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The 2026-27 budget has not yet been passed by Parliament and is at draft stage. Spending plans are still being developed by policy leads but provisionally the budget will deliver £245.1 million for the Primary Care Fund which pays for various programmes and initiatives supporting general practice delivery e.g. the board employed multidisciplinary teams and GP walk-in service pilots among other measures.

All NHS Boards are required to deliver at least 3% recurring savings against baseline funding each year to support long-term fiscal sustainability. It is for individual Boards to determine how best to deliver these efficiencies without impacting patient care.

The Scottish Government’s Finance Delivery Unit (FDU) carries out three-year financial planning with NHS Boards. Board financial plans are expected in March 2026 and will provide oversight of boards planned savings for 2026-27. Future year Boards’ savings plans will continue to develop and will be agreed on an annual basis.

The FDU provides Boards with the 15 Box Grid to identify priority areas for delivering savings and securing value for money across workforce, innovation, value-based healthcare and productivity.

Public Health Scotland publishes monthly Official Statistics on Delayed Discharge in NHS Scotland. The number of people delayed for more than four weeks at each monthly census point can be found in the detailed data tables for Standard delays and Code 9 (complex) delays.

Please note, the number of people delayed for Standard or Code 9 reasons at monthly census point reflects the main reason at the census point, and reasons for delay may change during a delay episode. The number of people delayed for four weeks or more for Standard reasons at monthly census point may therefore include some people who were delayed for complex (code 9) reasons during the same delay episode.

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/delayed-discharges-in-nhsscotland-monthly/delayed-discharges-in-nhs-scotland-monthly-figures-for-november-2025

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/36782/2026-01-13_delayed_discharges_standard_delays_tables_to_november_2025.xlsx

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/36781/2026-01-13_delayed_discharges_code9_delays_tables_to_november_2025.xlsx

In Scotland, £600 is the notional study leave allocation per resident doctor in training. This allocation is a guide for resident doctors and Training Programme Directors (TPDs) rather than a spending requirement.

Study leave funding is aligned to curricular requirements and specialty competence development, not general employment-related mandatory training. Resident doctors are required to achieve competencies as set out within the relevant specialty curriculum. There is no defined list of “mandatory training” within the study leave policy.

Study leave budgets are not utilised for Once for Scotland mandatory training or for training required by employing Boards as part of local employment obligations.

The Scottish Cancer Network (SCN) is responsible for the development and review of the Clinical Management Pathway (CMP) for Breast Cancer. This provides clinical consensus to guide decision making consistently across Scotland on optimal treatment options at the various points in a patient’s pathway to support shared decision-making.

CMPs are developed through a process of collaboration and consensus, building on existing Regional Clinical Management Guidelines, reviewing and comparing current practice, and comparing existing documents and protocols in place. Evidence reviews are undertaken, with input from Health Improvement Scotland (HIS) where appropriate.

It would be for the SCN to regularly review this CMP against any updates including new evidence within the scientific literature and consider referral to the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG). The SHTG also have criteria in place to judge whether new evidence is sufficient to revise its existing recommendations.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the diagnosis and targeted treatment of breast cancer through our continued investment in genomics.

We continue to work with NHS National Service Division (NSD), as the national commissioners of genomic testing in Scotland, and stakeholders across Scotland to transform the laboratory service and ensure it can support the expansion of genomic testing needed in Scotland for patients with all forms of cancer.

This is part of our long-term approach to deliver bold and ambitious action to reform and renew our health and care systems in Scotland.

The following table lists planning applications called in by the Scottish Ministers and appeals recalled by them that are yet to be determined. It also includes the dates on which the applications were first notified to the Scottish Ministers prior to being called in, or the date the appeal was recalled. Decisions on these cases will be issued by the Scottish Ministers in due course.

The Scottish Government has no role in respect of country parks. Local authorities set up and manage most country parks using their powers under Section 48 of the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967, though the National Trust for Scotland manages Brodick and Culzean. These parks are non-statutory designations that enable local authorities to establish areas for public access and enjoyment of the countryside, and as such, some private landowners also use the country park name. Local authorities can make by-laws to regulate inappropriate behaviour within these parks.

The following table lists 8 planning applications called in by Scottish Ministers and referred to the Directorate for Planning and Environmental Appeal (DPEA) for determination which were subject to hearing session/s being held and received over the last 5 years.

The Scottish Cancer Network (SCN) continue to regularly review the Clinical Management Pathway (CMP) for Breast Cancer and consider the need for updates based on new evidence relating to the use of tumour profiling tests for patients with early breast cancer. The Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) also have criteria in place to judge whether new evidence is sufficient to revise its existing recommendations