The Scottish Parliament’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is seeking views on the Scottish Government’s mental health spending for 2026-27, as part of its pre-budget scrutiny.
The Committee is considering the effectiveness of current spending and whether investment is aligned with the right priorities.
In 2023-24, mental health services received £1.5 billion in funding—equivalent to 9% of total NHS expenditure. The Committee is now seeking views on whether this level of investment is appropriate, how spending decisions are made, and the extent to which preventative approaches are being supported.
The Committee is particularly interested in:
The adequacy and transparency of current mental health spending;
Evidence of preventative investment in mental health;
Whether national priorities—such as CAMHS, suicide prevention, and community-based support— are the right priorities for mental health investment and to what extent these priorities are reflected in mental health service delivery.
The Committee’s scrutiny takes place ahead of the publication of the Scottish Budget, expected later this year, and aims to inform Scottish Government’s spending decisions while they are still in development.
Speaking as the call for views was launched, Clare Haughey MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said:“It’s vital people dealing with mental health issues are able to access appropriate and effective care, support and treatment.
“That’s why we are scrutinising the funding for these services and ensuring any money spent is going to the right places to help people get the support they need.
“Through this call for views, we want to hear from individuals, professionals and organisations about what’s working, what’s not, and where investment should be focused for the greatest benefit.
“Your insights will help us hold the Government to account and ensure that mental health services are properly resourced and effectively delivered.”
Scotmid has partnered with leading cancer support charity Maggie’s and greeting card brand Hallmark to become the only retail store selling a unique and heartfelt collection of cancer support cards, helping customers show they care while supporting a vital cause.
Developed by Hallmark in collaboration with Maggie’s, the six-card range was created to provide honest, compassionate messages for those living with cancer and their loved ones.
Each card features thoughtful, emotionally resonant wording such as “I’m here for you”, “Treatment completed”, and “I loved you before cancer and love you now”, offering a powerful way to express support and solidarity during difficult times.
The collection is illustrated by Hallmark designer Lisa Ellson, who was inspired by her own cancer diagnosis and the loss of both parents. Her personal insight brings warmth and authenticity to each design, moving away from traditional ‘battle’ language and focusing instead on empathy and connection.
As part of Scotmid’s 2024–2025 charity partnership with Maggie’s, 10p from every card sold in Scotmid stores will be donated to Maggie’s, helping to fund expert, free cancer support services through their network of welcoming centres across Scotland and the UK.
Lynne Ogg, Head of Membership & Community at Scotmid, said: “We’re proud to be the exclusive retail partner bringing this beautiful and meaningful card range to our customers.
“These designs help say the things that are often hardest to express, and every card sold helps Maggie’s continue their extraordinary work supporting people through cancer.”
Hannah Harding, Partnerships Lead at Maggie’s, added: “This partnership with Scotmid and Hallmark brings together compassion, creativity, and community.
“These cards offer a way to connect and comfort – and by purchasing them in Scotmid, customers are also helping Maggie’s be there for more people when they need us most.”
The cards are available now, in Scotmid stores across Edinburgh, offering a way to support loved ones with sincerity, while raising vital funds for one of the UK’s most trusted cancer support charities
Scotland-born charity reaches global goal FIVE YEARS EARLY!
A WORLD-LEADING surgical charity is marking a major milestone in its efforts to transform global access to children’s surgery, celebrating the opening of both its 100th and 101st dedicated operating rooms.
Kids Operating Room, headquartered in Edinburgh, will hit its 100th operating room on Tuesday 24 June with the opening of a new high-tech and specialised surgical theatre in Gaborone, Botswana.
Just two days later, the team is set to open its 101st facility in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, underscoring the rapid pace and sustained impact of the charity’s work.
The charity, founded in 2018 by husband-and-wife, Garreth and Nicola Wood MBE, set a bold target to install 100 operating rooms for children in low and middle-income countries by 2030. That goal has now been met five years ahead of schedule.
Its paediatric rooms, often the only specialised spaces for children’s surgery in a country, have to date enabled more than 680,000 life-changing operations, across Africa, South and Central America, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.
Dr Kutlo Moalosi, Head of Paediatric Surgery at Princess Marina Hospital in Gaborone, said: “This new operating room will be truly life-changing for children in Botswana. It allows us to treat conditions earlier, avoid complications and help children grow up healthy and strong.
“More than that, it provides hope. It signals that children here matter just as much as children anywhere else in the world.”
Nicola Wood, Co-Founder, said: “To have completed 100 dedicated operating rooms is a deeply emotional moment for all of us.
“This is not just a number. It represents lives saved, disabilities prevented and a global movement that believes every child deserves access to safe surgery.”
The 100th operating room was made possible by the philanthropic support of entrepreneur Steve Lansdown and his wife, who have been central to the charity’s wider surgical initiative across Botswana.
