Chamber and committees

There are currently no plans to convene a meeting on measles preparedness.

The Scottish Government continues to monitor the situation with Public Health Scotland, NHS Boards and other relevant partners. Should circumstances indicate that additional national coordination is required, appropriate arrangements will be put in place and follow the Management of Public Health Incident Guidance.

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.

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.

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.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Public Health Scotland (PHS) also does not hold or publish information on the number of MMR or MMRV catch-up vaccination invitations issued, subsequent vaccination following invitation or local uptake targets. NHS Boards will use local management information to support operation planning in their area but this not routinely collected or published at a national level.

The 5-year Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) framework sets out priorities to improve uptake, reduce inequalities and reduce disease burden. To support the delivery of this, national indicators are under development. Bi-monthly Board liaison calls between PHS and NHS Boards provide an opportunity to discuss local data and operational issues.

The Scottish Government recognise the harms that can be caused by gambling. As set out in our Population Health Framework, we are taking a Public Health approach to tackle these harms and improve the treatment services.

Through the Gambling Levy funds, the Scottish Government has announced funding of £7.9 million to a wide range of organisations in 2026-27. We are working with stakeholders funded through the Levy, including RCA Trust, GamCare and Citizens Advice Scotland to raise awareness of the support available across Scotland.

In addition, we are working closely with the UK Government over the National Gambling Helpline which is a key component for those seeking support.

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 has been engaging with NHS boards regarding their use of the £4.5 million funding for myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME) and long COVID services since April 2026 and continues to do so.

The funding is being allocated to NHS boards on a recurring basis to support the delivery of specialist support across Scotland for people with long COVID, ME/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome and similar conditions.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with NHS boards to monitor progress and identify any further support that may be required.

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.

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.