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The Scottish Government is committed to supporting people at all stages of a potential or confirmed cancer diagnosis. We are investing in the Single Point of Contact programme so that people with a suspicion, or a diagnosis of cancer, are at the heart of all decisions and actions involving them. There are currently 12 pilot projects across Scotland testing ways of working that improve communication and provide early and ongoing support. A scalability assessment is underway which will outline how best we can scale up and expand the reach of the programme.

In addition to this, Scotland’s first Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services (RCDSs) – established within existing NHS infrastructure – are operational in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Dumfries and Galloway NHS Fife, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Borders. These are providing primary care with access to a new referral pathway for patients with non-specific symptoms suspicious of cancer. Patient navigators are embedded in RCDSs, supporting patients and their families from the point of referral while they wait for tests and results.

We are also currently working in partnership with Macmillan Cancer Support to improve the service we offer people affected by cancer through the Transforming Cancer Care Programme (TCC). This joint partnership is the first of its kind in the UK and ensures that every person with cancer in Scotland has access to a key support worker, who can provide emotional, financial and practical support to those who need it throughout their experience of cancer care.

Responsibility for delivery of Primary Medical Services rests with Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships, and delivery plans should take account of local population health need. To assist local partners, in November 2023 the Scottish Government published The General Practice Access Principles [ General Practice Access Short Life Working Group: access principles - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ]. This report sets out a clear framework for the core principles of how general medical services should be delivered. To support general practice, we have significantly expanded the primary care multi-disciplinary team workforce to support GPs and practice teams ensuring more people get the right care in the right place at the right time.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing more in General Practices servicing disadvantaged areas through targeted action like the Inclusion Health Action in General Practice project in Greater Glasgow & Clyde, with £1.3 million funding dedicated so far, and stabilising our Community Link Worker capacity in Glasgow, with £3.6 million funding already confirmed for three years from 2024-25 to 2026-27.

The Scottish Government, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) and Scottish Enterprise (SE) have approved up to £24.5m in grant funding to the Sumitomo Electric UK Ltd high voltage cable manufacturing project. This comprises £19.37m in Scottish Government funding, £4.6m from HIE and £0.53m from SE.

The project will create around 330 jobs and bring £350 million inward investment to Scotland. This major investment in the Highlands will support the delivery of the First Minister’s flagship commitment of up to £500 million over five years to anchor our offshore wind supply chain and create good, green jobs.

The grant support was essential to progressing this significant investment into our renewable energy future. As a global player in the offshore cable market, Sumitomo’s decision to invest in Scotland required support to ensure that the case for the creation a new facility in Scotland could be considered competitively alongside alternative locations across the globe. Sumitomo’s Scottish Highlands investment is their first in Europe, and an indicator of the attractiveness of Scotland as a place to do business in what is a globally competitive market.

The first 30-minute reduction in the working week for all Agenda for Change staff should start on 1 April 2024.

In the event, that a local Health Board cannot fully implement the agreement in a particular department or within a particular speciality due to service pressures, safe staffing or wellbeing staff will be recompensed accordingly until the service can accommodate their reduction. As full-time hours are reducing to 37, any time above this will be at time and a half as per the current terms and conditions.

Analysis of this initial 30-minute reduction will be used to help inform the best way to roll out the remaining reductions in the working week in future years.

Further details, including implementation guidance on each of these areas will be issued to the NHS prior to 1 April 2024.

I am grateful to both Trade Union and Employer representatives for working in partnership with us to develop these reforms to help modernise our service.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on CAMHS appointment costs across NHS boards centrally.

Every presentation to CAMHS is treated differently depending on the individual needs of the young person. It may involve a multidisciplinary response involving a range of specialists. Therefore the cost per appointment will vary depending on the range of professionals involved and the needs of the child or young person.

outlines provisions young people and their families can expect from the NHS.

The Scottish Government welcomes the model of early intervention being piloted as part of the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity (ECHC) ‘No Time To Wait’ project. We will continue to engage with ECHC as the ‘No Time To Wait’ pilot continues and look forward to learning more from the evaluation of the model in due course.

We recognise the important role third sector organisations, such as ECHC, play in supporting and improving children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing. That is why we fund a variety of organisations and services with a focus on prevention and early intervention to ensure all of Scotland’s children, young people and families receive the right care and support, at the right time, in settings which best meets their needs. In this financial year (23-24) we have invested a further £15 million into community mental health services for children, young people and families through our local authority framework to achieve this aim.

I visited the Edinburgh Children’s Hospital Charity’s (ECHC) wellbeing centre, The Hub, based in the Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Children and Young People, on 24 October 2023. During my visit I met with some of the charity’s team members and spoke to them about their new wellbeing and resilience service, The Haven, based in East Lothian.

In addition, Scottish Government officials are currently liaising with ECHC staff to arrange a visit for the Cabinet Secretary of NHS Recovery, Health and Social Care, who has recently been invited to the service.

We are monitoring progress against this commitment through the Annual Delivery Plan’s being provided by Health Boards and the Public Health Scotland annual Scottish Health Service Costs Publication. We are providing support to individual NHS Boards towards meeting the target via our routine engagement and in-year/end-year reviews. We are also developing additional guidance and advice to NHS Boards on the criteria to report against the target with the aim of providing a consistent benchmark nationally.

The Scottish Government does not collect data on how much a psychological therapies appointment costs the NHS.

Every presentation for psychological treatment represents a unique individual with their own specific needs. Treatment can often involve working with multidisciplinary professions as needed, meaning it is not possible to provide a cost per appointment.

The range of this psychological treatment is described in detail in the and how this treatment should be delivered is set out in the

Open general export licences (OGELs) are reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government does not hold data or information on OGELs.

In a wider context, the First Minister has recently asked the Prime Minister for a ban on licencing of arms exports from the UK to Israel, which would also extend to any relevant products currently manufactured in Scotland.

The UK Government publishes statistics on strategic export licences at: However, these data sets do not identify where the licenced items are produced.