- Asked by: Martyn Day, MSP for Falkirk East and Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of the number of clinical nurse specialists who specialise in neuro-oncology, and what steps NHS Scotland is taking to ensure that all brain tumour patients have access to a named clinical nurse specialist.
Answer
On 2 June 2026 PSD Scotland published data on the number of Clinical Nurse Specialists across NHS Scotland for the first time since 2018, Clinical Nurse Specialists | Turas Data Intelligence. These data are published as Official Statistics in Development and PSD Scotland have a published plan to develop these into Official Statistics, New statistics on Clinical Nurse Specialists.
Through the Cancer Strategy and Cancer Action Plan, we are supporting NHS Scotland to improve access to named contacts for cancer patients, including through the Single Point of Contact (SPoC) approach. Evaluation has shown that SPoC services saved almost 4,000 hours of Clinical Nurse Specialist time over a 12-month period, enabling CNSs to focus on patients with more complex needs.
The 2024 Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey found that 93% of patients were given the name of a Clinical Nurse Specialist or other named contact during their care.
- Asked by: Martyn Day, MSP for Falkirk East and Linlithgow, Scottish National Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what support is available to children and young people with cancer, and their families, to meet the cost of travelling to and from treatment; what assessment it has made of the adequacy of this support and, in light of recent commitments by the UK and Welsh governments to introduce dedicated travel funds, how such support provided in Scotland compares with the support available elsewhere in the UK.
Answer
Scotland is the only UK-nation that currently has an active Young Patient Family Fund (YPFF). The fund provides support to the families of all babies, children and young people from birth to age 18 who require inpatient care, regardless of their health diagnosis.
Financial support for travel to hospital appointments is available through the patient travel expenses reimbursement schemes. Under these schemes, patients and authorised escorts may reclaim reasonable travel costs associated with attending hospital appointments, subject to eligibility criteria and clinical requirements. These arrangements apply across Scotland and provide support to eligible young people and their families irrespective of condition.
NHS Boards are responsible for assessing eligibility and have the flexibility to consider individual circumstances and make decisions in the best interests of patient care and wellbeing.
The Scottish Government has committed to a review of the patient travel reimbursement schemes guidance; however, a start date for the review is not confirmed at this time. It is important that the review is considered within the context of wider reform on access to health care, rather than as a standalone exercise to consider and address the wider and underlying issues relating to the travel itself.
- Asked by: Julie MacDougall, MSP for Mid Scotland and Fife, Reform UK
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the Accounts Commission report, Best Value: Inverclyde Council, which was published on 9 July 2026, what support it has provided to ensure that local authorities can develop ambitious long-term financial plans.
Answer
The Scottish Government works closely with local authorities to improve public services, deliver local and national priorities, and to support local area growth, investment and regeneration.
The Scottish Government recognises the pressure local services are under and that local authorities and their employees play a crucial role in our communities. That is why the 2026-27 Scottish Budget provides a further real-terms increase in the Local Government Settlement, delivering record funding of £15.7 billion, including a quarter of a billion pounds of unrestricted General Revenue Grant and full flexibility on council tax. In 2026-27, Inverclyde Council will receive £239 million to fund local services which equates to an extra £11.9 million or an additional 5.3% compared to 2025-26.
While decisions on longer term financial plans are matters for individual local authorities, the Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA and Local Government in the context of Best Value to improve outcomes for communities and strengthen the long-term sustainability of local services.
- Asked by: Sanne Dijkstra-Downie, MSP for Edinburgh Northern, Scottish Liberal Democrats
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Date lodged: Thursday, 16 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Angela Constance on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it plans to make teplizumab available through NHS Scotland and, if so, what is the anticipated timescale for its introduction.
Answer
The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has received a full submission from the marketing authorisation holder, Sanofi, for teplizumab (Tzield®), to delay the onset of Stage 3 type 1 diabetes in adult and paediatric patients 8 years of age and older with Stage 2 type 1 diabetes.
The SMC’s advice in relation to the routine use of teplizumab in the NHS in Scotland is expected to be published in 2027. The medicine product page on the SMC’s website will be updated with the advice, when published.
- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to ensure that victims and survivors of rape and other serious sexual offences can have confidence that their cases will be investigated promptly, thoroughly and with appropriate specialist support, particularly in light of reported increasing numbers of such crimes.
Answer
The safety and welfare of survivors is absolutely paramount, and we are committed to ensuring survivors and their families get the support they need.
We recognise the key role that advocacy services play in helping victims come forward and engage with the justice process, like those co-ordinated by Rape Crisis Scotland, which is why we fully fund the National Advocacy Project. We have provided £2.17 Million per annum for this service for the period 2025-207 through the Victim Centred Approach Fund.
Our NHS is another critical part of providing that support, providing care and forensic examinations in the days following an assault. There is a Sexual Assault Response Co-ordination Service (SARCS) in every health board area, including in each of the island health boards.
