The Westminster Commission on Forensic Science, set up by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Miscarriages of Justice in 2022, visited the Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services Division (SPA-FSD) in early 2025. Subsequently, the Commission published its report which highlighted Scotland’s different model of forensic delivery in comparison with the police and privatised market driven model in England and Wales. The Scottish model of delivery is cited in the report as publicly governed, multi-disciplinary and scientifically rigorous in comparison with the position in England and Wales.

On 20th November 2024, the Director of SPA-FSD and the Chair of the SPA alongside scientific experts attended the Scottish Parliament to showcase the work of SPA-FSD to MSPs. This included demonstrating Scotland’s world leading services, how they are deployed to scenes of crime in Scotland and how the captured evidence provides vital intelligence to Police Scotland in the investigation of crime. Given that the Scottish Government has no role in operational policing, it is for the SPA to highlight good practice in the provision of forensic services for the investigation and prosecution of crime in Scotland. The SPA Board regularly receives reports on SPA-FSD’s performance and standards.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) provide a Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service in criminal court cases. When COPFS first consider a new criminal case, they refer to VIA any victims who should receive extra support. This includes victims of domestic abuse. If the victim wishes VIA support, VIA will proactively notify the victim of court hearing dates and bail decisions, including bail conditions of the accused person.

When the court is deciding whether to grant bail, the prosecutor and the defence are given the opportunity to make submissions to the court on the question of bail. In doing so, the prosecutor can make the court aware of any safety concerns which they consider arise based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case. This is particularly relevant under the new bail test, which came into effect on 14 May 2025, and which centres public safety, including safety of the complainer from a risk of harm, in bail decision making.

Where held, COPFS will consider the views of the victim with regard to bail and bail conditions, in forming their overall submission on bail. This may include information obtained from the victim by the police in the initial police report, information from specialist support services or information from VIA engagement with the victim directly.

Domestic abuse involves very complex dynamics where it can be important that information about concerns that may lead to a partner or ex-partner being placed on remand or subject to stringent bail conditions is not attributed to information provided by the victim. This may make victims reluctant and fearful to engage in a case.

It is for this important reason that the prosecutor, who acts independently in the public interest, is best placed to provide victim safety information to the court, including the seeking of further conditions of bail.

Ultimately, the question of bail and bail conditions is a matter for the independent court informed by the information they are provided with.

The Scottish Government’s Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland (RCAP) sets out our vision for driving improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people affected by respiratory conditions including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease.

There is also a significant respiratory work programme managed by the Respiratory Speciality Delivery Group within NHS Golden Jubilee. They have pathways under development for severe asthma, COPD and sleep apnoea. Pulmonary fibrosis has been added to their workplan for this year, and we will continue to work closely with colleagues leading this work to ensure all key stakeholders are informed of its progress.

Our new Prescribing Guideline sets out our ambitions for better access to respiratory care, including for those living with pulmonary fibrosis. The guide keeps the person with respiratory conditions at the centre of their treatment and disease management, and we also have national workstreams focusing on access to pulmonary rehabilitation and smoking cessation.

The Scotland's Population Health Framework (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-population-health-framework/) sets out the Scottish Government's and COSLA’s long-term collective approach to improving Scotland’s health and reducing health inequalities for the next decade. The Framework sets out how national and local government will work with public sector partners, community organisations and business to tackle the root causes of ill health.

Supporting the construction industry and its workforce is a priority for the Scottish Government. The Minister for Business and Employment chairs a Construction Leadership Forum that has oversight of a 2024 Transformation Action Plan and a skills and workforce working group, which is progressing the commitment to increase the capacity, capability, and diversity of the workforce with a focus on future skills and industry attractiveness. The sector continues to have one of the highest apprenticeship intakes, with construction occupations accounting for 25.6% of Modern Apprenticeship starts in 2024-25.

We encourage community or affordable housing projects returning empty homes to use to consider how skills development may be incorporated. Scottish Government funding allocated through the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP) in 2024-25 enabled one such project to happen in Dundee. More information about this project is available here: https://www.the-cii.org/strong-foundations-scotland/.

The Burial and Cremation (Inspection) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 (the Inspection Regulations) make provision for the Scottish Ministers to establish and maintain a register of relevant bodies and provide a power to publish the register or any information contained in the register.

At present there is no universal list of burial authorities, cremation authorities and funeral directors operating in Scotland. The system of inspections will therefore be aided by the inspection register as provided for in regulation 4 of the Inspection Regulations. The Scottish Ministers may publish the inspection register or information from the register and this will, as information is collected over time, provide a platform for the public to access information about the location of relevant bodies, and whether they have been found to be non-compliant with relevant regulations or Codes of Practice. (Such regulations and Codes of Practice are the Funeral Director Code of Practice, the Cremation (Scotland) Regulations 2019, the Burial (Applications and Register) (Scotland) Regulations 2024, and the Burial (Management) (Scotland) Regulations 2025.) The inspection register will also help Inspectors to plan their inspections.

