The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that children and young people in Scotland are safe and supported in their online lives. We recognise the significant risks posed by harmful online content and the importance of robust regulation to protect children from exploitation, abuse, and exposure to inappropriate material.

It is important to note that regulation of the internet is a reserved matter to the UK Government, however we have previously successfully engaged on its Online Safety Act to strengthen protections for young people.

We welcome the strengthened regulatory framework introduced through the Online Safety Act, which empowers Ofcom to enforce new safety standards on digital platforms.

Ministers met Ofcom in August last year to emphasise the responsibility of tech firms to deliver effective safeguards for young people online, and in June this year to discuss ongoing implementation and regulation of the Online Safety Act and possible further action. The Scottish Government has also responded directly to a number of Ofcom consultations associated with implementation of the Online Safety Act, including on Codes of Practice on Illegal Harms and Protection of Children.

We will continue to engage with the UK Government and Ofcom on the implementation of this important piece of legislation and to press for stronger protections to help keep children and young people in Scotland safe online, while allowing them to benefit from all the opportunities afforded by the online world.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the transition to net zero delivers real and lasting benefits for communities, not just in terms of infrastructure, but in jobs, investment, and local opportunity. We know Scotland’s energy transition is not just about infrastructure, it’s about people. That is why we are taking action to give communities priority access to renewable energy assets on public land that are due for repowering.

This includes enhancements to the Community Asset Transfer Scheme (CATS), which will now ensure communities receive early notification of in scope public land sites due for repowering and a dedicated 12-month window to apply before a commercial strategy is pursued.

We’re moving beyond the idea of communities as passive hosts of energy infrastructure. Our approach supports communities to become active partners, investing in, owning, and benefiting from the clean energy future.

Ten Forestry and Land Scotland onshore wind sites under 50 megawatts have been identified to pilot this approach. We are also working with public bodies to ensure communities have access to clear guidance through Local Energy Scotland and Forestry and Land Scotland. Updated information on the enhanced CATS will be available online from both organisations today. In addition, communities hoping to utilise the enhanced CATS will benefit from advice available through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES). This will ensure that communities are supported to play an active role in shaping their energy future, not just hosting developments, but helping to lead them.

The provision on community pharmaceutical care is the responsibility of territorial health boards. Each Health Board has in place a Pharmaceutical Care Service Plan which outlines how the Health Board deliver pharmaceutical services to its population, focusing on improving access, enhancing patient care, and meeting community needs through a mix of community pharmacies and integrated care. These plans help identify areas where services need improvement, ensure appropriate pharmacy access, and align with national health goals by integrating pharmacists into multidisciplinary teams.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41110 on 27 October 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41110 on 27 October 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.

As of 31 March 2025, Scotland had 164,532 hectares of land designated as Green Belt, according to the latest Improvement Service spatial data.

This represents approximately 2.1% of Scotland’s total land area.

We do not hold information on changes in the total area designated as Green Belt between 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2025.

The Scottish Government appreciates the distress that has been caused to infected and affected persons by the long wait for compensation. For this reason, the Scottish Government remains committed to the continued funding of both the Scottish Infected Blood Psychology Service and the Haemophilia Psychology Service, which offer availability for referrals alongside existing NHS services. In addition, the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme (SIBSS) has discretion to make payments for counselling grants to infected and affected persons in some specific circumstances. This discretion, in cases of applications made by a deadline of 30 October 2026, will remain in place until the full transfer of functions to the Infected Blood Compensation Authority (IBCA) is completed.

The UK Infected Blood Compensation Scheme Regulations 2025 required SIBSS, along with the other UK Infected Blood Support Schemes (IBSS), to transfer remaining members to the IBCA early next year. This was in order that the IBCA could progress payment of final compensation, which the Scottish Government regards as a priority, and assume responsibility for any ongoing support payments. SIBSS members were due to transfer to the IBCA on 1 February 2026, which would have meant that no payments could be made by SIBSS, including for discretionary grants, in respect of the period of that date onwards.

However, in July 2025 the UK Government requested that the IBSS remain open for a further calendar year, prior to the IBCA taking responsibility for making IBSS payments. In order to ensure parity across the IBSS the Scottish Government has been working since with the UK Government and the other Devolved Administrations to determine future arrangements for discretionary grants and other related matters. As a result, the Scottish Government has now published an amendment to the SIBSS scheme document, which came into force on 22 October 2025. This amendment provides SIBSS with the continued discretion to make payments for such grants up to 1 February 2027.

Given that consultation on the establishment of the IBCA and the UK-wide compensation scheme is led by the UK Government, and taking into account the fact that SIBSS continues to have discretion to make payments for counselling grants, the Scottish Government has not undertaken any risk or other assessment, or specific consultation, about the removal of such grants. The decision to set a closing date for such grants is a direct consequence of the IBCA taking on the support payment functions of the IBSS, as a result of which all IBSS across the UK will close in early 2027.

The Scottish Government has regular meetings with the UK Government and the IBCA in order to ensure as smooth a transition as possible to the new arrangements. These meetings have not included discussions about the transfer of discretionary grants, as the IBCA does not directly seek to replicate the services that have been provided by the IBSS. Rather, the UK infected blood compensation scheme – which is based on the recommendations and principles put forward by the Infected Blood Inquiry (IBI) and the IBI Response Expert Group, and informed by feedback from representatives of the infected and affected blood community – aims to provide a fair and comprehensive final compensation scheme that is quick and simple for eligible applicants to access.

The Scottish Minsters meet regularly with Haemophilia Scotland and the Scottish Infected Blood Forum to ensure that the views of infected and affected people are heard. The Scottish Ministers remain open to meeting individual SIBSS beneficiaries in order to discuss particular concerns.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 October 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41110 on 27 October 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41110 on 27 October 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.