Chamber and committees

The shipbuilding sector plays a vital role in supporting jobs and driving economic growth across Scotland. We are committed to promoting manufacturing and innovation, and Ministers continue to engage with businesses in the sector as part of that commitment.

We are investing up to £2 million to develop engineering skills in the Glasgow City Region. This initiative has been designed by the Clyde Maritime Cluster in partnership with Skills Development Scotland.

In addition, Scottish Enterprise has recently provided a £7.4 million Research and Development grant and a £1.8 million Training Aid grant to BAE Systems to help them maximise skills development and support the establishment of a collegiate training facility which will provide access to the broader industry through the Applied Shipbuilding Academy, which is overseen by BAE Systems as custodians of the Glasgow shipyards.

The development of the National Treatment Centre programme is currently paused, therefore there are no revised costs for the five projects. As part of our Scottish Spending Review, the Scottish Government are undertaking a full review of our capital spending to prioritise the available funding towards projects that drive progress against our priorities.

We will provide clarity over which projects and programmes will receive funding in the medium term when we publish our new Infrastructure Pipeline, alongside the 2026-27 Budget and Scottish Spending Review.

We are working with all health boards to develop a whole-system NHS infrastructure plan. This will reflect on needs across Scotland and support continued safe operation of existing facilities, as well as determination of longer term investment priorities. The National Treatment Centre (NTC) programme is currently paused and the development of the NTC Ayrshire and Arran remains under review at the current time.

As detailed in the 2025-26 budget, we are funding a £139 million additional investment across NHS infrastructure to support improvement and renewal. We will seek to progress the development of business cases projects and invest an extra £20 million in equipment to bolster productivity. Any final decision to progress to construction will be subject to the outcome of the Scottish Government Investment Infrastructure pipeline.

We recognise the critical importance of ensuring that patients can access targeted cancer medicines promptly when associated genomic tests are required.

The development of a sustainable and more reactive funding model for genomic testing is a core commitment within the Genomics in Scotland strategy. Work to develop new funding mechanisms continues to progress, however, this process takes time and significant negotiation across Scottish Government and the entirety of the NHS in Scotland.

The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering equitable access to genomic tests associated with Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved medicines without unnecessary delay.

PIK3CA, AKT1 And PTEN gene alterations for breast cancer are listed on the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine’s horizon scanning tracker.

We are keenly aware of the importance of accessing genomic testing in a timely manner for patient care and treatment, and we are working to expand our genomic medicine provision in Scotland, in line with our strategy and resources.

Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

Day-to-day management, including that of specific funding, of the Transforming Cancer Care Programme is managed by Macmillan Cancer Support. Scottish Government allocates overall funds to Macmillan Cancer Support to distribute according to locally agreed processes.

During the period 2019-2023, Scottish Government and Macmillan awarded £18 million to the programme. An additional £9 million investment was agreed in 2023 to support the programme until 2032. Funds are to be allocated over that period as per Macmillan and the corresponding local authority/partnership agreement.

As set out in answer S6W-38507, Scottish Government recognises that throughout their career, employees, including radiologists and oncologists, will face differing demands on their time and energies at home as well as at work which may lead to them leaving the workforce below the age of 50.

The national ‘Supporting Work Life Balance’ workforce policies provide staff with a range of flexible working options to help them to balance their lifestyle whilst maintaining and promoting the best possible service to our patients and service users.

Further, Scottish Government are supporting staff throughout the NHS, including radiologists and oncologists, through funding of over £2.5m annually to support staff wellbeing. Evidence shows that positive wellbeing enhances staff retention and engagement, which in turn raises standards of patient safety and quality of care.

This funding provides our workforce with access to psychological interventions and therapies, self-service resources through the National Wellbeing Hub and the National Wellbeing Helpline delivered by NHS 24. Registered staff also have access to confidential mental health services through the Workforce Specialist Service (WSS).

As set out in answer S6W-38508 on 18 June 2025, whilst Scottish Ministers are responsible for determining the strategic policy of the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards are responsible for delivering their services, including making decisions to outsource NHS contracts to the independent sector where appropriate to meet the Board’s needs.

We have expanded the Clinical Oncology and Medical Oncology specialty training programmes since 2014. The Scottish Government is working directly with NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to increase supply into Clinical and Medical Oncology and promote these options as an attractive career choice by future applicants.

Further, we have been expanding Internal Medicine Training (IMT) numbers, for example, which is a pre-requisite for various higher specialties including Clinical and Medical Oncology. This will increase front-end supply into several higher-level specialties including Oncology. The IMT programme has filled at 100% for the past five years.

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 Ambulance Service launched its demand and capacity programme in 2019, to ensure they are working as effectively as possible by having the right resources in place to deliver the most appropriate care. This has resulted in the recruitment of an additional 1,388 staff and the introduction of 52 additional ambulances in the first three years. The increase in staffing and resources, coupled with alignment of shift patterns to patient demand profiles, was designed to improve patient safety and staff welfare.

Following discussions facilitated by the Scottish Government between the Scottish Ambulance Service and trade unions, a working group has been established to seek to resolve the complex issues surrounding rest break compliance. The group will meet fortnightly, with an oversight group established which includes representation from the Scottish Government. This oversight group will meet regularly to monitor the progress of the working group.

Following discussions facilitated by the Scottish Government between the Scottish Ambulance Service and trade unions, a working group has been established to seek to resolve the complex issues surrounding rest break compliance. The group will meet fortnightly, with an oversight group established which includes representation from the Scottish Government. This oversight group will meet regularly to monitor the progress of the working group.