Each Kids Operating Room is designed to create capacity for around 2,000 lifesaving or life-changing operations every year. The global network now enables approximately 200,000 procedures annually.
Working across more than 40 countries, Kids Operating Room has embedded permanent surgical infrastructure, trained clinical teams, and delivered vital resources to regions where paediatric surgical care was previously unavailable or inconsistent.
As well as providing the infrastructure for safe surgery, the charity ensures its operating rooms are uplifting and child-focused, with colourful murals and specialist paediatric surgical equipment designed to create a calming environment.
The charity’s approach is centred on sustainability and local empowerment. Its solar-powered surgical systems help hospitals operate safely during blackouts and its training model builds long-term capacity in each region.
Garreth Wood, Co-founder and Executive Chairman, said: “When Nicola and I founded Kids Operating Room, it was with a vision that no child should suffer or die simply because they were born in the wrong place.
“This milestone shows what can be achieved through collaboration, local leadership and relentless commitment. But we are not stopping here and have already re-focused on how we build on this success, so no child is left behind.
“We believe surgery is not a luxury, it’s a fundamental right. The children we serve deserve dignity, opportunity and care. This is the work we’ll continue to do until every nation can provide for its children independently.”
David Cunningham, Chief Executive at Kids Operating Room added: “Since we began this work, every 27 days our team has opened a new operating theatre, always in complex and/or low-resource settings.
“These are world-class, solar powered surgical facilities but before they’re deployed the hospitals have to be surveyed, the staff interviewed, the patient demand assessed, and the funds raised. Then, despite often working around conflict and natural disasters, our amazing people build amazing facilities.
“I could not be more grateful to everyone who has contributed to this success and look forward to continuing to scale that impact in the years to come.”
NHS Lothian’s Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion has, from today (25 June) fully reopened to patients. The hospital was temporarily closed in Autumn 2024 to enable urgent repair work to be carried out.
The return of services, which began in early June, has been carefully managed over a number of weeks to ensure a smooth transition.
Michelle Carr, Chief Officer, Acute Services, NHS Lothian explained, “Moving our range of diagnostic and treatment equipment, microscopes, ophthalmoscopes and devices for measuring eye pressure, along with all the lenses and instruments that our healthcare staff require for the many and varied eye conditions that individual patients may present with is nothing short of a mammoth task.
“Our teams have worked tirelessly, planning for the return of services and the reopening of the building. I would like to thank them for their professionalism and ongoing commitment to patient care.”
Patients will continue to receive tailored communications by letter, text or both with information about their appointments.
Recognising patient feedback, an element of the macular service (including some IVT) will now also be available for patients within the East Lothian Community Hospital, in addition to the service provided at the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion.
Jim Crombie, NHS Lothian Deputy Chief Executive explained, “For many patients, the move back to the familiar surroundings of the Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion, will be most welcome.
“We are incredibly grateful to all of our patients for their understanding while the building was temporarily closed and would like to thank them for the valuable feedback they provided.”
The Princess Alexandra Eye Pavilion holds an average of 152 outpatient clinics a week, using 40 consultation rooms every day. In all, there are 1,400 outpatient appointments every week and more than 130 inpatient slots.
This year the MoonWalk Scotland is going to be super special as 2025 will be the final time in Edinburgh! We are SO excited to break the news that the MoonWalk will be going on tour to a new city
With just a few more weeks to go, there is still time to enter and stride through beautiful Edinburgh by night, all whilst fundraising for an amazing cause!
Sign up now and get ready for a weekend of fun, inspiration and smiles:
Thousands more young people to benefit from August
More than 6,000 high school pupils will be eligible for free school meals from the beginning of the next school year, further supporting the Scottish Government’s national mission to eradicate child poverty.
This trial phase of the free school meals programme will see S1 to S3 pupils in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, who attend selected schools in eight local authority areas, receive a nutritious and healthy meal. This takes the number of pupils being offered free school meals in Scotland to over 360,000.
An investment of £3 million will support almost 60 schools across eight proposed areas of Aberdeen, Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Fife, Glasgow, Moray, North Ayrshire, Shetland and South Lanarkshire from August 2025.
First Minister John Swinney made the announcement during a visit to Springburn Academy in Glasgow, where 140 more pupils could benefit.
The First Minister said: “The free school meals programme is key in our national mission to eradicate child poverty, which saves families who take up the offer around £450 per eligible child per year. This next phase of the rollout will ensure that this offer is available to more families across the country.
“We know the positive impact that access to a healthy and nutritious meal can have on a pupil’s learning and achievement in school.
“This demonstrates how important the programme is in our efforts to close the poverty-related attainment gap in Scotland, ensuring that every child is given an opportunity to succeed in education regardless of their background.
“The Scottish Government will also continue its broader support to tackle the cost of the school day, including our £14.2 million School Uniform Clothing Grant and our investment in the £1 billion Scottish Attainment Challenge.”
