We note the report and that many of themes explored align well with themes identified in the recently published Islands Connectivity Plan.

Regarding the governance recommendation Scottish Ministers have not taken any decisions at this stage on potential further reforms to the governance of Scotland’s ferry bodies. Work to consider all available options is ongoing, and no approach has been ruled out.

We recognise the importance of clear communication, particularly during times of disruption. As part of the CHFS3 grant agreement, CalMac will be preparing a Customer service and accessibility plan and a disruption management plan to consider these matters further.

We also recognise the importance of consultation highlighted in the report and agree that it is vital to hear from a wide range of voices. Ministers, Transport Scotland officials, CalMac and CMAL will continue to engage with island communities, businesses, staff, trades unions and wider stakeholders across the network on new policy, timetables and projects to fully understand the wider range of challenges and opportunities as we invest to sustain and enhance services.

Regarding the governance recommendation Scottish Ministers have not taken any decisions at this stage on potential further reforms to the governance of Scotland’s ferry bodies. Work to consider all available options is ongoing, and no approach has been ruled out.

The immediate priority is the successful delivery of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS3) contract, which commenced on 1 October 2025, and the introduction of six new major vessels into service. These measures are essential to strengthening resilience and improving the reliability of services for island communities.

I attended the 44th British-Irish Council meeting held in the Vale Resort, Cardiff, Wales on 5 December.

The summit was hosted by the First Minister of Wales and attended by ministers from across the UK and Ireland. The Prime Minister attended, as did the Taoiseach and Tnaiste, the First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Chief Ministers of Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

The theme of this year’s summit was a creative future: unlocking the potential of the creative industries across these islands.

The main summit plenary provided an opportunity to highlight the strength of Scotland’s creative industries as well as outline the Scottish Government support extended to our creative sector.

During the main plenary discussion on latest political developments, I took the opportunity to restate the Scottish Government’s ongoing concerns over the intolerable situation in Gaza.

I also welcomed the UK government’s headline agreement with the European Union, while making clear that further progress was required to address trade barriers and promote freedom of movement.

Ahead of the main summit I held bilateral meetings with the Tnaiste and Irish Trade Minister (Helen McEntee).

We discussed the close relationship between Scotland and Ireland; whisky tariffs and the United Kingdom’s new approach to the European Union.

I also held a wide-ranging discussion with the Prime Minister, during which I raised the impact of the UK Budget on Scotland’s oil and gas and renewables sectors and pressed for immediate action on the Energy Profits Levy.

I also discussed the future key economic infrastructure including Grangemouth and Mossmorran, and pressed for an update on UK-US Trade negotiations including the tariff on whisky.

Finally, I welcomed the recent UK Government announcement on the lifting of the two-child benefit cap, noting that this would allow the Scottish Government to further deliver on our commitment to address child poverty.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at: www.britishirishcouncil.org/resources/

44th British-Irish Council Summit

Vale of Glamorgan, Wales

5 December 2025

Communiqué

The British-Irish Council (BIC) held its 44th Summit meeting today, Friday 5 December 2025, hosted by the Welsh Government in the Vale of Glamorgan, Wales.

The theme of the Summit was A Creative Future: Unlocking the Potential of the Creative Industries Across These Islands. The meeting was chaired by the Rt Hon Eluned Morgan MS, Prif Weinidog Cymru (First Minister), Welsh Government.

A Creative Future: Unlocking the Potential of the Creative Industries Across These Islands.

The Summit plenary focussed on Member Administrations’ respective screen sectors. Leaders discussed the importance of the sector to the Creative Industries, both culturally and economically, as well as the opportunities and challenges facing the sector, and efforts by administrations to support the industry and those working within it.

Latest Political Developments

Council members reflected on significant recent developments within their administrations and discussed a number of domestic and international topics of mutual interest.

Next Summit Meeting

The Council noted that the next BIC Summit will be hosted by the Government of Guernsey in summer 2026.

BIC Secretariat

5 December 2025

Plenary Participants

I am pleased to announce that today we have published our Phase 1 report on the Future Medical Workforce Project. You can access the report here.

