We have made £3 million available this year for Police Scotland specifically to work alongside retailers to tackle crime affecting their sector, which costs businesses millions each year and has a knock-on effect on the prices we pay in the shops. This forms part of a record investment of £1.64 billion for policing this year – an increase of £90 million on 2024-25.

Police Scotland’s action plan aims to tackle retail crime through a number of specific actions on how to prevent such incidents and pursue those responsible. The newly-established Retail Crime Taskforce will target repeat offenders of retail crime by using analytical data and intelligence to carry out proactive enforcement activities in areas most heavily impacted.

The team will also engage with retailers to identify ways in which they can enhance security and crime prevention measures in place and reduce incidents occurring.

The Scottish Government’s investment will also be used to develop diversionary programmes aimed at reducing reoffending and youth offending, with a focus on the role of organised crime.

We have also provided over £6 million to implement actions within the Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland, since 2023, which specifically seeks to prevent violence from happening and if and when it does occur, to reduce the harm.

The Scottish Government continues to monitor and consider a range of evidence in relation to the energy sector. We have commissioned and published independent analysis on Scotland’s Energy System and Just Transition, which includes consideration of offshore energy supply chains during the transition.

The regulation of the offshore oil and gas sector, including in relation to decommissioning, are matters currently reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government has committed or already invested £87m in Grangemouth. This includes the newly established £25m Grangemouth Just Transition Fund which will support near term low carbon opportunities that have emerged following the conclusion of Project Willow. A table outlining the full breakdown of the £87m sum has been included in the following table.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38932 on 22 July 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.

The Scottish Government remains committed to making free school meals available for all children in primary schools, saving families taking those meals approximately £450 per child, per year.

Currently all primary school pupils in primaries one to five, all children in special schools, and eligible pupils in Primary 6 through to Secondary 6 can already benefit from free school meals during term-time in Scotland. This policy saves families taking those meals approximately £450 per child, per year.

We are focused on delivering the latest phase of our free school meal expansion programme, taking a targeted approach to support those children most in need in Primary 6 and 7 whose families are in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment. This phase began in February of this year. In addition, our test of change policy offering free school meals to pupils in secondaries 1 to 3 whose families receive the Scottish Child Payment will run at selected schools across 8 local authority areas from August 2025 to July 2026.

In order to maximise uptake of free school meals, we have established data sharing arrangements between local authorities and Social Security Scotland. The Social Security Information-sharing (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 were approved unanimously by the Scottish Parliament on 30 April 2025 and the legislation came in effect on 19 May 2025. This arrangement enables those eligible pupils to be identified more quickly, therefore allowing them to benefit from the offer of free school meals.

These are operational decisions for ScotRail Trains Ltd. In discharging its operational responsibilities, SRT is required to comply with Scottish Government Fair Work policies.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39497 on 15 August 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-39497 on 15 August 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.

The UK Government has recently launched a consultation on proposed updates to the guidance for assessing and rating wind turbine noise. These updates aim to reflect the latest evidence on turbine noise emissions, advances in turbine technology, and evolving assessment methodologies, while aligning with broader government policies on noise and Net Zero.

The consultation provides an opportunity for members of the public and stakeholders to engage with and comment on proposed updates to ETSU-R-97. Feedback received during the consultation will help finalise the guidance.

The consultation and the Draft Assessment and Rating of Wind Turbine Noise Guidance can be found here: https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/assessment-and-rating-of-wind-turbine-noise-guidance-proposed-updates

I encourage anyone with an interest in this area to respond to the consultation.

Now that they have discounted zonal pricing, we will continue to urge the UK Government to immediately set out what a reformed national market will mean for bill-payers, developers and investors. It is essential that the UK Government takes urgent action to address the high energy bills faced by the people of Scotland – in an energy rich country like Scotland, people should not be struggling to pay their bills. We are also committed to working closely with the UK Government, Ofgem, energy suppliers and organisations to advocate for the delivery of a social tariff across Great Britain.