HOLYROOD’s Health, Social Care and Sport Committee is launching an inquiry into treatment pathways and support for Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
The inquiry aims to:
Understand why waiting times for diagnosis and management of ADHD and ASD are reportedly long, including the drivers of increasing demand;
Understand how these conditions are diagnosed and managed;
Examine the impact of high demand and delays on individuals and healthcare staff;
Explore solutions to improve capacity of services, referral pathways and support.
Both ADHD and ASD are neurodevelopmental conditions. ADHD is characterised by a group of symptoms that includes difficulty in concentrating, hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour, while Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a lifelong developmental condition that affects the way a person communicates, interacts and processes information.
As of March 2025, there were 42,530 children waiting for neurodevelopmental assessments in Scotland (across all health boards except NHS Grampian, who could not provide data).
The Committee is asking individuals and their families to share their experiences of accessing pathways to treatment and support for ADHD and ASD. They also want to hear from individuals who work supporting those with ADHD or ASD.
As part of the inquiry, the Committee will also be writing to relevant organisations directly to seek their views.
Clare Haughey MSP, Convener of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee, said: “Our Committee is launching this inquiry because we are concerned by reports of long waits for neurodevelopmental assessments in Scotland.
“Data from Scotland’s health boards shows that eight NHS boards currently report waiting times exceeding three years for these conditions.We want to learn what is causing these delays, explore potential solutions and find out ways to improve treatment and support for individuals with ADHD or ASD.
“We’re keen to hear personal experience of any issues faced in terms of diagnosis, waiting times and access to care and support. We also welcome any positive experiences and examples of good practice which could potentially be rolled out across all of Scotland’s NHS health boards.
”The insights we gather will be a vital element of our scrutiny and will help to inform the questions we pose to support organisations, healthcare providers and the Scottish Government in future evidence sessions.”
Review recommendations will benefit patients, staff and students
People affected by mental health issues can expect higher and more consistent standards of care following the publication of Scotland’s Mental Health Nursing Review.
The Review outlines ways to enhance and further support the mental health nursing profession. The paper was developed by mental health nurses and students, academics, with support from carers and people accessing mental health nursing care.
The Review makes a total of 24 recommendations including:
ensuring people accessing services have meaningful involvement in their mental health nursing care
improving support for newly qualified mental health nurses and sharing best practice
considering specific education needs for rural and island settings
improving access to post-registration learning for mental health nurses across all sectors
A new Mental Health Nursing Review Implementation Group will be established to ensure effective collaboration, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of the Review actions.
Mental Wellbeing Minister Tom Arthur said: “Through their expert care, compassion and dedication, mental health nursing staff make a significant and positive impact to people’s health and wellbeing every day.
“The Review focuses on their unique role, and it will ensure the profession is supported and empowered to drive the enhancement of mental health and wellbeing services now, and in the future.
“I want to thank all the mental health nursing staff and students, academics, carers and those people accessing care who engaged with and supported this work.
“I am looking forward to working collaboratively to deliver the ambition of ensuring Scotland is the best place for mental health nursing to flourish and where people live longer, healthier and more fulfilling lives.”
Chair of Scotland’s first Mental Health Nursing Review, former Chief Nursing Officer, Professor Alex McMahon said: “It has been an honour as a mental health nurse to have chaired the review and to have heard from mental health nurses and those that represent people who use services across Scotland.
“The report and its recommendations, mean that patients and mental health nurses who deliver services now and, in the future, will benefit from the reforms.
“It will be important to ensure these recommendations are implemented, and one aspiration I and others share is that we will attract and retain even more people into undergraduate nursing degree programmes.
“I believe being a mental health nurse, is one of the best and most fulfilling careers you can chose.”
Mark Richards, Associate Chief Nursing Officer said: “Our Mental Health Nursing Review highlights the vital role mental health nurses play in supporting the mental health and wellbeing of the people of Scotland.
During our work on the Review, we heard that mental health nurses are at the heart of care delivery and that their relational expertise often has a transformational impact on people’s lives.
“Mental health nurses told us they are proud of the work they do. They strive every day to deliver compassionate, high-quality care, and to work with people who need expert support to enable recovery and promote wellbeing.
“This Review is important in advancing the contribution of mental health nurses and will help ensure we have a profession that is skilled, well supported and sustainable – now and for many years to come.
“It was collectively produced by our mental health nurses in Scotland, and I look forward to us working together to deliver our ambitions.”
Darren Fullarton, Associate Nurse Director for NHS Ayrshire and Arran and Chair of the Mental Health Nurse Leads Group for Scotland, said: “The national review of mental health nursing recognises and celebrates the important role that mental health nurses play in their support and compassionate care for people experiencing mental health issues.
“The National Mental Health Nurse Lead Group are delighted to have had the opportunity to support this significant piece of work which captures views from those with lived experience, families and carers and from mental health nurses themselves to develop an ambitious vision for mental health nurses that exemplifies our commitment to care, compassion and connection.”
