Chamber and committees

We plan to introduce amended regulations for charities accounts by the end of 2025. These will raise the audit income threshold for charities registered in Scotland from £500,000 to £1 million. The amended regulations will also include changes to UK accounting standards following a new Charities Statement of Recommended Practice (SORP), which is due to be published in the Autumn.

The food environment, including promotions, significantly influences the food choices people make, both in and out of home. This report adds further to (the evidence base and) our understanding that promotions can encourage impulse spend and can lead to people buying more than they need, overlooking cheaper and healthier alternatives.

The Scottish Government is taking forward wide ranging action to support people make healthier choices in the out of home sector.

On 17 June, the Scottish Government confirmed that it will introduce regulations to restrict the promotion of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt to the Scottish Parliament this autumn. These regulations will, amongst other things, restrict unlimited refills for a fixed charge of non-prepacked soft drinks with added sugar in qualifying out of home businesses. Further detail on the final scope of the policy is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/restricting-promotion-food-drink-high-fat-sugar-salt-hfss-consultation-detail-proposed-regulations-scottish-government-response/.

We are working with Food Standards Scotland and Public Health Scotland to develop our Eating Out Eating Well Framework https://eatingouteatingwell.publichealthscotland.scot/, one of the actions from our Out Of Home Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/diet-and-healthy-weight-out-of-home-action-plan/. The new Framework is designed to help businesses serving food out of home, such as restaurants and cafes, to provide healthier options for customers, and includes developing a Code of Practice for children’s menus. Further detail is set out in the answer to question S6W-39402 on 8 August 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/questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government will consider further action to improve the food environment, including in out of home settings, under the Population Health Framework.

We acknowledge the recent research findings, which highlight the disproportionate health impacts experienced by women in relation to the covid pandemic. Addressing these inequalities is a core ambition of the Scottish Government.

In August 2021, Scotland was the first country in the UK to publish a Women's Health Plan (https://www.gov.scot/publications/womens-health-plan/documents/). Developed with women and girls, the Plan articulates the commitment that all women and girls enjoy the best possible health, throughout their lives. The next phase of the Plan is currently under development.

Improving health outcomes for women and girls requires the consideration of their specific health needs to address avoidable inequalities. The Women’s Health Plan is a key element within a wider, ongoing programme of work to improve the health and wellbeing of women and girls across Scotland.

Women are also prioritised as one of the at-risk groups within the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which has received £81 million in investment since 2021. A further £15 million has been committed for 2026-27 as part of the Scottish Government’s Fairer Funding Pilot, demonstrating our ongoing dedication to supporting those facing the greatest challenges.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA co-published a ten-year Scotland's Population Health Framework (PHF) (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-population-health-framework/), setting out a refreshed cross-government and cross-sector approach to improve Scotland’s population health and reduce inequalities, with a focus on prevention.

While the PHF was developed with a population-wide perspective, it is deliberately designed to enable targeted implementation of its 30 actions. This ensures that priority groups including those with protected characteristics receive tailored support to address their specific needs including women and girls.

Improving health and reducing health inequalities across Scotland remains a clear ambition for the Scottish Government. To help achieve this, Scottish Government is progressing a range of work to support the health and wellbeing of people across Scotland – both in local communities and online - with a focus on supporting groups most at risk of poorer health, including women and those facing socio-economic disadvantage.

The Scottish Government’s Population Health Framework, published in June, sets out a refreshed, cross-government and cross-sector approach to improving population health and tackling health inequalities, with a strong emphasis on prevention.

The Framework outlines actions across the whole system to ensure equitable access to health and care, create environments that support healthier lives, and make best use of the valuable resources within our communities and places. The actions will enable targeting of services to those who need it most, including addressing inequalities in vaccination and screening, health harming in preconception and pregnancy, and access to income maximisation pathways.

As part of this work, the Scottish Government has committed to developing a National Social Prescribing Framework for Scotland. This will set out a shared national approach, building on the success of existing models — such as the Government’s recruitment of 300 community link workers — and will aim to enhance equity of access. It will also align with wider efforts to address social isolation and loneliness including projects supported by the Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund.

