Seòmar agus comataidhean

NHS boards were contacted on 10 January 2025 inviting feedback by 22 January on activities which could be delivered and supported by single-year funding of £4.5 million allocated on a non-recurring basis in the financial year 2025-26. A further opportunity to provide feedback was provided on 29 January with feedback invited by 4 February.

To enable a case for multi-year funding to be considered, on 2 May NHS boards were requested to provide by 16 May an indicative multi-year proposal covering the financial years 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28. Responses beyond this date were accommodated in instances where NHS boards indicated that additional time was required.

On 6 August NHS boards were requested to provide finalised versions of the indicative proposals supplied in May. Boards were provided with the option of two deadlines for returns, 18 August and 11 September.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care wrote to NHS Board Chief Executives on 18 September to confirm that NHS boards’ shares of the available 2025-26 funding would be allocated in full on a recurring basis. These shares were reflected in NHS boards’ allocation schedules for September 2025.

The Scottish Government recognises the particular impact of food price inflation on low-income households in Scotland who are already grappling with cost-of-living pressures and are disproportionately affected by rising food prices. That is why the 2025-26 budget continues to allocate over £3 billion a year to policies which tackle poverty and the cost of living, including offering free school meals to all pupils in P1 to 5 and in special schools, saving families taking those meals around £450 per year per child. The Scottish Government is investing around £6.9 billion in our social security system this year, almost £1.3 billion more than the UK Government gives to the Scottish Government for Social Security. This includes investment of £649 million in our package of benefits and payments only available in Scotland. All action putting more money in people’s pockets to be able to afford the essentials, including food.

There are a range of global and domestic factors driving food price inflation and whilst the Scottish Government is seeking to support households and local food suppliers in Scotland, there are a number of challenges that lie specifically with the UK Government. Indeed, the Bank of England cite factors such as regulatory changes and rising labour costs, which have been exacerbated by the UK Government’s increase to Employer National Insurance Contributions in autumn last year, as creating an additional financial burden on businesses, households, and the public sector. While many of the levers to address these challenges lie with the UK Government and could be managed more effectively in an independent Scotland, the Scottish Government remains committed in the meantime to using the powers available to us to support people across our nation with the cost of living pressures.

The two main pieces of dog control legislation are the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”) and the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”). In general terms, Police Scotland will deal with offences under the 1991 Act, and local authority dog wardens will deal with matters under the 2010 Act.

The training of police officers in relation to the enforcement of the 1991 Act is an operational matter for Police Scotland to consider. Equally, the training of local authority dog wardens is an operational matter for local authorities.

The Scottish Government is committed to ongoing engagement with Police Scotland, local authorities and other relevant stakeholders, in order to consider any issues, concerns, or barriers to effective dog control enforcement including in relation to how best dogs can be identified.

Earlier this year the Scottish Government provided Police Scotland with funding to assist with the training of police officers who would be tasked with identifying prohibited dog breeds. Separately, the National Dog Warden Association also received funding from the Scottish Government to help improve how dog wardens are trained.

Please see the news release issued by the Scottish Government on 8 April 2025 for details: https://www.gov.scot/news/investing-in-community-safety/.

Since the question, S6W-00259, was answered in 2021, the Scottish National Centre for Craniofacial Surgery for Children & Young People in Glasgow has introduced craniofacial endoscopic strip craniectomy with helmet therapy.

Endoscopic strip craniectomy (ESC) is a minimally invasive surgical procedure offered as a treatment choice for children who meet specific clinical criteria presenting to the craniofacial clinic under 16 weeks of age. It is estimated that approximately 20 endoscopic procedures will be undertaken in Glasgow per year.

As a result of the introduction of ESC in Glasgow, NHS National Services Scotland’s National Services Directorate, who commission the craniofacial service, have no plans to review the pathway to Great Ormond Street Hospital for craniofacial therapy.

The referral pathway guidance was last revised in 2023, reflecting the changing landscape and improving specialist expertise within NHS Scotland, and the Scottish National Centre’s understanding of the need to operate within the critical window. This guidance is next due for review in July 2026.

