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The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring equitable access to genomic tests associated with Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) approved medicines.

While the work of the Scottish Genomics Test Advisory Group (SG-TAG) is currently paused, processes remain in place to support test development and implementation.

Requests for new genomic testing can still be submitted via an interim process in place since October 2024. New submissions are regularly reviewed by the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine (SSNGM) horizon scanning group for consideration of next steps.

The Scottish Government continues to invest in Scotland’s genomic capabilities, and we are working in conjunction with NHS Scotland National Services Division (NSD) on a transformation programme to ensure we can commission and implement additional testing.

As part of preparations for the public consultation on the proposed Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, the Scottish Government collated existing information on how current barriers in society affect the outcomes and wellbeing of neurodivergent people. Whilst we did not secure specific data for ADHD, we identified that employment rates were 29% for autistic people compared with Scotland's national employment rate, which in 2024 was 83% for non-disabled people and 51.7% for disabled people. Responses to the consultation suggested that various barriers prevent neurodivergent adults from securing and maintaining employment, meaning that our economy is not benefiting from neurodivergent people’s skills and talents as much as it could.

Research conducted both in the UK and abroad suggests that there are further economic impacts of not providing appropriate support for neurodivergent people, including increased healthcare, education, and benefits costs.

In 2016, we committed to halving the Disability Employment Gap, outlining the initial steps that would be taken to achieve this by 2038 in A Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan, published in 2018. To improve employment opportunities for those who face many structural barriers on the labour market, we have carried forward several actions into our refreshed Fair Work Action Plan: Becoming a Fair Work Nation by 2025, published in December 2022. Input was provided by disabled people and their representative organisations.

To help improve the wellbeing of autistic adults, including those with ADHD, we invest £1 million a year through our Adult Autism Support Fund to provide community support to autistic adults, both before and after their diagnoses. In a recent independent evaluation of the current Fund, 77% of participants reported feeling more confident about the future, and 66% said that their quality of life had improved. We hope that, correspondingly, such support will help ensure that autistic adults, including those who also have ADHD, continue to experience positive outcomes in healthcare, employment, and other areas that in turn helps maximise any economic contribution that they may wish to make to Scotland.

The Genomic Laboratory Transformation Programme, initiated in 2022, is ongoing and has not yet been completed.

In March 2024 the NHS Scotland National Services Division (NSD) transformation team developed a two-year delivery plan to guide the next phase of transformation, running through to 2026.

The programme aims to deliver a more efficient, equitable and sustainable genomic laboratory service across Scotland. Key areas of focus include service delivery models, workforce planning, bioinformatic support, data and digital infrastructure and financial sustainability.

The Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine (SSNGM) is currently working to document and address these gaps as part of the genomic medicine strategy, with the aim of improving alignment and equity of provision across the UK.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that the increase in children, young people and adults seeking neurodevelopmental support and assessment across Scotland is creating challenges for services.

Scottish Government officials are engaging with Health Boards across Scotland to understand the challenges that they are facing in providing assessment and support services for neurodivergent adults, and to discuss potential solutions.

We fund the National Autism Implementation Team to support NHS Boards to develop, enhance and redesign local neurodevelopmental services for adults.

While the Scottish Government has overall policy responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, decisions on how to deliver services to best meet the needs of the local population are the responsibility of NHS Boards and their partners.

The 2025-26 Budget which has been approved by Parliament will provide a record £21.7 billion for Health & Social Care next year. This includes £16.2 billion for health boards - a 3% cash uplift and real terms increase on their baseline funding. It will also deliver record funding of over £15 billion for Local Authorities, a further 4.7 per cent real terms increase.

We have allocated £123.5 million to Health Boards this year on a recurring basis through the Enhanced Mental Health Outcomes Framework which plays a part in improving the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services, including neurodevelopmental services for children, young people and adults.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The selection of countries and sites for global clinical trials for new cancer treatments is dependent on a complex range of factors, including the wider regulatory environment.

The Scottish Government and the Chief Scientist Office work closely with NHS Research Scotland and with the UK National Institute for Health and Social Care Research to ensure that Scotland continues to offer the best environment for clinical research and cancer clinical trials.

I recognise that there has been a significant increase in adults seeking ADHD and autism assessments across Scotland. I recognise how important assessment and support through local services can be and I expect NHS Boards to deliver appropriate local services to ensure that their local population have the highest quality of care and treatment at the right time and in the right place.

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 learnings and recommendations. We are engaging with a wide range of interests in this work and we have also met with the Royal College of Psychiatrists to discuss their recent proposals.

We are continuing to work with NHS Health Boards and local authorities to improve services and support for children and young people, including supporting them to implement the Neurodevelopmental Service Specification for Children and Young People, underpinned by GIRFEC and encouraging multi-agency working. To support this, in addition to investment through Health Boards, we have provided over £1 million to fund five Neurodevelopmental tests of change. We have also provided further funding, totalling almost £250,000, in financial year 2024-25 to fund a range of individual projects to improve neurodevelopmental assessment and support for children and young people.

The Scottish Genomic Test Directory for Cancer is reviewed annually. The next update is expected to be in September 2025.

As part of the transformation programme, the entirety of the cancer test directory has been mapped to the SNOMED Clinical Terms disease ontology as part of a wider programme of data standardisation across the laboratory service.

The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) publishes annual statistics on referrals. Data on referrals going back to 2003-2004 is available on the SCRA website here: Online Statistical Dashboard - SCRA.

If this is not sufficient for your purposes, and you require data going back further, requests for this information can be directed to SCRA.