The Scottish Government launched the inspection register (titled the Funeral Sector Register) on 1 April 2025 via a digital portal and continues to encourage all organisations working within the funeral sector including funeral directors to register. The register is also publicly available and details the names and locations of those organisations who are registered.

Regulation 4 of the Burial and Cremation (Inspection) (Scotland) Regulations 2025 makes provision for the Scottish Ministers to establish and maintain a register of relevant bodies and provides a power to publish the register or any information contained in the register.

The Funeral Sector Register opened on 1 April 2025, and to date 92 organisations including funeral directors, cremation and burial authorities have registered. These organisations relate to 333 different premises across Scotland. The Scottish Government has and continues to encourage all organisations working in the funeral sector to register. In addition, the Scottish Ministers have the ability to add organisations to the register if they become aware of them.

We continue to promote the digital register and build on current number of organisations registered whilst highlighting the positive benefits of registration for both the sector and the public.

Non-domestic rates are a property-based tax charged on the private, public or third sectors, with the tax liability based on the rateable value of a property. The Higher Property Rate applies to all properties with a rateable value above £100,000.

The Scottish Budget maintains a competitive rates regime, ensuring that over 95% of properties are liable for a lower property tax than anywhere else in the UK, and supporting business and communities with a competitive non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £733 million in 2025-26.

We are committed to ensuring the non-domestic rates system supports business growth, investment and competitiveness, whilst acknowledging the important role non-domestic rates income plays in funding public services.

Decisions on non-domestic rates are taken annually as part of the Budget in line with prevailing economic conditions and Government priorities.

While shops, and other rateable non-domestic properties, will have been liable for a higher property tax under the combined poundage plus Large Business Supplement (up to 31 March 2020) or Higher Property Rate (from 1 April 2020 onwards) over the last decade, the Scottish Government continues to offer a competitive non-domestic rates regime and the 2025-26 Budget delivered the lowest Basic Property Rate in the UK for the seventh year in a row.

Over 95% of shops in Scotland are liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rates, and this is estimated to have saved them £11.5m over the same timeframe compared with what they would have been liable for under English rates (note that this is a gross estimate and has not been adjusted for any reliefs).

In addition, the Small Business Bonus Scheme remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK. The retail sector continues to be one of the main beneficiaries of the scheme, with shops claiming relief worth £84m in 2024-25 alone.

The figures above have been calculated using property class. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property and does not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

The Scottish Government committed, in the Framework for Tax 2021, to reducing the combined poundage rate for the largest properties to match the equivalent rate in England over the course of the Parliament.

Since the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates made this recommendation, we have made demonstrable progress on that recommendation through the introduction of the Intermediate Property Rate since 1 April 2020; and on 1 April 2023, we increased the rateable value threshold at which the Higher Property Rate applies from £95,000 to £100,000. In combination this ensures that over 95% of properties are liable for a lower property rate than anywhere else in the UK.

Tax policy decisions are made annually at budget in line with prevailing economic decisions and Government priorities.

We acknowledge the recent research findings, which highlight the disproportionate health impacts experienced by women in relation to the covid pandemic. Addressing these inequalities is a core ambition of the Scottish Government.

In August 2021, Scotland was the first country in the UK to publish a Women's Health Plan (https://www.gov.scot/publications/womens-health-plan/documents/). Developed with women and girls, the Plan articulates the commitment that all women and girls enjoy the best possible health, throughout their lives. The next phase of the Plan is currently under development.

Improving health outcomes for women and girls requires the consideration of their specific health needs to address avoidable inequalities. The Women’s Health Plan is a key element within a wider, ongoing programme of work to improve the health and wellbeing of women and girls across Scotland.

Women are also prioritised as one of the at-risk groups within the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which has received £81 million in investment since 2021. A further £15 million has been committed for 2026-27 as part of the Scottish Government’s Fairer Funding Pilot, demonstrating our ongoing dedication to supporting those facing the greatest challenges.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA co-published a ten-year Scotland's Population Health Framework (PHF) (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-population-health-framework/), setting out a refreshed cross-government and cross-sector approach to improve Scotland’s population health and reduce inequalities, with a focus on prevention.

While the PHF was developed with a population-wide perspective, it is deliberately designed to enable targeted implementation of its 30 actions. This ensures that priority groups including those with protected characteristics receive tailored support to address their specific needs including women and girls.