Further to Parliament’s approval of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget on 25 February 2025, the Scottish Government has been engaging closely with NHS boards to support the allocation of resource for new specialist support for Long COVID, Myalgic Encephalomyelitis (ME)/Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and other similar conditions.

Boards told us that having funding only for a single financial year would be a barrier to their ability to develop new support. Therefore, following further assessment in line with Scottish Government spending controls, we wrote to NHS board Chief Executives on 18 September to confirm that this funding will now be made available on a recurring basis. This commitment provides the longer term assurance necessary to enable boards to plan on a sustainable basis, and support the recruitment and retention of the skilled members of staff required for the delivery of services.

NHS boards’ shares of the available 2025-26 funding will be allocated in full on a recurring basis. From the financial year 2026-27 onwards NHS Boards will receive the £4.5 million resource annually.

In 2025-26 the £4.5 million funding is being provided in addition to remaining resource of approximately £3 million from the £10 million long COVID Support Fund (established 2022). The £10 million fund will be fully disbursed by the end of the 2025-26 financial year.

A breakdown is as follows:

We welcome the research undertaken by the Health and Social Care Alliance Scotland and Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland to provide insight in to the experiences of people impacted by long COVID. Scottish Government Officials met with both organisations at the time of publication to discuss the methodology and findings.

The reports highlight a range of themes, with a common focus on understanding of healthcare professionals, access to information and support for people presenting to primary care, and access to specialist services.

Since the research was undertaken, NHS National Services Scotland’s National Strategic Network for long COVID has supported the delivery of online education sessions for healthcare staff, including on the assessment of patients with long COVID. The Network has also developed information for NHS boards on the assessment of patients with suspected long COVID in general practice.

The 2025-26 budget includes new investment of £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for long COVID, ME, Chronic Fatigue, and other similar conditions. We wrote to NHS board Chief Executives on 18 September to confirm that this funding will now be made available on a recurring basis. This commitment provides the longer term assurance necessary to enable boards to plan on a sustainable basis, and support the recruitment and retention of the skilled members of staff required for the delivery of services.

NHS boards’ shares of the available 2025-26 funding will be allocated in full on a recurring basis. From the financial year 2026-27 onwards NHS boards will receive the £4.5 million resource annually.

In 2025-26 the £4.5 million funding is being provided in addition to remaining resource of approximately £3 million from the £10 million long COVID Support Fund (established 2022). The £10 million fund will be fully disbursed by the end of the 2025-26 financial year.

While the Scottish Government does not directly fund Fire Groups such as the South Grampian Wildfire Group (SGWG), it recognises the valuable work which such mutual aid organisations offer to support the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of wildfire suppression efforts.

The Scottish Government is working with SFRS to support full implementation of its wildfire strategy, which will see the continued roll-out this year of new equipment, vehicles and Personal Protective Equipment. The Service’s planned spend is circa £1.6 million over the course of the 3 year roll-out of its strategy and it will continue to invest in the training and upskilling of staff in the years ahead.

Scottish Ministers are holding a wildfires summit on 14 October to discuss improving our wildfire preparedness, prevention and response in the future.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. You should request this directly from the Scottish Ambulance Service.

The most recent Data (2023-24) for those who received Free Personal and Nursing Care is contained in the Scottish Government website:

Introduction - Free Personal and Nursing Care, Scotland, 2023-24 - gov.scot

Data is captured at a specific moment rather than cumulatively.

Regional disparities are not as easy to identify due to diverse demographics, geography etc which make direct comparison difficult. This is compounded by the mixed returns from Local Authorities.

Free Personal and Nursing Care is a core part of the Scottish Government’s Health and Social Care strategy the funding of which is at a record level. Our 2025-26 budget is investing £21.7bn. including almost £2.2 billion investment for social care and integration, delivering on our commitment to increase social care spending by 25% over this Parliament, two years ahead of schedule.