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We are investing £200 million across the health and social care system to increase capacity and reduce backlogs. For chronic pain services, this investment will support Health Boards to create additional appointments and strengthen the flow of patients through the system, helping more people to be seen more quickly.

We want to deliver better and more sustainable care for people with chronic pain and we have outlined the action we will take to achieve this vision in our Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery Implementation Plan.

Through our Implementation Plan we are continuing to work with partners to improve how pain services are planned and delivered. We are also working to deliver a more sustainable and knowledgeable workforce by developing specialist training routes and new resources to enhance pain education and skills amongst NHS staff.

In June 2023, as Minister for Higher Education, Further Education & Minister for Veterans, I was gifted a framed piece of ceramic artwork of the Hotel de Ville from the Mayor of Arras. The value of the gift was estimated to be in the region of £80 of which was declared on my proactive release entry available on the Scottish Government website at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts-june-2023/

In May 2025, I also received a limited edition (2/20) Nicolaus Widerberg lithograph – liberation convoy from Dag Lee CEO, the Chairman and Board Member Entrepreneurial VC and PE Investor. The value of the gift was estimated to be in the region of £340 of which will be declared on my proactive release entry for May 2025 due to be published late September.

Gifts under the value of £140 are not recorded by the Scottish Government or published. However, on this occasion the gift from June 2023 was recorded and published.

Scottish Government policy on genetic modification has not changed and our position is clear: we are opposed to the cultivation of GM crops in Scotland. We are aware of the current debate around new genomic techniques, such as gene editing, and how these relate to existing genetic modification legislation. Ministers will continue to monitor developments in the EU as they consider any next steps.

The Modernising Patient Pathway Programme - Coeliac Disease test of change report - October 2020 | Turas | Learn estimates that the incidence of diagnosed Coeliac Disease is 1% of the population in Scotland with 7-8 people remaining undiagnosed for every person diagnosed.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with long term conditions such as coeliac disease are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the person at the centre of their care.

We expect all Health Boards to fully implement the Coeliac Disease Pathway in Scotland to improve under diagnosis and improve time to diagnosis for those with coeliac disease. Our £70 million Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan is increasing capacity and supporting workforce training. This also includes a commitment to promote and implement guidelines for non-biopsy diagnosis for coeliac disease, which is expected to reduce waiting times for diagnosis for this condition.

Police Scotland is using the additional £3 million additional funding provided this year by the Scottish Government to establish a Retail Crime Taskforce made up of uniformed officers, detectives and specialist analysts. The team is targeting repeat offenders of retail crime by using analytical data and intelligence to carry out proactive enforcement activities in areas most heavily impacted.

As highlighted in Police Scotland's recently published Quarter 1 performance report, their dedicated Edinburgh team has delivered significant results for the capital’s retailers, including 234 charges brought against retail crime offenders in the first three months of operations.

In terms of Lanarkshire, the Police Scotland-led Op Dynos involves the gathering intelligence on how retail theft is used by organised criminals in the region to fund the purchase of drugs and further criminal activity. Op Dynos is part of the work of the Retail Crime Taskforce and has resulted in the arrest and charging of a man in connection with organised crime and exploitation of young people over the summer.

The Scottish Government is fully supportive of this work and I hope to see further significant results in the coming months.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Ensuring the safety of Large Panel System buildings is a shared responsibility, where there are multiple property owners in a shared residential block they hold joint accountability.

While building owners have responsibility for their properties, the matter of Large Panel System buildings has been considered by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety and discussed within the Cross Sector Building Safety Forum. The forum includes key sector leads in this area including local authorities and NHS assure. This forum helps to inform the Scottish Government approach to such buildings in Scotland.

Owners are advised to engage appropriate expert consultants to advise them using the authoritative guidance on Large Panel Systems from the Building Research Establishment and the Institution of Structural Engineers.

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.

We are continuing to give the SAWC reports on remote control static pulse devices and other aversive training devices careful consideration, along with the findings of our review into whether further provisions for wearable static pulse training devices are required, which was undertaken as part of the review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020. Once we have finished our deliberations, we will announce our timeline for a further consultation.

Delivery of ASN continues to be a joint endeavour with Local Authorities, who retain the statutory responsibility for the delivery of education and responsibility to identify, provide for and review the needs of their pupils, including those with dyslexia.

I can confirm that the joint letter with COSLA, outlining key polices, best practice and available resources on support for dyslexia in Scottish schools is due to be issued shortly to all Education Authorities.

It will issue in the context of record investment in ASL - over £1bn was spent by local authorities in 2023-24. We have continued to invest £15m each year since 2020 to help schools respond to the individual needs of children and young people and the 2025-26 budget sets out a further £29m of additional investment for ASN.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) supports open competitive grant and fellowship schemes for applied health research in Scotland. These schemes provide funding opportunities for research across the clinical spectrum inclusive of research relating to all types of cancers. Applications submitted to these schemes are assessed through independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by independent expert committees.

Funding awarded through these schemes in the years from 2022 onwards for research relating to cancer has included:

Brain cancer

2023- £299,918

2024- £340,000

2025 - £349,033

Liver cancer

2022 - £246,841

Oesophageal cancer

2025- £349,366

Pancreatic cancer

2022 - £20,000

2024 - £207,732

2025 - £348,150

No funding has been awarded for research specifically relating to lung or stomach cancer over this period.

In addition, CSO contributes financially to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in order that NIHR research programmes are open to applications from researchers in Scotland. These programmes also provide research funding opportunities for cancer research.

CSO also provides funding to support NHS Research Scotland infrastructure, enabling NHS Boards to host and participate in clinical studies and trials funded by public, charitable, and industry sectors. This includes dedicated support for a Cancer Research Network, which facilitates the setup and delivery of cancer studies across Scotland. Annual funding for this network is approximately £1 million encompassing both the NHS Research Scotland Cancer Research Network and the CSO’s contribution to the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The ECMCs are jointly funded on a 50:50 basis with Cancer Research UK.