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The Scottish Government heard the concerns raised by local government and social care providers regarding the funding challenges in relation to the uplift to the Real Living Wage in commissioned care services.

In direct response to those concerns, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government confirmed to the Scottish Parliament our intention to amend the Budget Bill at Stage 2 to allocate a further £20 million of funding to the Local Government Settlement. In tandem with the original budget commitment, that funding is sufficient to meet the uplift to the Real Living Wage in full across adult social care, children social care and early learning and childcare and highlights the benefits of open and robust engagement.

The Scottish Government heard the concerns raised by local government and social care providers regarding the funding challenges in relation to the uplift to the Real Living Wage in commissioned care services.

In direct response to those concerns, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government confirmed to the Scottish Parliament our intention to amend the Budget Bill at Stage 2 to allocate a further £20 million of funding to the Local Government Settlement. In tandem with the original budget commitment, that funding is sufficient to meet the uplift to the Real Living Wage in full across adult social care, children social care and early learning and childcare and highlights the benefits of open and robust engagement.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to ensuring people have access to advice and support for their physical and mental health, at the point they need it. We are also committed to healthcare being delivered in an integrated, person-centred way, both to improve patient outcomes and mitigate the risk of diagnostic overshadowing.

All NHS Boards in Scotland adhere to clinical guidelines and best practice when planning services, and the NHS medical workforce is trained to identify and manage risks of diagnostic overshadowing. These staff also work within their competencies and in accordance with professional practice guidance to ensure the most appropriate assessment, diagnosis and treatment is carried out. In practice, this means the healthcare workforce gives ongoing consideration to the presence and interaction between physical and mental health in order to identify and support comorbidities and mitigate the risk of diagnostic overshadowing.

Our Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy includes a priority outcome of ensuring ‘people with mental health conditions, including those with co-existing health conditions, experience improved quality and length of life, free from stigma and discrimination’. This priority has led to our associated Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan identifying groups most likely to be affected by diagnostic overshadowing, along with a range of actions to mitigate this risk. For example, by May 2024, professional learning resources were delivered for all NHS professionals working in adult services (or with adults) to help ensure our communities’ mental health and wellbeing needs are better understood and met.

Additionally our Core Mental Health Quality Standards make clear that NHS Boards should take a whole person approach to assessing and meeting an individual’s mental health needs, by considering their physical, social, communication and psychological and neuordivergent needs.

Finally, our National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions sets standards for the delivery of psychological therapies by NHS Boards. These therapies are proven to make a real difference to people’s mental and physical health. A key element of the specification is for psychological therapies to be delivered in a person-centred way and integrated way in order to improve an individual’s psychological and physical health. Positively, in 2024-25 more than 74,000 people started treatment in psychological therapies in the NHS in Scotland, with over 63% of the psychology workforce delivering therapies within mental health settings and the remaining 37% in other settings – showing how mental health needs are being identified and met across a range of healthcare settings.

A key focus of the Mental Health and Wellbeing Delivery Plan is improving the quality of life for people with mental health conditions, recognising that poorer physical health outcomes are a contributor to the mortality gap.

To achieve this, we are improving access to timely, effective, and person-centred mental health support, care and treatment, ensuring people can access the right care when they need it. Between the Scottish Government and NHS Boards, we expect spending on Mental Health to exceed £1.5 billion in 2026-27 based on the most recent cost book data.

There are a wide range of factors, including poverty, employment, financial wellbeing and housing and homelessness, that can contribute to whether a person is mentally healthy or not. That is why our Mental Health and Wellbeing strategy recognises mental health as a cross-government priority and why we are working across portfolios and with a range of partners to address the wider social determinants of mental health more broadly.

In Scotland, there is no requirement for annual physical health checks for people with mental illness. However, the Scottish Government has issued National Directions requiring NHS Boards to deliver annual health checks to people aged 16+ with learning disabilities. GPs are best placed to advise and guide people about treatment and management of symptoms relating to their mental and physical health. Routine assessment through general practice services remains the primary route for addressing concerns and we would encourage anyone, including people living with mental illness, to contact their GP whenever they have concerns about their physical or mental health.

The Scottish Government and our NHS partners are committed to ensuring everyone in Scotland has equal access to the healthcare they need. This is reflected in The Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework 2025-26, which sets out our vision to improve population health, including mental health; preventative healthcare and early intervention; and reducing inequalities.

The Scottish Equity in Screening Strategy 2023 - 2026 also outlines our commitment to improving access to screening for all, including those with mental health conditions. The screening programmes are working with all NHS Boards, screening programmes and a wide number of stakeholders to identify and address challenges patients may face.

To support this work, the Scottish Government have provided £1 million annually for national and local initiatives that reduce inequalities and improve access to screening. This funding has recently enabled NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to employ a specialist nurse to deliver cervical screening in mental health inpatient settings. Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland is also developing new guidance to improve screening access for all inpatients, including those in mental health care.

Across the NHS more generally, all patients and screening participants are encouraged to discuss any concerns or additional requirements with a relevant healthcare professional before attending appointments or receiving treatment. These must be taken account of and recorded where they have been communicated by the patient, the patient’s carer, or a medical practitioner, to ensure support can be provided throughout the entire patient pathway. This is underpinned by the Waiting Times Guidance, published November 2023, which notes that Health Boards have a duty to ensure that patients are provided with information they can easily understand, and that appropriate support is put in place as required.

Finally, Everyone should be invited every five years between the ages of 40 and 74 for a NHS health check, while people engaged with their GP’s learning disability register are entitled to a mandatory annual health check.

We cannot confirm how many times the Energy Consents Unit has contacted the Children's Rights Unit, as not all exchanges in the normal course of Scottish Government business are routinely documented.

The Energy Consents Unit requests contributions from other teams within the Scottish Government as required.

Teams across the Scottish Government can assess any impacts of their work on children and young people without routinely contacting the Children’s Rights Unit for consultation or advice.