Chamber and committees

The Local Government funding formula provides a complex but objective assessment of need and uses the most up to date information for the full range of indicators, including biodiversity and greenspace.

To ensure people can easily identify products that are suitable for them, added vitamins and minerals, including folic acid, must be labelled in the flour’s ingredients list in accordance with food information and labelling requirements. This must also be declared when fortified flour is used as an ingredient in other food products, enabling consumers to make informed choices about the food they purchase. A 24-month transition period has been provided ahead of the regulations coming into force to give businesses sufficient time to amend their product specifications and labelling.

To maintain consumer choice and access to unfortified options, only non-wholemeal wheat flour will be required to be fortified with folic acid. This means individuals can avoid flour fortified with folic acid if they need to or choose to. These individuals will continue to be able to access products made from unfortified flour, which includes wholemeal flour, and other non-wheat products, including gluten-free products and other flour types such as soya and spelt.

A range of work is underway to ensure that people have access to healthy, affordable food. We have launched a consultation to gather views and evidence on whether capping the price of essential food items could help to improve affordability. We are also supporting local convenience stores to provide healthy, affordable options through the Scottish Grocers Federation Healthy Living Programme.

To mitigate risks in areas where static fishing gear is permitted, the Scottish Government considers the following controls necessary?

Following the recommendation by the Scottish Medicines Consortium that obesity medicines should be available for routine use within the NHS, the Scottish Government issued a national consensus statement to Health boards in September 2024.

This recommended the introduction of obesity medicines in a phased manner depending on a patient’s body mass index and any obesity-related conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with obesity experts and stakeholders from NHS health boards through a range of forums to share learning and support access to these medicines for people living with obesity in Scotland.

We are also funding the Accelerated National Innovation Adoption (ANIA) programme which offers an intensive weight management programme for remission to 3000 more people in Scotland with newly or recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes, from 2025 to 2028. A national digital Type 2 Diabetes Prevention programme is expected to launch next year which will support up to 13,500 patients with a recent diagnosis of prediabetes or a history of gestational diabetes, to prevent or delay the onset of type 2 diabetes, and up to 1,500 people diagnosed with primary hypertension.

Environmental Standards Scotland's (ESS) report published on 23 June 2026, Protecting Scotland's seafloor: an assessment of Scottish Ministers' implementation of the Marine Strategy Regulations 2010, contains ESS’ findings and recommendations relating to the Scottish Ministers’ implementation of those Regulations, including regarding the implementation of measures.

The Scottish Government is carefully considering the ESS report and will work constructively with ESS to seek to agree an appropriate action plan within the timescale suggested in the report. The Scottish Government's position on the report's findings and recommendations will be set out through that engagement and in its formal response.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02777 on 15 September 2026. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02316 on 24 August 2026. 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.

It is for Health Boards to manage the delivery of their services, including the consideration of how they allocate treatment to patients. As such we would expect health boards to consider the potential equalities and other impacts as part of implementing their weight management services based on the local eligibility criteria.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02749 on 15 September 2026. 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.

The regulation of animal use in scientific procedures, including the collection and publication of statistics, is reserved to the UK Government under the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. Responsibility for official statistics on animal procedures remains with the Home Office.

While the Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of scientific procedures conducted in Scotland, we continue to assess progress through developments in alternative methods, advances in research practices, and engagement with organisations that promote the 3Rs, such as the National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research (NC3Rs).