Chamber and committees

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

Condition and Functional Suitability assessments are undertaken and recorded for individual buildings within the NHS estate. However, the Scottish Government does not routinely hold information on the number of buildings assessed as category C or D for either Condition or Functional Suitability.

Based on the latest available NHS estate data, 34% of the estate by floor area was assessed as being in Condition C or D, while 26% of the estate by floor area was assessed as having Functional Suitability rated C or D.

Backlog maintenance within the NHS estate is assessed and reported at the level of individual maintenance items rather than buildings. Consequently, individual buildings are not assigned an overall risk rating, as they may contain multiple backlog maintenance items with different risk ratings.

The Accounts Commission is appointed by Parliament and has statutory responsibility to secure the audit of local authorities, evaluate Best Value and oversee public financial transparency. In particular the Accounts Commission must consider reports issued by the Controller of Audit, investigate matters raised, conduct public hearings where necessary and issue formal recommendations to local councils and Scottish Ministers.

The Accounts Commission considered a special report by the Controller of Audit in relation to the continued late reporting of Clackmannanshire Council’s annual accounts at its meeting on 18 June. The Commission published its findings on 30 June and set clear expectations for the improvements it expects to see. The leader of the council has provided assurances that compliance with statutory timescales for financial reporting will be prioritised by the full council.

The Accounts Commission continues to work closely with the council to ensure the necessary improvements are made and Scottish Government officials will continue to monitor the council’s progress through ongoing engagement with the Council and with the Accounts Commission.

The vast majority of councils continue to meet their statutory obligations and almost all have now considerably improved or returned to pre-pandemic timescales for the production of their statutory annual accounts. Only three other local authorities have not yet published their 2024-25 annual accounts: Stirling Council, West Dunbartonshire Council and East Dunbartonshire Council. We expect that the Accounts Commission will be monitoring the situation with each of these authorities and alert Ministers to any concerns in line with the statutory framework.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes information on routes to cancer diagnosis, which includes emergency presentations for brain and other central nervous system (CNS) cancers: Routes to Cancer Diagnosis, Cancer Stage and Curative Treatment for Cancer Information to Support Visions from the Cancer Strategy 26 August 2026 - Routes to Cancer Diagnosis, Cancer Stage and Curative Treatment for Cancer Information to Support Visions from the Cancer Strategy - Publications - Public Health Scotland.

Given the relatively small number of brain tumour diagnoses in Scotland, publication of more detailed tumour-specific data may not be possible due to statistical disclosure risks.

Through the Cancer Strategy for Scotland 2023-2033 and accompanying Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023 – 2026, the Scottish Government is working to improve outcomes for brain tumours and other less survivable cancers.

Scotland's Earlier Cancer Diagnosis Vision aims to reduce later-stage disease and health inequalities, and recognises that alternative measures, such as emergency presentations, are needed to monitor progress for cancers that cannot be conventionally staged.

Earlier and more equitable diagnosis is also supported through national clinical pathways, improved access to diagnostic imaging, the Brain Tumour Pathway within the Managed Service Network for Neurosurgery, and the National Headache Pathway.

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.

NHS workforce planning is undertaken through established national and local workforce planning processes. Health Boards are responsible for workforce planning and ensuring they have the staffing required to deliver services that meet the needs of their local populations.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of digital transformation in supporting efficient and sustainable local services. The Accounts Commission’s report highlights the benefits that can be achieved where councils take a strategic approach to digital modernisation and service redesign.

The Scottish Government support a range of sector-wide initiatives and in November 2025 the Scottish Government and Local Government published a joint strategic vision for digital in Scotland. The Sustainable Digital Public Services Delivery Plan was also published in 2025 and sets out the actions we will take to improve public services through greater use of digital technology, automation and service redesign. These programmes support councils to modernise administrative processes, improve customer experience and deliver better value for money.

While decisions on operational service delivery are matters for individual local authorities, the Scottish Government will continue to work with COSLA, the Digital Office and councils to support digital innovation and transformation that improves outcomes for communities and strengthens the long-term sustainability of local services.

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.

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.