The report follows an extensive exploratory process to understand the challenges and opportunities for Scotland’s medical workforce over the next 15 to 20 years.

Over the past six months, we have engaged widely with the profession, we have listened to over 2,000 doctors through a national survey and 40 focus groups.

The report reflects these candid views and explores how technology, service redesign, and cultural change can help create a better future for the profession, enabling high-quality care in a rapidly changing health system. It also makes the case for meaningful change.

Phase 2 of the project will begin in January 2026 and will focus on designing solutions in partnership with the profession. This will include workstreams on training reform, workforce planning, and service redesign.

A letter will be sent to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee to provide an update on the report and to invite them, along with key stakeholders, to a cross-party discussion in the new year to review the findings and consider how best to take forward Phase 2 of the project.

This morning, I will visit the site of MiAlgae’s new bio-reactor project Grangemouth, which will see omega-3 being produced and sold at scale. The construction of the new plant at Grangemouth is being made possible as a direct result of up to £3 million in grant funding being allocated by the Scottish and UK Governments, with £1.5 million coming from the Scottish Government’s Grangemouth Just Transition Fund.

Subject to final negotiations and confirmation of public funding conditions, we are also allocating up to £6.23 million from the Grangemouth Just Transition Fund to Celtic Renewables to support pre-construction costs associated with its at scale ABE bio-refinery project at Grangemouth.

A further additional £595,000 from the Fund to be utilised by Scottish Enterprise to progress essential enabling activities that will make progress towards Grangemouth’s transition.

I look forward to providing a fuller update to Parliament later today on the progress being made by this Government to support Grangemouth’s Just Transition to Net Zero.

At an international level, APHA monitors any major, notifiable or new and emerging animal disease outbreaks worldwide on behalf of all GB administrations. We do this as an early warning to assess the risk they may pose to the UK, in particular those diseases which impact on animal health and welfare, international trade, public health or wider society. We assess the risk that diseases might come into the UK through trade in animals or animal products (legal or illegal), through movement of wildlife, or through movement of things such as insects which may carry a disease. We use these outbreak assessments to help us decide how to manage or reduce the risks.

In Scotland (and across Great Britain) the GB Dead Wild Bird Surveillance Scheme, administered by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on behalf of the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and Defra (England), allows members of the public to report dead wild birds (via a helpline and/or online reporting tool), and for a selection of these birds (based on a triage criteria) to be tested for avian influenza.

The purpose of the scheme is to capture information on the general location and strains of avian influenza that might be prevalent in GB. This data then helps administrations to build up a picture of the current risks, and shapes how they then respond in policy terms. In addition to this, NatureScot have a network of reporters across Scotland who provide early intelligence on unusual mortality levels in wild bird species.

Although the reporting of suspicion of notifiable avian disease in wild birds is not mandatory, legislative changes in Scotland in 2023 made the reporting of suspicion of the virus in mammals a legal requirement. Members of the public are therefore instructed to report such cases to APHA.

The GB Poultry Survey also carries out passive surveillance on poultry premises (including gamebird premises) across Great Britain, on a ‘testing to exclude’ basis.

Underpinning all of this, the avian virology team at APHA Weybridge hosts both the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) International reference laboratory (IRL), and the UK National reference laboratory (NRL) for Avian Influenza (AI). In doing so, APHA brings technical excellence to the global diagnostic field that is supported by active research with both applied and fundamental targets. Together, the influenza team underpin the UK capability and capacity in dealing with potential incursions of influenza with an emphasis on AI virus (AIV) and its potential threat to the UK.

When a notifiable animal disease is confirmed at a premises by the Scottish Government, the Declaration, which legally confirms the premises as an infected one, and applies disease control zones in the area, is posted on gov.scot. The gov.scot avian influenza webpage is also updated. Specific stakeholder communications are also issued to the relevant local authority, relevant MP and MSPs, and to established industry and sector stakeholders, all of whom are encouraged to share established top lines and information on the outbreak.

