As per the response provided to question S6W-34540 on 4 March 2025, Compensation provisions do exist where land, or rights over land, are acquired by compulsion for the development of energy infrastructure under the Electricity Act 1989. However, there is no statutory provision or process set out in the Act to financially compensate those who consider their property value may be affected.

Procurement legislation requires public bodies to treat suppliers equally and without discrimination irrespective of size when buying goods, services and works.

Through the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, we introduced a legal requirement for public bodies to consider and act on opportunities to facilitate the involvement of small or medium-sized enterprises (‘SMEs’), third sector organisations and supported businesses in the procurement process, and also to advertise regulated contract opportunities openly and transparently on Public Contracts Scotland, helping SMEs to identify opportunities in the supply chain.

We continue to focus on making it easier for SMEs to participate in public supply chains, including publishing an SME and Third Sector Procurement Action Plan in 2024 as part of our New Deal for Business.

We continue to test, challenge and inform procurement approaches through industry engagement, such as round tables with SMEs, to underpin continuous improvement.

The ‘annual report on procurement activity in Scotland 2022 to 2023’ (our most recently published report) shows that 61 pence in every pound of known procurement spend in Scotland went to an SME, and that, of the 18,079 suppliers awarded contracts through Public Contracts Scotland, SMEs received 77% of these contracts.

The commitment to develop a national pipeline of investment propositions is led by myself, working across portfolios and with public sector delivery partners.

Scottish Government continues to work closely with the UK Government on the development of Statutory Guidance that will support the Terrorism (Protection of Premises) Act, which received royal assent on 3 April 2025. We continue to encourage and signpost stakeholders to both the Protect UK and Gov.UK websites for information and updates on the legislation.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with event organisers to ensure that Scottish Ambulance Service, NHS Boards and Public Health Scotland are appropriately engaged in planning groups for major sporting events. Public sector health colleagues work meticulously with the event organisers and any procured private first aid and ambulance services to ensure adequate first aid and health care is provided to event participants, workforce and spectators, in line with the guidance and requirements set out in the Green and Purple Guides.

The Green Guide, or ‘Guide to Safety at Sports Grounds’, provides guidance on safety at sports grounds for stadium operators and event organisers. The Purple Guide is aimed at event organisers who are responsible for managing health and safety and at events in more general terms.

GPs are responsible for providing patients with appropriate care whether they have been treated on the NHS or privately. This may include medication, depending on an individual patient’s need. GPs are not obliged to follow the recommendations of a private provider, but should always provide care based on their own judgement if patients are in need.

The Scottish Government funds the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT), which published guidance on Prescribing ADHD medication to adults following private sector diagnosis in Scotland in April 2022. The guidance was drafted in consultation with practising Psychiatrists, the Royal Colleges of Psychiatry and General Practice and individuals with ADHD.

The guidance highlights that shared care arrangements may be put in place between private and NHS providers. For such arrangements to work properly, everyone involved must communicate effectively. Recommendations from specialists for ongoing prescribing on the NHS need to be made at an NHS consultation with an NHS specialist.

Some NHS Boards may have shared care policies, but it remains at the clinical discretion of each individual GP to decide the best course of action for their patients.

Scotland’s first International Education Strategy (IES), published in February last year, highlighted the positive impact that international students make to our colleges and sets out the actions that the Scottish Government will take with both colleges and universities, to promote Scotland as a study destination and to attract and diversity our international student population.

In 2024-25, we launched the Come to Study: Find Scotland campaign aimed at attracting prospective international students to institutions across the breadth of the country. We will continue to work with partners to enhance our marketing and promotional efforts in the year ahead.

We have worked closely with Colleges Scotland in the development of the Scottish Education Exchange Programme. To date, 8 colleges (11 projects) have benefited from SEEP funding which has enabled the delivery of projects that are helping build international partnerships across the globe.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government has appointed a new Trade Envoy for International Education who will promote Scotland’s colleges and universities to international students and organisations across the world.

The Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards set out what people should expect from substance use services. MAT Standard 3 sets out that people at high risk of drug-related harm should be proactively identified and offered support, while MAT Standard 9 sets out that all people with co-occurring drug use and mental health issues should receive mental health care. Implementation of the MAT Standards is supported by multi-year funding of £10.3 million per year over the life of the Parliament. Implementation of the MAT Standards is assessed by Public Health Scotland (PHS) via annual Benchmarking Reports.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-36412 on 29 April 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 information requested is not held centrally. However, data are available that show of the university spin-out companies formed in Scotland less than 5% have registered trading addresses out with Scotland.

Numerous Scottish public bodies deliver support and tailored strategic investment into Scottish businesses including Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish National Investment Bank, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise, Business Gateway and the Scottish Government’s £42m national Techscaler programme.

The Scottish Government-backed investment funds deployed by these organisations are designed to fill gaps in the supply of capital available to businesses and at the same time crowd in private capital to create a busier ecosystem of investors active in Scotland. Underpinned by Techscaler offering online education, expert mentoring, and a network of 14 hubs across seven regions in Scotland, these funds support tech startups from creation through to scale, ensuring support is accessible and rooted in communities across the country.

Examples of this funding and support include:

• Over £118m capital raised by founders since the inception of Techscaler in 2022 and in November 2024 Techscaler, in partnership with Focused for Business launched the Funding Accelerator programme designed to help Scottish startups secure their first or second equity funding round, with investments ranging from £100k to £1m.
• In 2024/25, Scottish Enterprise made 125 investments totalling £42.5m in early-stage companies, with 52% of these investments in companies located out with Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• South of Scotland Enterprise has supported 391 individuals in the South of Scotland as part of a Pathways pre-start pilot for under-represented groups, providing start-up grants of £1,000 to eligible participants.
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise IMPACT30 programme has supported 301 young entrepreneurs across its region and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Techscaler Kickstart Grant Scheme offers grants ranging from £5,000 to £10,000 to ambitious tech founders and entrepreneurs in developing their business ideas.
• Through our Ecosystem Fund, we have supported various in-person and remote projects specifically focussed on access to finance, resulting in over 700 individuals growing their investment network.
• Scottish Government has consistently provided support for the Scottish EDGE business competition, including £1.4m in 2024-25, with an aim of identifying and supporting Scotland’s innovative, high growth potential entrepreneurial talent. This recently included a pilot Regional EDGE competition to specifically target support to different regions.
• To support the establishment of a network of entrepreneurial campuses, the Scottish Government allocated Converge with £100k to provide early-stage business microgrants. These microgrants have enabled 55 projects, run by university students and staff, to test their initial business idea. Microgrants were awarded to every university in Scotland to ensure all parts of the country have educational institutions that support entrepreneurial activity.