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Following the UK National Screening Committee’s recommendation for a targeted lung cancer screening program, the Scottish Government established a Scottish Expert Advisory Group for lung screening to provide advice on the scoping, implementation, establishment and delivery of a targeted lung cancer screening programme within Scotland. The group concluded that it would take 7-10 years for a full programme to be implemented due to the complexities of establishing a screening programme of this size. These complexities were recognised by the UK NSC.

As a first step in implementing a national programme, the Scottish Government is funding a lung screening pilot which is anticipated to begin in 2027. The pilot will invite eligible individuals in areas experiencing the highest levels of socio-economic deprivation, as evidence shows that they are at higher risk of lung cancer, and have poorer outcomes. It will allow the NHS to test potential delivery models and understand the impact on existing services, and it will provide valuable evidence regarding the best strategies to address screening inequalities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40236 on 16 September 2025 regarding the planned lung screening pilot. 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.

While this will be the first NHS-led pilot within Scotland, the LungScot study generated valuable evidence and insights into identifying individuals at high risk of lung cancer. These findings contributed to the work of the Scottish Expert Advisory Group for lung screening. A research project briefing has been published by the Chief Scientist Office for the phase of the study conducted within NHS Lothian, with key findings included. A full report regarding the wider study will be published at a later date.

Police officers in Scotland remain the best paid in the UK, at the minimum and maximum salary points for basic pay at all ranks compared to counterparts in England and Wales.

The recruitment and retention of officers are operational matters for the Chief Constable, with oversight provided by the Scottish Police Authority.

It is unclear where the figure of a net loss of over 30,000 private landlords since the COVID-19 pandemic has come from.

The most recently published figures show a reduction in registered landlords of 6,644 from January 2022 to July 2025, although it should be noted that the number of registered properties has increased in during the same period. The latest Scottish Landlord Register data shows the number of registered properties for rent in Scotland between August 2022 and July 2025 has increased by 2.9%. Over the same period, the number of registered landlords has decreased by 2.4%.

While these changes may point to some landlords choosing to leave the sector, the evidence suggests that their properties are remaining in the sector, or new properties are being offered for rent.

It should be noted that there are some limitations to the administrative data from the landlord register, including the time-lag in landlords deregistering properties that are no longer available to rent. These statistics should therefore be treated with some caution.

In February 2025, the Scottish Prison Service published a report on the number of prisoners released under emergency early release (EER) in June-July 2024, who returned to custody before the date when they would originally have been liberated had EER not been implemented. The report shows that 61 of the 477 prisoners (13%) released under EER returned to custody before their original planned release date. The report can be found here - Returns to Custody Analysis .

Transport Scotland already operates in line with key recommendations and best practice of the Edinburgh Tram Inquiry in the delivery of major transport infrastructure projects, as evidenced by its excellent record on projects such as the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and the Queensferry Crossing.

The Scottish Government continues to progress a range of actions in collaboration with justice partners to support a sustainable reduction in the prison population, whilst maintaining a focus on protecting the public.

At present, Community Payback Orders (CPOs) are the most commonly used alternative to a custodial sentence, with over 15,100 commenced in 2023-24. CPOs are a flexible and robust disposal which make people pay back to their community and can include one or more of a range of requirements which can be tailored to fit the circumstances of individual cases (including unpaid work, supervision by justice social work, and addressing addiction issues). The evidence shows that community-based interventions and sentences can be more effective in addressing offending behaviour and assisting with rehabilitation than short-term custodial sentences, leading to fewer victims and safer communities.

We have increased community justice funding by £25 million over two years, bringing the total to £159 million in 2025-26. This has increased the use of alternatives to custody and supports a range of community justice services, including diversion from prosecution, alternatives to remand and community sentencing.

Looking ahead, we have also established an independent Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission, with final recommendations to be presented to the Scottish Government by the end of this year to help ensure that Scotland has a sustainable prison population over the longer term. This important work will consider how imprisonment and community-based interventions are currently used and what improvements can be made in dealing with offending behaviour in an effective and proportionate manner.

Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service are independent, operationally and constitutionally, from the Scottish Government.

The rising and increasingly complex prison population remains a major challenge as it does across the UK, and we are taking sustained action to reduce it. This includes the Prisoners (Early Release) Scotland Act 2025 which changes the point of release for some short-term prisoners and regulations to widen the use of home detention curfew. Additional funding of £25m over two years has been provided to increase the capacity of community justice services to support a sustained increase, where appropriate, in the use of alternatives to custody. This brings the total funding for community justice to £159m in 2025-26.

We have also established the independent Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission to review how custody and community-based interventions are used, with a focus on reducing crime, supporting rehabilitation, and ensuring a sustainable prison population. Final recommendations will be delivered by the end of 2025 and will inform further action in this area.

The health, safety, and wellbeing of everyone who lives and works in Scotland’s prisons is a priority for this government and the Scottish Prison Service.

We have taken a range of actions in relation to the rising and increasingly complex prison population. This includes the Prisoners (Early Release) Scotland Act 2025 which changed the automatic early release point for most short term prisoners from 50% point of their sentence to 40% (with exclusions for those serving sentences for domestic abuse/sexual offences) and regulations to widen the use of home detention curfew.

The Scottish Prison Service is maximising the use of space available within its estate supported by a 10% increase their resource budget, bringing this to £481.5 million in 2025-26. We have also increased community justice funding by £25m over two years, bringing the total funding to £159m in 2025-26.

We will continue to progress a range of actions with justice partners to support a sustainable reduction in the prison population.

The recruitment and deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable. Police Scotland keeps retirement rates under review to ensure that new officer recruitment intakes are underpinned by workforce planning data. Since the beginning of 2024 Police Scotland has welcomed around 1,500 new officers, to ensure sustainability of the workforce.

The Chief Constable has made it clear that frontline strength goes beyond an overall officer headcount. Police Scotland’s Three-year Business Plan 2024-2027 sets out an ambitious programme of workforce modernisation, reducing back-office duplication.

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.