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As you are aware, the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry (The Inquiry) has examined the planning, design and construction of the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People and the Department of Clinical Neuroscience (RHCYP DCN) in Edinburgh. In March this year, Lord Brodie, Chair of the Inquiry, published his findings in the Inquiry’s interim report. The report details 11 recommendations based upon the research and evidence supplied in document and oral testimony at the inquiry.

Once again, I would like to express my gratitude to Lord Brodie and his Inquiry team for their dedication and diligence in gathering evidence and producing a report that has provided important lessons for those undertaking health infrastructure projects in the years ahead. I would also like to thank all the witnesses who contributed their time and effort to providing evidence to the inquiry.

The Scottish Government has, and continues to, make improvements to policies and practices, alongside our NHS partners.

One such improvement is the establishment of NHS Scotland Assure. NHS Scotland Assure provides a coordinated approach to the improvement of risk management in new buildings and health infrastructure projects across the NHS in Scotland. NHS Scotland Assure also provides assurance that the healthcare built environment is safe and fit for purpose and has improved support to Health Boards on technical matters. Their work also includes a programme of learning that is intended to enable Health Boards to assist NHS Scotland Assure in how it can better support other health boards about to go through the same process.

NHS Scotland Assure has implemented a “Key Stage Assurance Review” process, which recognises the importance of having detailed specifications, which comply with relevant Infection Prevention and Control guidance. The specifications of projects are checked and validated before any approval can be given. Now a new healthcare facility or major refurbishment cannot open unless it has received NHS Scotland Assure’s sign off.

To achieve greater clarity, NHS Scotland Assure is also standardising the approach to health infrastructure projects and associated processes, and is now preparing a consultation with health boards on the proposed changes.

I acknowledge that that process will take time and is demanding to complete, but this work is firmly rooted in the prioritisation of improvements to the outcomes and quality of health capital projects.

As part of its 2023–2026 strategy, NHS Scotland Assure is developing a framework of training and lessons learned that will be accessible to all Health Boards via a shared intranet site. This supports the Inquiry’s recommendation for more accessible, specific training and guidance to aid NHS Boards in their daily activities. The framework aims to provide expertise and evidence-based advice that helps reduce risk, supports the delivery of a sustainable healthcare service, and improves the healthcare experience across Scotland.

In addition, Infection Prevention (IPC) Workforce Strategic Plan now supports the development of a skilled and sustainable workforce; particularly in relation to Infection, Prevention and Control specialists. Alongside this, the Scottish Government have also published role descriptors for IPC staff and are engaging closely with NHS Education for Scotland and NHS Boards to support the continued development of their IPC staff.

I am also able to advise that an additional phase for the requirement for validation for revenue-funded projects means that for any future revenue-funded project, the Scottish Government will include a provision that strengthens the healthcare provider’s power to ensure that the completed facility is fit for purpose and constructed in accordance with the healthcare provider’s requirements. For capital funded projects, contracts for the construction of new hospitals now allows for validation, which will be undertaken on behalf of the health board in accordance with technical guidance.

The Scottish Government also recognises the need for a risk assessment to be implemented should there be a change in the arrangements for funding a project. The procuring NHS body, working in conjunction with the Scottish Government, will assess whether work done on the project up to that point is suitable for the revised project. The rationale for decisions taken will be formally submitted to the NHS Capital Investment Group for approval. The Scottish Government will also adjust its procurement process to accommodate a gateway meeting prior to Financial Close at which a common understanding of the health board's brief is agreed and recorded.

I agree with Lord Brodie’s recommendation that communication between Health Boards and its patient groups should be improved. I can confirm that discussions between the Scottish Government and NHS Boards are actively taking place to identify any gaps in communication planning and consider if national guidance is required. I understand much of the communication will be delivered on a one to one basis by healthcare staff direct to patients or their families. These communications plans should work effectively alongside the internal communications processes that each local health board has in place to brief staff and ensure accurate and timely information sharing.

I acknowledge the huge amount of work which is already underway by the Scottish Government and its NHS partners. I am confident that we can continue to grow and improve the areas which still require refinement so that patients and families can always feel safe in our hospitals.

In response to the Joint Budget Review conducted with the Parliament in 2022, the Scottish Government continues to improve the information available on the climate impacts of our decision-making.

This is the second year in which we have produced our enhanced taxonomic assessment of the full Budget providing a standardised approach to the classification of both resource and capital budget expenditure relative to their climate impact. We are committed to learning and improving how we do it and, while the overall approach to the taxonomy is the same as last year, to increase its rigour and robustness the key change to the process this year has been to bring in a wider range of official expertise through a more panel-based approach improving confidence in the assessment of budget lines.

The improved taxonomy methodology has been published on the Scottish Government website today. https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836916550

We have undertaken a full policy development process in order to reach a finalised position on coal extraction in Scotland, in line with statutory requirements.

Having considered stakeholders’ views and the evidence received alongside wider Scottish Government energy and climate change policies, we confirmed our preferred policy position of no support for coal extraction in Scotland in October 2022.

The preferred policy position was subject to statutory and other assessments before the policy-making process was completed, including in our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, and our National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4).

Following this comprehensive policymaking process, the Scottish Government’s finalised policy position is of no support for coal extraction in Scotland. The finalised policy statement can be viewed here: Onshore conventional oil and gas: policy position - gov.scot

Coal exploitation is a matter reserved to the UK Government, and the Mining Remediation Authority is responsible for licensing coal mining activity in Scotland. Scotland’s planning system is fully devolved to the Scottish Government. Scottish Ministers have today written to UK Ministers to set out our finalised position on coal extraction.

The Scottish Government withdrew the Scottish Good Practice Statement (SGPS) on 28 May 2025, leaving NICE Guideline NG206 as the default clinical guidance on ME/CFS. This will help provide clarity to NHS Boards as providers of care for people in their area with ME/CFS.

Work is ongoing to determine how the additional £4.5 million announced in the 2025-26 budget to deliver new specialist support for ME/CFS, long COVID and other similar conditions will be allocated to NHS boards, what conditions it will cover and the services it will prioritise. We want this money to have maximum impact and are working closely and carefully with boards across Scotland to allocate it as quickly and effectively as possible.