The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the overall policy direction for neurodevelopmental services, and for working with and providing funding to local authorities and NHS Health Boards to ensure they plan and deliver appropriate local services. It is for local authorities and local NHS Boards to decide how they implement these policies to ensure that their local population have the highest quality of care, support and treatment at the right time and in the right place.

For neurodevelopmental pathways, the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People sets out the standards for all children’s services to follow in delivering neurodevelopmental support to children and young people, including education authorities. Support should be provided on the basis of need, and at the earliest opportunity, through a multi-agency approach.

Also, under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004, education authorities have duties to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. An additional support need can arise for any reason. No diagnosis is required in order for support to be provided.

The NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework (formerly known as the Performance Escalation Framework) has existed in its current form with five separate stages since 2016. A description of the Framework and the current position on territorial NHS Boards who are receiving formal support and scrutiny within the Framework is provided at:

www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-scotland-support-and-intervention-framework/

Please see the following table that covers on how many occasions territorial NHS Boards have been receiving formal support and scrutiny (that is, at Stage 3 or above on the Framework) since 2016. There were alternative arrangements in place from 1999 to 2016 to manage key risks to delivery in territorial NHS Boards and ensure enhanced support, scrutiny, oversight and intervention, where appropriate.

The Scottish Government does not have any plans to ban first-cousin marriages in Scotland.

Waste collection and recycling services are a matter for individual local authorities and which strategy they adopt is entirely up to them. Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities, separate from the Scottish Government. As long as they act lawfully, it is up to each local authority how it manages its day-to-day business and decision making processes including on how to collect and process waste.

The Scottish Government liaises regularly with SEPA and local government representatives regarding waste contingency challenges. As part of ongoing liaison, Scottish Government was informed about the reported shutdown and reopening of the NESS incinerator in Aberdeen and actions taken by councils to mitigate any disruption of waste management services. Based on available information, Scottish Government’s understanding is that waste collections remained unaffected.

The Scottish Government is responsible for setting the overall policy direction for neurodevelopmental services, and for working with and funding NHS Health Boards and local authorities to ensure they plan and deliver appropriate local services. It is for local NHS Boards and local authorities to decide how they implement these policies to ensure that their local population have the highest quality of care, support and treatment at the right time and in the right place. This includes carrying out the required impact assessments.

Individual health boards are responsible for the management of their waiting lists. Boards are expected to ensure that their approaches to service delivery are consistent with national guidance, including the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People. The Specification complements and sits within the Getting It Right for Every Child approach, and reflects the principles of UNCRC.

Energy from waste emissions were expected to rise in the short-term as a result of preparations for the upcoming ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste. As part of these preparations, a portion of currently landfilled waste is diverted to incineration, resulting in an increase in incineration emissions.

This is expected to be accompanied by a larger longer-term decrease in emissions from the waste sector as a whole due to lower landfill emissions, driven by the ban on biodegradable municipal waste going to landfill in Scotland.

The independent review found that incineration's current place within the waste hierarchy is correct, meaning that overall, it is preferable to other forms of residual waste treatment, such as landfill but made clear recommendations around limiting future capacity and decarbonisation of energy from waste.

As set out in Action 2.2 of our Biodiversity delivery plan 2024 to 2030, the target date for development of the Register of Ancient Woodlands is mid-2027.

The ‘Community Energy Generation Growth Fund’, administered through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES), was first launched in 2024 and supports community groups to develop their own renewable energy projects, including wind and solar PV projects.

Since inception, no funding awarded through the ‘Community Energy Generation Growth Fund’ has been paid back. This is because CARES does not issue grant funding as an upfront lump sum. Instead, funds are only released upon receipt of a valid claim, backed by appropriate evidence. As a result, the scenario of having to recover funds from recipients has not arisen.

The Scottish Government published its response to Dr Colin Church’s second and final report of the Independent Review on the Role of Incineration in Scotland’s Waste Hierarchy (the Review) on 5 May 2023, which focused on options to decarbonise the residual waste infrastructure in Scotland.

