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The Scottish Government is aware that supplies of some attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) medicines continue to be intermittent. The supply of medicines, including those for the treatment of ADHD, and the associated legislation are a reserved matter for the UK Government, and we continue to engage with them on these supply issues.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO) for Scotland is a member of the UK-wide Medicines Shortage Response Group (MSRG). The MSRG has been set up to identify and co-ordinate responses to medicines shortages across the UK and provides advice to clinicians on alternative therapeutic options as appropriate. Prescribers and pharmacists have access to a medicines supply tracking tool which provides advice on each shortage, including alternative treatment options.

The NHS in Scotland has robust processes in place to manage supply issues when they do arise and normally there are alternative products which can be prescribed and dispensed. Scottish Government officials are working closely with all Health Boards and other stakeholders to help manage the supply disruptions with ADHD medicines and provide support when needed.

The CPO held a roundtable meeting with key stakeholders in Scotland in November 2024 to better understand the impact of ADHD medicine shortages locally and to determine if there is any further action that can be taken to strengthen our response. Following the meeting the CPO wrote to Health Boards to provide further background on medicines shortages more generally, how they are managed, and to clarify the current position on ADHD prescribing.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

However, we acknowledge that work is needed to improve the quality of data on neurodevelopmental support and services, including a better understanding of current levels of need and the level of support people currently receive.

We are working with Health Boards and local authorities to improve our understanding of available data, and how this could be used to support improvements for adults, children and families.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39413 on 6 August 2025. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39413 on 6 August 2025. 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 directly allocated £123.5 million to NHS Boards and IJBs for the Enhanced Mental Health Outcomes Framework in 2025-26. This provides a single, flexible funding stream to support continued improvements and better outcomes across a range of mental health and psychological services in line with the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. This includes funding for adult and child neurodevelopmental services, including services providing ADHD assessments.

In addition to investment through Health Boards, we will also be providing £500,000 additional funding in 2025-26 to improve access to neurodevelopmental support for children and young people, including for ADHD assessments. This is in addition to £250,000 of funding in 2024-25 to improve neurodevelopmental assessment and support for children and young people, including improving access to ADHD assessments.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with all health boards regarding their provision of support for neurodivergent people, including those with ADHD.

We are working closely with Health Boards and local authorities towards implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People in full. The Scottish Government is also working with the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to develop national Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways.

We acknowledge that work is needed to improve the quality of data that we have on neurodevelopmental support and services, including for ADHD. We are continuing to work with Health Boards and local authorities to improve our understanding of what data is available, and how this could be used to support improvements.

The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the overall policy direction of health services, and for working with and funding NHS Boards and local authorities to ensure they plan and deliver appropriate local services. However, it is the responsibility of local Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to put in place services to meet local needs, including assessment and access to treatment and support for ADHD.

Health Boards and HSCPs are accountable for the delivery of their services locally. The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 and supporting legislation, provides a specific right for people to make complaints, raise concerns, make comments and give feedback. The Act also places a duty on NHS Boards to thoroughly investigate and respond to any concerns raised, to take improvement actions where appropriate and to share learning from feedback received. When a person has concerns about their treatment or care, this should be addressed at a local level through the NHS complaints handling procedure. When that is not possible, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) is the second and final stage in the complaints process.

Scottish Government officials also engage regularly with Health Boards and HSCPs to discuss the delivery of services.

The National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People sets out the seven standards for all services to support children and young people with neurodevelopmental support needs, including ADHD. The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans to publish specific minimum standards for ADHD post-diagnostic support.

I recognise that there has been a significant increase in children and adults seeking ADHD assessments across Scotland, and that this is creating challenges for a range of services.

The Scottish Government is working with the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to develop national Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways, building on the pilots we funded in four NHS Board areas and the subsequent learning and recommendations.

We are also continuing to work with NHS Health Boards, including NHS Ayrshire and Arran, and local authorities to support implementation of the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People. We have recently undertaken a review of the implementation of the Specification and established a new Neurodevelopment Taskforce to drive forward identified recommendations.

In addition to investment through Health Boards, we will also be providing £500,000 additional funding in 2025-26 to improve access to neurodevelopmental support for children and young people, including for ADHD assessments. This is in addition to £250,000 provided in 2024-25, which funded a range of individual projects to improve neurodevelopmental assessment and support for children and young people, including projects that support ADHD diagnosis.

The Scottish Government does not currently have any plans to publish a national ADHD strategy.

However, the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence (LDAN) Bill consulted on proposals to introduce a National Strategy for Learning Disabilities and Neurodivergence, supported by local strategies and/or local delivery plans and underpinned by Statutory Guidance. Proposals also included requirements for regular reviews of both national and local strategies, the involvement of lived experience in the development of these strategies and an accountability mechanism to measure effectiveness of strategies.

We have been committed to taking a human rights-based approach to this legislation. This means that the consultation was fully co-designed with people with lived experience via the Lived Experience Advisory Panel (LEAP).

The public consultation closed on 21 April 2024 and received nearly 900 responses during the four months that it was open. This demonstrates the relevance and importance of this legislation for the people of Scotland.

The Scottish Government is continuing work to develop the proposals for the LDAN Bill, and is committed to publishing draft provisions. As before, we will work in partnership with the LEAP members whose support has been invaluable, and the LEAP will be at the heart of our process. In addition, we will meet with individual organisations with an interest whenever that is helpful.