Chamber and committees

All proceeds from a future bond issuance would be used exclusively for capital investment in line with the capital borrowing powers outlined in the Fiscal Framework agreement between the Scottish and UK Governments.

In November 2025 the Scottish Government published a summary Outline Business Case (OBC) assessing the case for the Bonds Programme. This provides an assessment of the range of total present value of additional costs in 2024-25 prices across different issuance options compared to borrowing via the NLF.

The Summary OBC can be accessed from Scottish Government bonds programme: outline business case summary - gov.scot

The Scottish Government has not undertaken work to this end.

It is important to note that there is no single nationally agreed Scottish definition of ‘rapidly progressing cancer’ or ‘aggressive cancer’. Whilst clinicians may use terms such as these on occasion to support patients understand their diagnosis, they are not recognised as clinical descriptors.

However, our Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026 includes a commitment to carry out a clinically led review of cancer waiting times. This will determine whether there is merit in additional or alternative standards, including for different types of cancer.

This review, being led by the Centre for Sustainable Delivery, has been initiated with evidence reviews being commissioned through key partners such as Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) and Cancer Research UK.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information as this is Scottish Ambulance Service operational data. Scottish Ambulance Service published data can be found here: Unscheduled Care Operational Statistics

Final external costs in 2025-26 were £430,000, excluding VAT, set against an original budget allocation of £1 million.

All Credit Rating reports will cite factors that could influence a rating action.

Importantly, the Credit Rating results confirmed the Scottish Government as high investment grade, after assessing the credit fundamentals of the Scottish economy, the Scottish Government’s financial stewardship and the approach to debt management. These strengths remain.

In the event of fundamental constitutional change, the Scottish Government would be rated as a Sovereign Government, under a different methodology.

The Scottish Government has not given the matter consideration and as per my answer to S7W-01396 on 13 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 met with the credit rating agencies in Autumn 2025, prior to the inaugural credit rating announcements. Further meetings occurred in Spring 2026 as part of the normal interim review cycle. The full range of factors considered by the agencies are available in the rating reports they each published in November 2025.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02130 on 17 August 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02134 on 17 August 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.