In its response, the Scottish Government accepted Recommendation 17, that the Scottish Government and SEPA should put in place by 2025 robust arrangements to stop fossil-based plastic from being incinerated in Scotland from the beginning of 2030, except where required for hazardous waste disposal”, in principle. While the Scottish Government agrees that phasing out the incineration of plastic waste is key to decarbonisation, our approach must be balanced, as banning it outright could lead to an increase in inappropriate disposal.

Our Circular Economy and Waste Route Map (published in December 2024) sets out a series of ongoing and future policy commitments to deliver increased reuse and recycling in accordance with our Circular Economy goals and help drive the reduction in fossil-based plastics going to incineration.

This includes policies such as banning single use plastic items (came into force in 2022), the implementation of the packaging extended producer responsibility scheme (first payments in November 2025), the proposal to expand the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to include fossil-based emissions from incineration (from 2028) and a new, statutory household recycling Code of Practice to be co-designed with local authorities and other stakeholders (to be available for public consultation by the end of 2026).

We are also making one of the biggest investments in a generation to modernise recycling in Scotland through the Recycling Improvement Fund. A total of £66.6 million has now been allocated to 27 local authorities for 48 projects to increase the quantity and quality of recycling across Scotland. We are funding a range of improvements, including boosting Scotland’s capacity to recycle problematic materials like plastic films, which must be collected from households and businesses by 31 March 2027.

The Scottish Government published its response to Dr Colin Church’s second and final report of the Independent Review on the Role of Incineration in Scotland’s Waste Hierarchy (the Review) on 5 May 2023, which focused on options to decarbonise the residual waste infrastructure in Scotland.

In its response, the Scottish Government accepted Recommendation 17, that the Scottish Government and SEPA should put in place by 2025 robust arrangements to stop fossil-based plastic from being incinerated in Scotland from the beginning of 2030, except where required for hazardous waste disposal”, in principle. While the Scottish Government agrees that phasing out the incineration of plastic waste is key to decarbonisation, our approach must be balanced, as banning it outright could lead to an increase in inappropriate disposal.

Our Circular Economy and Waste Route Map (published in December 2024) sets out a series of ongoing and future policy commitments to deliver increased reuse and recycling in accordance with our Circular Economy goals and help drive the reduction in fossil-based plastics going to incineration.

This includes policies such as banning single use plastic items (introduced in 2022), the implementation of the packaging extended producer responsibility scheme (first payments in November 2025), the proposal to expand the UK Emissions Trading Scheme to include fossil-based emissions from incineration (from 2028) and a new, statutory household recycling Code of Practice to be co-designed with local authorities and other stakeholders (to be available for public consultation by the end of 2026).

We are also making one of the biggest investments in a generation to modernise recycling in Scotland through the Recycling Improvement Fund. A total of £66.6 million has now been allocated to 27 local authorities for 48 projects to increase the quantity and quality of recycling across Scotland. We are funding a range of improvements, including boosting Scotland’s capacity to recycle problematic materials like plastic films, which must be collected from households and businesses by 31 March 2027.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

From 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025 the longest waiting time for a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) result was 192.7 processing days. This was because the case required information from a third party to complete. This case was completed in November 2024.

Note 1: Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) applications from 1 April 2025 onwards, with the implementation of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020, represents: Level 2 PVG scheme disclosure (Join), Level 2 PVG scheme disclosure (Existing), Confirmation of PVG scheme membership (Join) and Confirmation of PVG scheme membership (Existing). Prior to 1 April 2025, PVG applications represents: Scheme Record Disclosure, Short Scheme Record Disclosure, Existing Scheme Record Disclosure and Statements of Scheme Membership.

Note 2: This figure relates to PVG applications completed between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025 inclusive.

Note 3: The processing time for a completed application incorporates all time between an application being received by Disclosure Scotland, through to completion with a disclosure issued to the applicant. Disclosure Scotland deducts any time which the application was suspended on our system, such as being suspended for customer contact. Weekend days are included in the number of processing days for applications, but national holidays and Scottish Government public and privilege holidays are excluded.