Chamber and committees

Powers over maternity leave and pay are reserved to the UK Government and we know that in comparison to OECD countries, maternity payment rates in the UK are amongst the lowest, with less than one-third of gross average earnings replaced by the maternity benefit.

The Scottish Government recognise that families with a child under the age of one are at greater risk of poverty and that families will see a considerable reduction in their earned incomes following the first 6 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay. Support through Statutory Maternity Pay is also only payable for 39 weeks, which can leave a period where parents receive no support if they decide to stay home with their baby.

Tackling child poverty is a key priority for the Scottish Government. Our investment in Scottish Child Payment has seen more than £786 million worth of Scottish Child Payments already issued by 30 June 2024; that is money directly in the pockets of those families who need it most.

Our Best Start Grant which aims to help tackle the impacts of child poverty by giving eligible families additional money at key stages in children’s early years, adding to the family budget and avoiding the need for borrowing. Between launching on 10 December 2018 and 30 June 2024, Best Start Grant has provided over £107 million to those families who need it most.

As an employer, the Scottish Government is fully committed to providing support and flexibility to parents. This includes providing full pay for 27 weeks followed by statutory maternity pay up to 39 weeks which far exceeds statutory entitlements.

We continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across Scotland to tackle poverty by using all the levers at our disposal to encourage employers to adopt inclusive and family friendly workplace practices to support pregnant workers and new parents.

The Scottish Government does not collect this information. The local councils are independent corporate bodies, separate from the Scottish Government, and it is up to each council how it manages its risks. Under the Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland (2021), the Scottish Government strongly encourages all public bodies to seek appropriate and regular independent assurance of their critical technical controls.

The Scottish Government recognises the economic and environmental benefits of precision farming technology and has provided capital support to allow farmers and crofters to invest in precision farming equipment.

The Scottish Government is exploring the potential role of methane suppressing feed products (MSFPs) in reducing agricultural emissions, including how appropriate uptake could be recognised in future. Any future support would be and aligned with wider agricultural reform and climate policy objectives. There is currently no financial support available to farmers adopting MSFPs.

In relation to improved manure management practices, over £13 million of capital budget has been allocated in recent years to fund low emission spreading equipment, slurry store covers, slurry stores and irrigation lagoons in order to improve water quality and manure management. Directing support specifically at the slurry options was intended to help the sector comply with the new regulatory requirements introduced by the ‘The Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2021’. As these regulations will come into effect from 1 January 2026, it is no longer appropriate to offer further support for slurry storage options or to prioritise other manure management support.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital cultural, social, and economic role that livestock farming plays in Scotland’s rural and island communities which is why we remain fully committed to supporting livestock production and rural communities through our vision for sustainable and regenerative farming. While livestock numbers have declined over time, this reflects long-standing structural and economic challenges—such as profitability, labour shortages, and confidence—rather than any policy to reduce numbers. We are aware of recent reports highlighting the unique role that agriculture plays in sustaining rural life, including its contribution to community identity, cultural heritage, and local economies. These findings reinforce the importance of maintaining active farming across all parts of Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises that funding will be required to support Boards to make the transition to a reformed maternity and neonatal service. We have provided £3,570,400 to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde and £2,873,051 to NHS Lothian since 2019, a total contribution of almost £6.5m. We are in discussion with NHS Grampian about additional support required. This funding is focused on supporting Boards through the transition process. In parallel work is underway to develop a cross-Board funding model to ensure receiving units are funded for the additional care that they provide.

This is in addition to the £25m of support we have provided to all Boards for implementation of the package of recommendations within Best Start since 2018, including improvements such as introduction of transitional care, and neonatal community care, and establishment of the Scottish Perinatal Network.

Since the launch of the Energy Skills Passport in January 2025, Scottish Government officials have met regularly with the industry leads for the project, Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and RenewableUK (RUK), with approximately seven such meetings happening over the period to May 2025. UK Government officials have also attended these meetings.

Trade unions have been involved in the development of the Passport since its inception. Scottish Government officials attended a roundtable meeting about the Passport with trade unions in April 2025 – this was led by OEUK and RUK. The Minister for Climate Action met with trade unions, alongside the Just Transition Partnership, in February 2025 to discuss the Passport.

The Scottish Government is looking forward to seeing the Passport develop further in ‘Phase 2’ of its development; providing more options and pathways for workers to transition between sectors. Success in Phase 2 will require the Passport to be fully supported from a range of bodies, including the UK Government.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards to record and report incidents through their existing adverse events reporting systems and investigate as required including escalation to Police Scotland, if necessary.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland are working with all NHS boards and partner organisations to standardise the reporting of adverse events and have developed a National Framework for Reviewing and Learning From Adverse Events which was published in February 2025. We are also working with Equally Safe at Work, who have developed an accreditation programme for Health Boards, as part of the Equally Safe Strategy.

The Managing Health at work policies include guidance on preventing, reporting and dealing with violence and aggression. This staff policy is being refreshed under the NHSScotland Once for Scotland Workforce Policies Programme.

A Sexual Harassment Guide is also in development to supplement the Gender Based Violence Policy which is currently being refreshed.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37553 on 27 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Decisions on whether or not a medicine is accepted for use in NHS England are, rightly, matters for the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which appraises the clinical and cost-effectiveness of newly licensed medicines in England.

The development of the UK-wide Digital Waste Tracking (DWT) is progressing and an update which will include an implementation timeline will be released by DEFRA in June.

Local authorities are engaged with the development process. Recently, members of the DEFRA digital project team met with a selection of local authorities from Scotland in order to learn more about their specific user needs.