The Scottish Government wants victims and survivors to report sexual crimes, including those that may have happened some time ago. This is against a backdrop of sexual crimes remaining heavily under-reported. Multiple factors will therefore lie behind the long-term increase in recorded sexual crime, including a greater willingness of victims to come forward, more historical reporting, more online offending and the impact of new legislation.
We continue to take robust action to tackle sexual offending through the Equally Safe Strategy – focusing on prevention, improving our laws, and encouraging more victims to come forward.
However, we know that sexual crime remains under-reported and that more needs to be done to support victims to report these terrible crimes and to improve their experience within the criminal justice system.
Investigating rape and sexual offences remain one of the top priorities for Police Scotland, and specialist sexual offence liaison officers are available to support victims.
The Scottish Government recognises the vital roles that police officers play in keeping communities safe. This year, we have increased police funding to over £1.7 billion, an increase of £81.5 million on the 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) budget, to deliver on its priorities including frontline service delivery.
Operational policing decisions are for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority - not to Scottish Ministers. However, violence against women and girls is a key strand and tenet of Police Scotland’s 2030 vision and three-year business plan.
- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of reports that a number of individual officers might be responsible for investigating in excess of 200 rape cases alongside other serious offences, (a) whether it has sought information from Police Scotland regarding this and, if so, what information it has received and (b) what assessment it has made of the impact that high investigative caseloads might have on the confidence of victims and survivors in reporting offences.
Answer
Operational policing decisions and workload considerations are for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority - not to Scottish Ministers. It would not be appropriate for Scottish Ministers to seek information from Police Scotland in relation to officer workload.
However, violence against women and girls is a key strand and tenet of Police Scotland’s 2030 vision and three-year business plan.
The Scottish Government encourages all victims and survivors to report sexual crimes, including those that may have happened some time ago.
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) 16- to 24-year-olds and (ii) people aged 25 or more who are in receipt of Adult Disability Payment remain in receipt after (A) one, (B) two and (C) five years, also broken down by how many have undergone a review or reassessment, and what the outcome was.
Answer
Social Security Scotland regularly publishes statistics on its benefits, including Adult Disability Payment, which covers the current number of clients in receipt of the payment, their age breakdown, and the information on completed reviews and outcomes.
The latest Adult Disability Payment statistics are available at: Adult Disability Payment statistics to 30 April 2026.
The specific breakdown of information requested is not routinely produced and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost, in line with Scottish Government guidance on Parliamentary Questions.
- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 20 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Gillian Martin on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how it is supporting SEPA in carrying out water quality testing and investigations in Dundee and Angus.
Answer
The Scottish Government sets the regulatory framework and provides Grant in Aid Funding to SEPA to undertake monitoring of bathing waters.
SEPA undertakes routine monitoring of designated bathing waters, including those in Dundee and Angus, during the bathing season (1 June 2026 to 15 September 2026). Where a potential pollution incident is identified, either through reporting or routine monitoring, SEPA undertakes investigations. SEPA has provided an overview of bathing waters, including its monitoring and investigation process here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcy2_8MjhWg
- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that Police Scotland officers investigating rape and serious sexual offences have sufficient time and resources to deliver trauma-informed investigations and maintain meaningful communication with victims throughout the investigative process, and what measures are in place to ensure that victims and survivors of rape receive appropriate support where investigations are delayed because of investigative capacity or workload pressures.
Answer
Operational policing decisions and workload considerations are for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority - not to Scottish Ministers.
Investigating rape and sexual offences remain one of the top priorities for Police Scotland. Specialist sexual offence liaison officers (SOLOs )are available to support victims. SOLOs ensure that victims are kept informed of progress and understand the reasons for any significant delays. Police Scotland also work closely with specialist support organisations and partners to ensure victims continue to have access to appropriate support and advocacy.
The Scottish Government provides funding for trauma specialists at Public Services Delivery Scotland to support the criminal justice organisations to embed the Trauma Informed Justice Knowledge and Skill Framework. They have been working with Police Scotland to develop and deliver training at the trauma enhanced practice level of the framework, across evidence gathering, interpretation and presentation roles.
- Asked by: Maggie Chapman, MSP for North East Scotland, Scottish Green Party
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Neil Gray on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the workload of officers investigating rape and other serious sexual offences; what its position is on whether current staffing levels are sufficient to ensure timely, thorough and trauma-informed investigations, and what plans it has to publish guidance regarding officer workload to support the effective management of such cases.
Answer
The Scottish Government encourages all victims and survivors to report sexual crimes, including those that may have happened some time ago.
Operational policing decisions and workload considerations are for the Chief Constable who is accountable to the Scottish Police Authority - not to Scottish Ministers. It would not be appropriate for Scottish Ministers to provide guidance in relation to officer workload.
However, violence against women and girls is a key strand and tenet of Police Scotland’s 2030 vision and three-year business plan.
The Scottish Government recognises the vital roles that police officers play in keeping communities safe. This year, we have increased police funding to over £1.7 billion, an increase of £81.5 million on the 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) budget, to deliver on its priorities including frontline service delivery.
