS Lothian
• 5 individuals under the responsibility of NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde
• 1 individual under the responsibility of NHS Fife

There are currently no individuals subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order and conditionally discharged from high secure care.

Individuals subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order can also be conditionally discharged from low secure care.

(b) It would be inappropriate to comment on the circumstances of individual cases. The Scottish Government receive regular reports regarding patients on conditional discharge from the Responsible Medical Officer, Mental Health Officer and Community Psychiatric Nurse. Together, these reports provide a multidisciplinary view of a patient’s mental health, care and treatment, progression in the community and management of identified risks.

Ministers also receive notification of any adverse event regarding patients subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order who are conditionally discharged. This includes notification of any serious incidents, concerning behaviour or further offending. The multi-disciplinary community care team will report concerns regarding any aspect of management of the patient and provide sufficient information to enable Scottish Ministers to consider whether the patient may remain in the community, or whether for the protection of the public, steps should be taken to return the patient to hospital.

In the last five years one patient subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order who was conditionally discharged from medium secure care was recalled to hospital. The circumstances did not involve any further offending.

I appreciate that the cost of childcare can be challenging for many families across Scotland, and that there can be an impact on family circumstances as a result of a multiple birth. Every child in Scotland deserves the best start in life, which is why the Scottish Government is committed to eradicating child poverty and giving families the support they need. Each year since 2021 we have invested around £1 billion in the delivery of high quality ELC to all eligible children and we are continuing to do so in 2026-27.

With respect to future plans, we are seeking to transform Scotland’s childcare offer to better support families with the cost of childcare, for children from 9 months to the end of primary school. As this Parliament agreed in May, this is a priority, and must be informed by learning from the expansion to 1140 hours and the voices of those who use and deliver childcare in Scotland. This includes families with multiple births.

Our Programme for Government set out our intention to publish and consult on a blueprint for the future, building on learning from the last ten years of childcare design and delivery. This will be published next year. I would encourage anyone with an interest, including families with multiple births, to participate in this consultation.

The Public Sector Food Procurement Taskforce has been established to make recommendations to Ministers on strengthening public sector food procurement of local food.

The Taskforce's remit includes identifying barriers to local procurement, considering the capacity and capability of Scottish producers and processors to meet public sector demand, and identifying opportunities to strengthen routes to market for local suppliers.

Whilst decisions on menu content are made locally, the Scottish Government is undertaking a range of activity to support greater uptake of venison across the public sector. The Scottish Government is already working with industry partners to support growth in the venison sector and explore opportunities to increase demand, including through public sector catering and procurement routes.

The Scottish Government is supporting activity to strengthen the Scottish venison sector and increase market opportunities. This includes funding of £75,000 in
2026-07 to Scottish Venison and Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS), for a range of marketing and supply chain activities including work to increase awareness of venison amongst public sector buyers.

Alongside this, recent awards through the Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland have provided over £200,000 to three venison processing businesses to support equipment and infrastructure upgrades.