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The Scottish Genomic Test Directory for Cancer is reviewed annually. The next update is expected to be in September 2025.

As part of the transformation programme, the entirety of the cancer test directory has been mapped to the SNOMED Clinical Terms disease ontology as part of a wider programme of data standardisation across the laboratory service.

Officer wellbeing and retention are operational matters for Police Scotland. I refer the member to my response to S6W-35420 on 17 March.

The Chief Constable has stated to the Criminal Justice Committee that the wellbeing of police officers and staff is one of her main priorities. Police Scotland has made a £17 million investment in wellbeing, which includes a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and enhanced occupational health services, to support officers and staff wellbeing.

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

Operational matters and internal policies are the responsibility of the Chief Constable, who is committed to ensuring all staff voices are heard. The Scottish Government expects Police Scotland to support a diverse and inclusive workplace where all staff networks are treated with respect. Police Scotland continues to engage with staff associations and networks to consider the impact of the recent Supreme Court ruling on its internal policies.

The recruitment and deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable.

Police Scotland’s three-year Business Plan 2024-2027 sets out the Chief Constable’s vision of a thriving workforce which goes beyond an overall officer headcount and that of a police workforce which includes police staff.

The Chief Constable aims to make maximum impact with a workforce that has the right skills and capacity to keep people safe. Through the Chief Constable’s workforce modernisation plan, Police Scotland are developing an operating model that will create capacity to deal with new and increasing threats by moving more officers to frontline roles, to strengthen community confidence.

The Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine (SSNGM) is currently working to document and address these gaps as part of the genomic medicine strategy, with the aim of improving alignment and equity of provision across the UK.

The operation of Police Scotland, including staffing, is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is supported by the Scottish Government to shape the workforce in response to operational needs. Police Scotland’s 2024-25 Annual Policing Plan outlines a future model focused on strengthened community policing. As of 31 March 2025, there were 16,553 FTE officers and 5,929 support staff, totalling 22,482 FTE. The Chief Constable has confirmed that the 2025-26 budget will maintain officer numbers between 16,500 and 16,600. We are increasing policing investment by £90 million this year, bringing total funding to a record £1.64 billion.

The recruitment and deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government has increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £14.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013, with £1.64 billion being invested this year. Scottish Government funding in 2024-25 enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception and Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales.

The Chief Constable has made it clear that she intends to bring the frontline of policing to its strongest possible position and that frontline strength goes beyond an overall officer headcount to focus on the whole policing workforce. Police Scotland’s three-year Business Plan 2024-2027 sets out an ambitious programme of workforce modernisation, reducing back-office duplication and creating capacity to deal with new and emerging threats. The current Police Scotland workforce figures indicate that the total policing workforce stands at 22,482 (FTE).

As part of preparations for the public consultation on the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, the Scottish Government collated existing information on how current barriers in society affect the outcomes and wellbeing of neurodivergent people. Whilst we did not secure specific data for ADHD, we identified that employment rates were 29% for autistic people compared with Scotland's national employment rate, which in 2024 was 83% for non-disabled people and 51.7% for disabled people. Responses to the consultation suggested that various barriers prevent neurodivergent adults from securing and maintaining employment, meaning that our economy is not benefiting from neurodivergent people’s skills and talents as much as it could.

Research conducted both in the UK and abroad suggests that there are further economic impacts of not providing appropriate support for neurodivergent people, including increased healthcare, education, and benefits costs.

In 2016, we committed to halving the Disability Employment Gap, outlining the initial steps that would be taken to achieve this by 2038 in A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan, published in 2018. To improve employment opportunities for those who face many structural barriers on the labour market, we have carried forward several actions into our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan: Becoming a Fair Work Nation by 2025, published in December 2022. Input was provided by disabled people and their representative organisations.

To help improve the wellbeing of autistic adults, including those with ADHD, we invest £1 million a year through our Adult Autism Support Fund to provide community support to autistic adults, both before and after their diagnoses. In a recent independent evaluation of the current Fund, 77% of participants reported feeling more confident about the future, and 66% said that their quality of life had improved. We hope that, correspondingly, such support will help ensure that autistic adults, including those who also have ADHD, continue to experience positive outcomes in healthcare, employment, and other areas that in turn helps maximise any economic contribution that they may wish to make to Scotland.

The deployment of officers and staff is a matter for the Chief Constable. It is vital that the Chief Constable has the flexibility to develop her workforce to respond to new and emerging operational demands.

Investigation of reports to Police Scotland are quite rightly operational matters for the Chief Constable. Police Scotland has confirmed that every crime report is assessed for threat, harm, risk, vulnerability and for proportionate lines of investigation and evidence, as soon as it is reported.

We sympathise with the pressure the social care sector is facing and that is one of the reasons that the 2025-26 budget includes almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million. At £21.7 billion, the overall financial envelope for Health and Social Care also reached record levels.

However it is important to note that while the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, it is for local authorities and health boards to work with the Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to ensure that social care support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support.

While agreeing budgets is the responsibility of partnerships, The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with the health and social care sector to understand key pressures and opportunities to ensure we achieve best value of money and improve the outcomes of our population.