Improving health outcomes and reducing health inequalities remains a central priority for the Scottish Government. To deliver this, Scottish Government is working closely with partners across sectors to advance women’s health and tackle the root causes of inequality—so that all women and girls in Scotland can enjoy the best possible health at every stage of their lives.

Scottish Government also recognises that child poverty and women’s poverty are inextricably linked. Meaningful progress in tackling child poverty can only be achieved by addressing the inequalities that women face. In recognition of the continued pressure on household budgets, the Scottish Government will maintain investment of over £3 billion in 2025–26 to support policies focused on tackling poverty and alleviating the rising cost of living.

As part of its commitment to addressing social and economic inequalities, Scottish Government has funded the recruitment of over 300 Community Link Workers and continues to fund Welfare Rights Advisers in more than 150 GP practices across deprived and remote communities. These advisers play a critical role in providing people with support on social security entitlements, income maximisation, and debt resolution.

Moreover, Scottish Government is driving systemic change through the Population Health Framework, co-authored with COSLA and published in June. This Framework outlines a comprehensive set of cross-sector actions aimed at improving population health, including promoting healthy behaviours, creating supportive environments, and strengthening community-based support systems.

Included within these actions, Scottish Government is improving access to income maximisation services, taking forward the Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Bill to support local economies, and will create a National Social Prescribing Framework to help ensure individuals receive practical, social, and emotional support to enhance their wellbeing.

The Scottish Government recognises the cumulative impacts of economic shocks including COVID-19 and the subsequent cost-of-living crisis have worsened health inequalities, and understands the impact that debt and money worries can have on mental health and wellbeing across the population.

Improving health and reducing health inequalities across Scotland remains a clear ambition for the Scottish Government. It is progressing a range of work to support the health and wellbeing of people across Scotland, with a focus on supporting groups most at risk of poorer health, including women and those facing socio-economic disadvantage.

In recognition of the continued pressure on household budgets, the Scottish Government will maintain investment of over £3 billion in 2025–26 to support policies focused on tackling poverty and alleviating the rising cost of living.

The Scottish Government’s Population Health Framework, published in June, sets out a refreshed, cross-government and cross-sector approach to improving population health and tackling health inequalities, with a strong emphasis on prevention. The Framework outlines actions across the whole system to improve socio-economic conditions through improving workforce participation, strengthening financial security and increasing local economic resilience.

Recent research findings on the impacts of Covid-19 on women’s mental and physical health adds to the body of evidence of the importance of taking account the specific health needs of women and girls.

The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering our ambition that all women and girls enjoy the best possible health, throughout their lives as set out in the Supporting documents - Women's health plan - gov.scot published in 2021.

The Women’s Health Plan is a key element within a wider, ongoing programme of work to improve the health and wellbeing of women and girls across Scotland.

Women are among those prioritised within the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which has received £81 million of investment since 2021 with a further £15 million committed next year (2026-27) as part of the Scottish Government’s Fairer Funding Pilot.

In addition, significant work is being taken forward across the Scottish Government and beyond on women’s health.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA co-published a ten-year Scotland's Population Health Framework - gov.scot (PHF), setting out a refreshed cross-government and cross-sector approach to improve Scotland’s population health and reduce inequalities, with a focus on prevention.

The Framework commits to actions to create environments that support people to eat a varied and balanced diet, be physically active, and limit consumption of health-harming commodities, with actions to be assessed to ensure they impact positively on women and girls.

The Scottish Government supports all work being done in primary care, in acute care, in mental health settings, in specialist settings and in residential care, as well as by social care services, public protection chief officers and by social workers to ensure the best opportunities for recovery are available to anyone diagnosed with alcohol-related brain damage.

We are engaging widely on the creation of a new approach to care and support for people impacted by alcohol. That new approach will include plans for a national specification setting out the interventions required to reduce harm. This will include recommendations for the recovery support required for alcohol-related brain damage.