Chamber and committees

Further to question S6W-33178 please see the following table which provides the number of street lamps replaced or upgraded on the A90 trunk road by year.

The Scottish Government’s Vision for Trade and Scotland: a Trading Nation clearly set out our ambitions for international trade, which is vital to the whisky sector.

The Scottish Government works closely with the UK Government to address and prevent market access barriers for Scotch whisky around the world. The Scottish Government also works collaboratively with the sector on international trade asks. Support for individual companies is available from Scottish Development International, Scottish Enterprise and Scotland Food & Drink.

The sector provides employment opportunities in some of the most rural communities and can bring visitors from Scotland and around the world, to these areas. The Deputy First Minister recently opened the Cabrach distillery which is focused on community development and regeneration which the government was proud to support through Just Transition funding. We will continue to work with the sector on projects that deliver community benefits, and support our climate ambitions and the economic prosperity of Scotland.

The use of traditional methods is what makes Scotch Whisky unique and the methods that must be used, including the types of stills and ageing requirements, are set out in law. In addition to this the Scottish Government provides funding to support delivery of Scotland’s food and drink strategy “Sustaining Scotland Supplying the World” which aims to safeguard and grow Scotland’s food and drink industry. The strategy is led by the Scotland Food & Drink partnership and contains activity to help businesses develop and retain skills as well as driving innovation capacity and capability.

The Scottish Government, Scotland Development International and the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s activities focus on three markets: Scotland, Rest of UK, and International. Small and independent distilleries are represented in all these activities, including support to attend trade fairs in these markets. Additionally, the Scottish Government’s Vision for Trade and Scotland: a Trading Nation export strategy set out our ambitions to increase market access and reduce trade barriers which is central to an improved trading environment. Domestically, funding provided by the Scottish Government to the Scotland Food & Drink Partnership’s “Sustaining Scotland. Supplying the World” food and drink strategy can help businesses to leverage these opportunities.

The Scottish Government, as well as the whisky industry itself, takes the protection of Scotch Whisky seriously. Scotch Whisky is defined in UK law through the Scotch Whisky Regulations 2009 which provide comprehensive protection covering the making, bottling, labelling and promotion of Scotch Whisky. Scotch Whisky also benefits from Geographical Indication and is protected by such under UK and EU law, and in other markets across the world. The Geographical Indication scheme is verified by His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) and any breaches are enforced by the relevant food authorities across the UK.

This is a matter for individual Agencies. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Police Scotland's develop and management of protocols for discovery of unexploded wartime military ordnance near critical infrastructure is a operational matter for the service which is scrutinised by the Scottish Police Authority. It is for Police Scotland, working with key stakeholder organisations across the UK to ensure that such protocols align with national security strategies.

The Schools (Health Promotion and Nutrition( (Scotland) Act 2007 makes health promotion a central purpose of schooling and places duties on all education authority and grant aided schools including those in rural communities. A school is health promoting if it provides activities and an environment which promote the physical, social, mental and emotional health and wellbeing of pupils in attendance at the school.

It is up to local authorities and schools to choose which policies, initiatives and programmes they put in place to meet these duties recognising they are best placed to decide what will best serve local needs, priorities and circumstances.

Guidance was developed to support schools as they take action to meet their duties under the 2007 Act.

Health and wellbeing is an integral part of Curriculum for Excellence, helping to ensure that children and young people are provide with the skills, knowledge and experience they need to take responsibility for their health and wellbeing as they grow into adulthood. Children and young people should know where to go to get relevant support and help them make informed decisions about their health.

The Scottish Government has invested over £29m of Community Led Local Development (CLLD) funding in our rural communities since the closure of the LEADER programme in December 2021, delivering over 1000 grassroots community-led projects across rural and island Scotland in partnership with rural organisations. A place-based approach is the foundation of CLLD. Communities are empowered and supported to design and implement the solutions to the challenges and opportunities they identify in their local area, which may include community led health and social care provision. We have invested £11.4m so far in our rural and island communities to support CLLD and similar initiatives in 2024-25. A further £9m for CLLD was announced in the indicative 2025-26 budget, subject to the passing of the Budget Bill.

The Scottish Government provides funding to NHS Education Scotland (NES) to develop and run the National Digital Platform (NDP). The NDP supports storage, integration and interoperability of data making it easier for staff to record and share data across health and care systems.

Additionally, we provide funding to all territorial Boards to support the required investment for the six priority areas set out in our Digital Health and Care Delivery Plan: Digital Access, Digital Services, Digital Foundations, Digital Skills and Leadership, Digital Futures and Data-Driven services and Insights.

Further information on each of the six priority areas can be found here: Care in the Digital Age: delivery plan 2024 to 2025 - gov.scot