Chamber and committees

Over the last few years the Scottish Government has updated a range of wildlife and nature conservation legislation. We do not have any plans to undertake further review of existing wildlife legislation, beyond existing statutory review and reporting requirements.

However, the Scottish Law Commission is currently undertaking a Nature Conservation Consolidation project, previously included in its Eleventh Programme of Law Reform. The project aims to bring together key pieces of nature conservation legislation, including legislation relating to wildlife and protected species, into a coherent and systematic body of law, helping to improve its accessibility and making it easier for the public, regulators and enforcement bodies to understand and apply.

The Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish School of Primary Care to undertake an independent evaluation of the Golden Hello initiative for GPs. The evaluation was published in March 2026: https://www.sspc.ac.uk/media/Media_1254907_smxx.pdf.

The Golden Hello initiative does not currently apply to dentists or consultants. We continue to make available a range of additional financial support to areas where access to NHS dentistry is particularly challenging. This support includes the Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) grant, which pays out up to £100,000 for establishing, relocating or extending NHS dental practices, as well as the Recruitment and Retention allowance, which allows new trainee dentists to qualify for ‘golden hello’ payments of up to £37,500 in the first three years of practice.

Any future expansion and improvement plans for Golden Hellos will be set out in due course. Work is already underway to review and refresh financial incentives in dentistry, ensuring that these are targeted to better support patient access in rural and island areas.

The Scottish Government's approach to surge and resilience preparedness is the year-round process through which health and social care services prepare for, respond to and recover from periods of increased demand and operational pressure.

As set out in the National Planning Priorities and Principles for Surge and Winter Preparedness in Health and Social Care, there are periods when demand increases beyond the normal levels planned for by health and social care services and there is a surge in the number of people requiring care and treatment. While winter remains the most predictable period of increased demand, similar pressures can arise at other times of the year.

The Scottish Government's approach is therefore to consider winter preparedness within a broader year-round surge and resilience preparedness framework. This supports NHS Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships to plan for sustained pressures on services while ensuring people receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time. This approach is also being supported through development of the National Flow Plan, which aims to improve patient flow, reduce delays and strengthen whole-system resilience across health and social care services.

Any proposals for new data centres would be subject to the statutory planning process, which would consider a range of factors including water resources, environmental impacts and wider infrastructure capacity. It is Scottish Ministers' expectation that new developments are designed and located in a way that supports long-term sustainability and water resilience.

Scotland's existing data centres account for a very small proportion of public water demand, and early engagement with developers is important to ensure proposals are aligned with local infrastructure and environmental considerations. There are opportunities for some future developments to make use of treated wastewater, helping to support economic growth while protecting drinking water supplies and the environment.

It is important that data centres are as sustainable as possible. This means minimising water use through closed-loop systems and considering whether there are alternative sources of water, such as treated wastewater. Where drinking water is used, the needs of existing populations must take priority, as our priority is the protection of human health.

Any decisions about data centres would be subject to the statutory planning process and the use of water resources would form part of that consideration. Most existing data centres in Scotland already operate as closed-loop systems and it is Scottish Ministers’ expectation that sustainable solutions are identified for any new data centre proposals. Scottish Water’s assessment is that data centres currently account for around 0.006% of public water demand in Scotland and, as part of wider considerations, they have suggested that there may be options available for using effluent from their wastewater treatment process as part of a closed loop system to reduce the impact on water resources.

The Service Renewal Framework commits to increasing access to health and social care, including primary and community care. We are continuing to work with PSD Scotland to develop phase two of a rural and islands programme, consolidating work of the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care. We provide targeted support to General Practice through workforce initiatives, including the Golden Hello Scheme, ScotGEM, Rediscover the Joy and Rural Fellowships. While Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI) grants and Recruitment and Retention allowances are available to support and grow dental surgery numbers across Scotland, work is currently ongoing to revise these financial incentives to ensure they better target support for rural and island areas. Following a successful pilot with the Barra visiting optometry service, we will establish a framework to support eligible community optometry practices providing services in areas with limited access to NHS eye examinations.

For the purpose of this exercise we’ve included correspondence from MSPs on behalf of practices in their constituency, and one received from the RCGP representing practices from Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The results were as follow (a) 0 are direct from NHS boards (b) 6 are direct from practices (3 Greater Glasgow and Clyde, 2 Dumfries and Galloway, 1 Forth Valley). It should be noted that more than one correspondence may relate to the same practice.

The standards of care for cancer treatment are rightly developed independently of Scottish Government by those with the relevant clinical expertise.

The NHS Scotland Cancer Collaborative’s Clinical Management Pathways (CMPs) define national standards of care for cancer treatment. The CMP for breast cancer has incorporated the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) Council’s 2023 independent recommendation on the use of commercial multigene assays for breast cancer patients across Scotland. SHTG have criteria and processes in place to judge whether new evidence is sufficient to revise its existing recommendations of these commercial tests. NHS genomic testing, delivered within our laboratory service, is nationally commissioned by NHS National Services Division to ensure equitable access across Scotland.

The Tax Advisory Group (TAG), which was chaired by the previous Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government, met from July 2023 and concluded with the previous parliamentary session.

Engagement remains an important part of policymaking, and I plan to engage with Parliament and wider stakeholders on tax policy including as part of Budget processes.

We have a strong record of engagement on tax policy beyond TAG, including the first Scottish Government conference on tax in September last year, and meetings with a range of organisations as part of the Budget process. Our second Tax Conference is planned for 24 September 2026.

Management of asbestos in the NHS estate is a matter for local Health Boards. Health boards carry out annual asbestos monitoring surveys and asbestos management plans are in place across the NHS estate.