First Minister’s Question Time – in the Scottish Parliament at on 9 October 2025.
Brian Whittle
Conservative
To ask the First Minister what the Scottish Government’s response is to reports that the mental health budget has been reduced in the 2025-26 autumn budget revision. (S6F-04374)
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
The budget remains as originally published at £270.5 million.
Brian Whittle
Conservative
I thank the First Minister for that answer, but the situation speaks to a wider problem across health and social care, namely that it is verging on impossible to follow the path from a Scottish Government spending commitment to the front-line support that it is intended to provide. Audit Scotland and the Fraser of Allander Institute have repeatedly warned that the complex and convoluted methods that are used by the Scottish Government are barriers to effective public scrutiny, and now organisations that are directly impacted by that funding are seemingly unable to determine how or even if the money that was promised will reach them.
As Scotland’s Mental Health Partnership has said, transparency is essential. The First Minister might be able to explain where those tens of millions of pounds of public money are when he has a briefing note in front of him, but how does he expect the public, the organisations that rely on it and those who scrutinise the Government to do the same?
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
I think that transparency and clarity were in my original answer; the budget remains as originally published at £270.5 million. I understand the importance of the issue and the significance that Mr Whittle attaches to all of that, but I simply make the observation that it is interesting that Mr Whittle is interested in the budget of £270.5 million for mental health support, but he was not interested enough to vote for the budget when it came to Parliament. It is all very well to come here and complain about budgets, but people have got to vote for them for them to be spent in the community in the first place.
Paul Sweeney
Labour
Dr Pavan Srireddy, the vice-chairman of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, has described the autism and ADHD waiting time scandal as “a public health emergency”. Will the Scottish Government fulfil its commitment to spend 10 per cent of the national health service budget on mental health by the end of this parliamentary session, so that those who are trapped on waiting lists will have some reassurance that they will get the support that they need?
John Swinney
Scottish National Party
The Government is on track to fulfil that commitment.
Question Time is an opportunity for MPs and Members of the House of Lords to ask Government Ministers questions. These questions are asked in the Chamber itself and are known as Oral Questions. Members may also put down Written Questions. In the House of Commons, Question Time takes place for an hour on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays after Prayers. The different Government Departments answer questions according to a rota and the questions asked must relate to the responsibilities of the Government Department concerned. In the House of Lords up to four questions may be asked of the Government at the beginning of each day's business. They are known as 'starred questions' because they are marked with a star on the Order Paper. Questions may also be asked at the end of each day's business and these may include a short debate. They are known as 'unstarred questions' and are less frequent. Questions in both Houses must be written down in advance and put on the agenda and both Houses have methods for selecting the questions that will be asked. Further information can be obtained from factsheet P1 at the UK Parliament site.
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