Chamber and committees

Since the research undertaken by Chest Heart and Stroke Scotland and the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland (the ALLIANCE), the National Strategic Network for long COVID managed by NHS National Services Scotland has produced information for NHS boards on the assessment of adults with suspected long COVID in general practice. It has also supported the delivery of online education sessions including on the assessment of patients with long COVID and the management of Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTs).

The Scottish Government has made available approximately £3 million to national and territorial NHS boards in 2024-25 to support the operation of the network, boards’ access to the C19-YRS digital platform and the provision of care and support locally by NHS boards.

The 2025-26 budget includes new investment of £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for long COVID, ME, Chronic Fatigue, and other similar conditions. This represents a 152.9% uplift to the 2024-25 long COVID budget line.

Responsibility for service delivery rests locally with NHS boards which configure services taking into account local circumstances and the reasonable needs of their patient populations.

The Scottish Government funds NHS Boards to provide healthcare to individuals in the criminal justice system. It is the responsibility of these Health Boards to provide safe, effective, person-centred care, equitable to that available to those in the community. This funding is being supplemented in the current Parliamentary term from our National Mission that includes a Prison to Rehab pathway which enables individuals with problem substance use, which includes alcohol, to access residential rehabilitation immediately on release from prison. Public Health Scotland is independently evaluating the impact of the National Mission. In December 2024 we supported the launch of Scotland's Charter of Rights for people affected by substance use to ensure people will have access to all appropriate services - including in the criminal justice system.

Scotland’s national health information service NHS inform aims to provide the people of Scotland with information to help them make informed decisions about their own health and the health of the people they care for.

As the latest associated published data remains unchanged, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26239 on 2 April 2024 and to question S6W-26655 on 15 April 2024. 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 has increased revenue funding for inter-island connectivity by £8.6 million in 2025-26, including extending free ferry travel between islands to under 22s. Provisional local authority allocations are included in Annex E of Local Government Finance Circular 10/2024.

Comparisons of 2024-25 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) to 2025-26 Budget are misleading in the context of local government funding as the 2024-25 ABR includes an agreed transfer of £13.9 million. This transfer will also be processed at the 2025-26 ABR, increasing the Inter Island Connectivity funding included in table 4.14 of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget from £36.4 million to £50.3 million.

In February 2022, an application under section 36 of the Electricity Act seeking consent for construction and operation of the Peterhead Low Carbon Combined Cycle Gas Turbine Power Station was formally lodged with the Energy Consents Unit. This is currently before Ministers for determination and as such, it would be inappropriate for Ministers to make any comment.

The number of properties expected to be liable for the Basic Property Rate (BPR) in 2025-2026 before any reliefs are applied is presented in the following tables, broken down in Table 1 by property class, and in Table 2 by council area.

Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property, and does not necessarily accurately reflect the use of a property. The Scottish Government does not hold property-level data on industry sectors.

These tables are based on the non-domestic valuation roll as at 1 October 2024.

Table 1: Number of properties expected to be liable for BPR by class, to the nearest 10

The Health and Social Care Standards, published in 2017, set out the expectation that care should be provided by health and social care professionals based on the most relevant evidence, guidance and best practice, as is appropriate to their profession and patient group. In July 2022 we wrote to health boards and GPs to raise awareness of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) guidelines and highlight key changes in practice, and these remain the most current national guidelines on the management of ME/CFS.

While the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, it is NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally who have responsibility for both service delivery and ensuring people receive the right care for them, taking into account relevant guidance, local service needs and priorities for investment.

In conclusion, it is for NHS Boards to determine what clinical interventions they offer, while giving regard to the considerations above.

The Scottish Government supported a meeting with NFUS and DG Sante on this matter held earlier this year. No concerns were raised or foreseen by EU officials on the use of UHF in Scotland.

Following the Scottish Budget, announced on 4 December 2024, details on the future of the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund will be finalised following the 2025-26 budget approval.