Registered keepers within the disease controls zones are immediately provided with information on the measures implemented within the zones by text, but then registered keepers in the Protection Zone receive a letter from APHA providing detailed information on the measures in place and are also then visited by APHA to ensure that their birds are healthy. All registered keepers in the Surveillance Zone are contacted by phone by APHA to make similar flock health checks.

To supplement these communication routes, an interactive map is available via gov.scot, displaying every disease control zone in GB, and this is further supported by a range of disease control communications that are issued via the Scottish Government X account (@ScotGovRural/Twitter) and Facebook (facebook.com/ScotGovRural), along with guidance from APHA, in the form of a zone-specific social media flyer, on their social media channels and website Animal and Plant Health Agency - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).

In 2024, Scottish Government made it a legal requirement for all poultry and captive birds (with limited exceptions) to register the location of their birds and provide contact keeper details. Keepers are also legally required to update their information on an annual basis, and to report significant changes to their flock within one calendar month.

In Scotland (and across Great Britain) the GB Dead Wild Bird Surveillance Scheme, administered by the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) on behalf of the Scottish Government, the Welsh Government and Defra (England), allows members of the public to report dead wild birds (via a helpline and/or online reporting tool) throughout the year, and for a selection of these birds (based on a triage criteria) to be tested for avian influenza.

Throughout the winter of 2025-2026 the UK National reference laboratory (NRL) for Avian Influenza will continue to test samples for highly pathogenic avian influenza and other notifiable avian diseases from this scheme (and from poultry samples collected though the GB Poultry Survey).

The purpose of the scheme is to capture information on the general location and strains of avian influenza that might be prevalent in GB. This data then helps administrations to build up a picture of the current risks, and shapes how they then respond in policy terms.

The scheme, in terms of the bird species collected aligns with the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and its published target list of wild bird species for passive surveillance of HPAI viruses. This target list of surveillance species is published to ensure that that the surveillance in wild birds conducted by European Member Countries and other European countries is carried out correctly and that the relevant species are targeted.

In addition to this, NatureScot have a network of reporters across Scotland who provide early intelligence on unusual mortality levels in wild bird species.

On suspicion and subsequent confirmation of highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) at the infected premises near Lanark, South Lanarkshire, the Scottish Government, in conjunction with the Animal and Plant Health Agency (APHA) activated its robust contingency plans. To meet its legal obligations under the Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (Scotland) Order 2006, restrictions were placed immediately on the suspect premises and, on confirmation of disease, a 3 kilometre Protection Zone and 10 kilometre Surveillance Zone were also put in place around the infected premises, thereby placing controls on poultry, poultry products and other movements which have the potential to spread disease.

Surveillance and disease tracings are being carried out as part of a comprehensive epidemiological and veterinary investigation, in order to further contain the outbreak by identifying the source of the infection and any possible onward spread.

The current compensation process in place in Scotland is that, when animals are culled, as part of Scottish Government’s response to controlling HPAI outbreaks on affected premises, compensation, as set out in the Animal Health Act 1981, is payable for healthy birds. The amount of compensation is established using the relevant valuation rate card (or for specialist stock by a specialist valuer). The valuation rate cards are updated by APHA five times per year (in November, January, March, June and September) to ensure rates are in line with average market values for the types of birds covered.

The 2025-26 Budget has allocated nearly £2.2 billion for social care and integration, representing an increase of over £1.2 billion since 2021-22. This goes almost £350 million beyond the Scottish Government’s original commitment to increase social care funding by 25% (£840 million) over the lifetime of the Parliament.

We have a clear plan to reduce delayed discharge and are investing more than £220 million to tackle waiting list backlogs, improve capacity and remove blockages that are keeping some patients in hospital longer than they need to be. This includes an initial allocation of over £20m to support Greater Glasgow and Clyde NHS’s whole system plan to improve patient flow.

Alongside the record investment committed, we are also working with local system leaders to support their health and social care improvement reforms – rebalancing care towards community, rehabilitation and prevention based services like Hospital at Home that help improve patient outcomes and prevent further hospital care.