Chamber and committees

This information is not held by Scottish Government. I would advise the Member to contact each NHS Board directly to obtain this information.

The Scottish Government is taking a range of actions to improve care and treatment for people experiencing severe alcohol-related harm through delivery of Scotland’s Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan and our Programme for Government commitment to trial Alcohol Care Teams.

We recognise that alcohol-related harm continues to place a significant burden on individuals, families and services, and that there is variation in provision across Scotland.

I am pleased to confirm that funding has now been approved for an NHS Fife Alcohol Care Team pilot. The pilot will receive £164,000 in 2026-27, with indicative funding of £328,000 per year in subsequent years, subject to future budget decisions.

The Fife pilot will provide a multi-agency, family-inclusive and trauma-informed model of care, linking hospital alcohol services with community support, mental health services, psychology, occupational therapy and third-sector partners.

It will be fully evaluated, with learning shared nationally to inform future service development across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to reducing unnecessary packaging and supporting the transition to a more circular economy.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act, Circular Economy Strategy, and Scotland's Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030 provide a framework for reducing waste and promoting more sustainable use of resources across the economy.

Through the implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) for packaging, producers now bear responsibility for the costs of managing packaging waste. This incentivises businesses to reduce unnecessary packaging, increase reuse where appropriate, and improve the recyclability of packaging placed on the market.

Across the EU, the Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) came into force on 11 February 2025. This includes a ban the use of single use plastic packaging for pre-packed fresh fruit or vegetables for less than 1.5 kg from 2030. A decision on whether to align with the PPWR across the UK has not yet been taken but a formal consultation process to consider regulatory consistency is being planned for 2027.

The changes to the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment Scheme are a direct consequence of the UK Government’s decision to remove tax exemptions from the Motability Scheme in its November 2025 Budget. The Scottish Government was not consulted on the UK Government’s tax changes, despite the clear and significant implications for Scottish customers.

As a result of Scottish Government engagement, Motability has committed to providing additional mileage support, on top of its new standard annual allowance, to customers living in very rural and island communities. Customers in any area who drive more than 3,000 miles each year for essential journeys, taking them above the new annual inclusive mileage allowance will also be able to apply for support with the increased excess mileage charge.

Further details on its functions, priorities and funding arrangements will be set out as development of the Agency progresses.

The identification of Potentially Vulnerable Areas (PVAs) is carried out by SEPA through the National Flood Risk Assessment (NFRA), which is reviewed and updated every six years under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. The most recent review was completed in December 2024 and established the PVAs for the 2028-2034 flood risk management planning cycle, following a public consultation in March 2024. The next review is expected to take place in 2029-30.

Based on the current 2024 designations, Deer Park, Dunoon, is not identified as a Potentially Vulnerable Area. However, PVA status is reserved for areas of nationally significant flood risk and the absence of a PVA designation does not mean that flood risk is insignificant locally. Local authorities retain responsibilities under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 to assess and manage flood risk within their areas, and flood risk management actions can still be developed and implemented in locations outside designated PVAs. Any future designation of Deer Park would be considered as part of SEPA's next scheduled review of PVAs in 2029-30. As with the most recent review, relevant local authorities will have the opportunity to contribute to the next PVA review in 2029-30.

We will publish our Long Term Conditions Strategy for Adults in March 2027, which will include both arthritis and wider MSK conditions. This will allow us to take a more strategic approach to long term conditions, recognising the impact of multimorbidity and the fact that an increasing number of people in Scotland are living with one or more long term conditions.

Officials continue to engage with Arthritis UK on the development of the Strategy through the long term conditions advisory groups. Arthritis UK chaired advisory group 4, focused on chronic pain, musculoskeletal and digestive conditions.

We have set out our commitment to the development of action on health and work in our Population Health Framework. This includes initially published actions improving support for people with ill health in work, and those with ill health who wish to return to work, especially those with mental health and musculoskeletal conditions. This also includes assessing (in partnership with UK Government) how the fit note journey can be improved to provide the right support at the right time – including links with occupational health services.

The Scottish Government is also working with CivTech (our Innovation Accelerator programme) to support Challenge 11.4, which is exploring ways to support earlier identification and prevention of musculoskeletal conditions, enable individuals to self-manage their condition and prepare for return to work, improve coordination between employers and health professionals, strengthen employability support, and increase awareness and uptake of relevant services. Further information can be found on the CivTech website here.

The Scottish Government is not planning any events to specifically mark One Health Day; however, we fully recognise the importance in understanding the connection between population, plant, animal and environment health. We continue to support activity that seeks to increase public awareness of One Health in Scotland, such as the work of the One Health Breakthrough Partnership, the World Antimicrobial Resistance Awareness Week and partner publications that highlight One Health interconnectedness.

There are already good examples of One Health partnership working such as the Scottish One Health AMR Strategic Oversight (SOHASO) group, the Human Animal Infections and Risk Surveillance (HAIRS) group and the UK Zoonoses Animal Disease and Infections (UKZADI) group, and we continue to work in collaboration with our partners to further strengthen the governance and approach to One Health in Scotland. This includes drafting a One Health mission statement that will further define our approach.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people receive the right support, in the right place, at the right time and reducing the demand on officer time.

Progress to date was discussed at a recent members debate S7M-01039, questions in the chamber S7O-00252 on 22 September 2026 and at Criminal Justice Committee – where Assistant Inspector of Constabulary Brian McInulty highlighted that: ‘Six recommendations have been closed off and eight are in progress. My assessment is that there has been significant progress.’

The Programme for Government sets out further actions and reinforces our prevention-first approach.

All answers to oral Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Official Report: search what was said in Parliament | Scottish Parliament Website

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting families who have experienced pregnancy and baby loss by delivering high-quality, sensitive bereavement care, and we continue to fund the baby loss charity Sands to support all 14 NHS Boards to implement the National Bereavement Care Pathway (NBCP) for pregnancy and baby loss in Scotland.

The NBCP is in the process of being implemented in all NHS Boards.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with NHS boards and relevant stakeholders to identify opportunities to strengthen consistency, of support provided to bereaved families.