Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government remains committed to progressing work on protecting children and young people from exposure to alcohol marketing. It was clear from our earlier public consultation that there was a wide range of views on alcohol marketing proposals, including uncertainty about the existing evidence base for many proposals.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) are being commissioned to carry out a review of the evidence for the range of options that are available to the Scottish Government under devolved powers. This will ensure that our work is evidence based and will deliver clear public health outcomes. We will consider PHS’ findings, and consider where the evidence supports further action or consultation on alcohol marketing restrictions.

If the evidence supports it, the Scottish Government will return with a further consultation on a range of targeted proposals. No decisions have been taken yet on what these areas may be.

The Scottish Government has supported four pilot regions in the development of bespoke Regional Land Use Frameworks (RLUFs). This work was taken forward through a co-development approach with a range of stakeholders. It tested a natural capital-led approach to identifying land use opportunities and priorities, whilst maintaining place-based principles to understand the potential for delivering mutual benefits to all land users.

This work covers the South of Scotland (Scottish borders and Dumfries and Galloway) The Cairngorms and Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Parks and the NorthWest 2045 region of the Highlands. More information on the individual RLUFs can be found at the links below:

• South of Scotland region: Delivery & Strategies | South of Scotland Regional Economic Partnership
• North West Highland region: Land+ Project | NORTHWEST2045
• Cairngorms National Park region: Cairngorms National Park Partnership Plan 2022-27
• Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park region: Read The Plan - Here. Now. All of us. - Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park

We are now working with the RLUPS to consolidate this learning in order to refine our understanding of the role that RLUFs could play in supporting/delivering land use change and informing wider Scottish Government policy.

Since 25 January 2019 until 13 October 2021, the period covered by S6W-03688 on 29 October 2021 and S6W-04853 on 14 December 2021, there have been 19 fixed penalty notices (FPNs) unpaid prior to referral to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, compared to 93 paid. This makes a payment rate over the period of 83%.

The breakdown is as follows:

(a) 8 of the 19 cases were referred to the COPFS for consideration of prosecution; 2 of the 8 cases resulted in the original FPNs being paid after agreement with the Procurator Fiscal, ultimately resulting in 17 unpaid FPNs in total and;

(b) 4 of the 8 cases resulted in convictions and fines with the breakdown as follows:

Independent reporters from DPEA have held 96 public inquires on behalf of Scottish Ministers since 1999.

These relate to public inquiries held where a planning authority and/or statutory consultee objected to an application under the Electricity Act.

Dates by year are not available for cases received prior to 2011

Scottish Ministers are aware that Defra Ministers are establishing a taskforce, which we understand will inform the development of a circular economy strategy across the UK Government.

While the strategy will be England-only in scope, Scottish Government officials are already engaging with UK officials on input into the development of the strategy, recognising that there may be implications for, and opportunities to align policy with, devolved governments. The Scottish Government expects the taskforce’s work, and development of our own circular economy strategy, to be a topic for discussion at a future Inter-Ministerial Group for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Within our 2024-25 Programme for Government we committed to working across the four nations on banning the sale of single use vapes (SUV) as well as the UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill. SUV’s have been linked to a rapid increase in the number of young people vaping, particularly due to their low price. The SUV ban will be implemented from 1 June 2025 in line with the rest of the UK. If passed the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, will restrict the promotion, advertisement and brandsharing of vapes.

Our ‘Take Hold’ marketing campaign educates parents, carers and children about the dangers of vaping and increased the awareness of the harms and risks of nicotine addiction.

We continue to work with Young Scot to support young people to understand the risks of using tobacco and nicotine products, and raise awareness of available cessation services and avenues to support young people to stop smoking/vaping.

Our Tobacco and Vaping Framework recognises that price can be a critical factor in people’s decisions on starting to smoke and vape. The Scottish Government welcomes the UK Government’s commitment in the Autumn budget to introduce a duty on vapes from 2026 while ensuring the price differential between tobacco and vapes will be maintained.

On 14 May 2024 Reach Advocacy wrote to the Scottish Government requesting to become a ‘Nationally Commissioned Advocacy Training Body’. The Scottish Government replied to Reach Advocacy on 28 May 2024 seeking to fully understand the basis on which Reach Advocacy were requesting this.

On 15 October 2024 Reach Advocacy submitted a business proposal to ask for funding from Scottish Government to deliver Reach Advocacy’s ‘Advocacy Practice Award’ and human rights-based training.

This proposal was submitted for consideration to relevant directorates under the responsibility of the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice, the Minister for Children, Young People and The Promise, and the Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport.

Scottish Government Officials from each directorate assessed that the request for funding was not the most appropriate means by which the Scottish Government’s current priorities and objectives would be achieved.

On 6 November 2024 a response was issued to Reach Advocacy to inform them of the decision and rationale.

Development of the National Specification for substance use services is underway and we expect to publish in the first quarter of 2025

Under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, a public body with an annual procurement spend of at least £5 million must report each year on how, when its procurements involve the provision of food, it is improving the health, wellbeing and education of communities in the body’s area, and promoting the highest standards of animal welfare.

The Scottish Government continues to support the delivery of the Food for Life Programme in local authorities across Scotland which has a primary focus on school meals. Food for Life accreditation ensures that at least 75% of school food is fresh and unprocessed, as well as greatly increasing the amount of fresh fruit (including berries) and vegetables; fish; and wholegrains on the menu. There are currently 16 councils who hold Food for Life accreditation, with ongoing work to ensure retention, expansion and development of the programme.