Chamber and committees

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 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 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.

Geographical Indication status for Scotch Whisky provides high levels of protection to the whisky sector, both in the UK and across the globe. Scotch Whisky has a global reach, and the industry itself through the Scotch Whisky Association has the expertise and knowledge to tackle instances of fake or misleading whisky which can damage the reputation of the product. There has been considerable progress made since 2018 by both government and the industry in this area particularly with the increase in use of lot codes.

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 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.

Although widespread across all ages and demographics, data tells us that disabled people, young people (16-24), people over 75 and those on low incomes are now the most at risk of social isolation and loneliness. The Scottish Government uses the Scottish Household Survey to estimate the number of people who may be socially isolated or experiencing loneliness in Scotland, and local authority areas. The Scottish Household Survey 2022 shows that 28% of people in Aberdeenshire have social contact less than once a week. The survey provides a further breakdown by age and can be found here: Scottish Household Survey 2022: Key Findings - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government published our delivery plan for our social isolation and loneliness strategy, Recovering our Connections, in March 2023. The plan aims to better understand social isolation and loneliness, to reduce the harm caused by it and tackle this public health issue. There are a number of actions within it, including our £3.8m fund that supports 53 organisations across Scotland delivering community-led activity that responds to local needs. Ten of these organisations are tackling social isolation in rural locations, including Mearns and Coastal Healthy Living Network who are based in Aberdeenshire and offer health, wellbeing and social activities for older people.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with the Social Isolation and Loneliness Advisory Group to help us deliver this plan and collaborate on ways to tackle loneliness for those most impacted.

The Scottish Government has a centrally-managed contract with Office Papers to supply newspapers on an ad-hoc rather than subscription basis. Costs are recharged to requesting cost centres. The contract allows for newspapers to be bought according to requirement, and cancelled when not required, for example during Parliamentary recesses. Details of purchases made under the contract in the last five financial years are in the following table.

Purchases in Financial Year 2020-21 were made by the Directorate for Learning, Directorate for Economic Development, Directorate for Legal Services, Directorate for Commercial and Procurement, Directorate for Communications and Ministerial Support and the Directorate for Fair Work.

Purchases for 2021-22 were made by the Directorate for Learning, Directorate for Communications and Ministerial Support and the Directorate for Commercial and Procurement.

All purchases in Financial Years 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25 were made by the Directorate for Communications and Ministerial Support.

Some units may be subscribing to newspapers using their delegated budgets. This information is not held centrally.

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.

A key way in which Scottish Government is looking to expand home healthcare services in rural areas is through the expansion of Hospital at Home.

Hospital at Home is a short-term, targeted intervention that provides a level of acute hospital care in an individual’s own home that is equivalent to that provided within a hospital.

There is strong clinical evidence for Hospital at Home, which has improved patient outcomes such as being able to manage their own care, being more independent and being able to keep their care package whilst receiving care. The service also reduces admissions to nursing homes and reduces the likelihood that patients will be living in residential care in the months after being in hospital.

All hospital at home services capture patient feedback via Care Opinion (www.careopinion.org.uk) as well as locally developed feedback forms. That information is used to understand the impact of their service and inform improvement.

Every Health Board in Scotland operates a Hospital at Home service for adults, including some of the most remote and rural areas of the country. Between April 2023 and March 2024 Hospital at Home Older People’s services treated 14479 patients. Specifically, services in Western Isles treated 383 patients and Oban treated 91.

Further expansion of the service was set out in the 2025-26 draft budget statement where set out plans to expand the number of Hospital at Home beds to at least 2,000 by December 2026.