The aim of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol is to reduce health harms caused by alcohol consumption by setting a floor price below which alcohol cannot be sold. In particular, it targets a reduction in consumption of alcohol that is considered cheap, relative to its strength. It aims to reduce both the consumption of alcohol at population level and, in particular, those who drink at hazardous and harmful levels. In doing so, it aims to reduce alcohol related health harms among hazardous and harmful drinkers, and contribute to reducing harm at a whole population level.

Public Health Scotland's independent evaluation of MUP, commended by internationally-renowned public health experts, found that evidence pointed to the policy having a positive impact on health outcomes – during the period study it was estimated to have reduced alcohol specific deaths by 13.4% and likely to have reduced hospital admission wholly attributable to alcohol by 4.1%. There was also a finding that MUP was estimated to have reduced alcohol consumption by 3% when compared to England.

Overall, the evidence supports that MUP has had a positive impact on health outcomes, including alcohol-related health inequalities.

Widespread stakeholder participation is essential if we are to successfully develop a new National Marine Plan for Scotland that helps deliver our statutory targets, supports sustainable economic growth and protects our marine environment. We remain committed to our vision for engaging stakeholders throughout the development of NMP2 and we want everyone who uses, relies on or has an interest in Scotland's seas to have the opportunity to contribute when considering Scotland’s marine space.

In developing the NMP2, we are adopting a blue economy approach - considering our marine economy, local communities, and the environment altogether. The timeline for the development of the plan has been designed to allow for sufficient opportunity for meaningful engagement with stakeholders throughout the process. A public consultation on the NMP2 Planning Position Statement will take place in late 2024 allowing stakeholders to submit their views. A further public consultation for the NMP2 Draft Plan will take place in late 2025.

The timeline also allows for the NMP2 team to host events dedicated to cross-sector discussion and collaboration. Our first National Marine Planning Forum took place on 15 June 2023, providing an opportunity for everyone with an interest in the plan to input into its development at an early stage and discuss the key themes to be addressed in the plan. A further NMP2 forum will be held in winter 2024 specifically designed to bring together stakeholders and promote cooperation between sectors. The forum will facilitate discussions between stakeholders pertinent to the cross-sector issues that exist in the marine environment and give stakeholders the opportunity to collaborate and devise solutions to these issues that can influence NMP2. The NMP2 team will actively seek this feedback at the forum with the intention of integrating it into future policy development from NMP2.

A Steering Group has been established to provide advice on the statutory assessments and Sustainability Appraisal for NMP2, which are used to understand potential impacts on marine sectors and the marine environment from the proposals in the plan. The Steering Group is formed of stakeholders from various sectors who regularly meet with NMP2 officials to advise on the development of the statutory assessment and Sustainability Appraisal.

As noted in the answer to PQ S6W-30096, planned engagement with stakeholders will commence in the next few months. This will include assessing the various views offered in the responses received to the previous Scottish Government consultation on occasional licence policy.

As noted in the ‘Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 - fee review: consultation responses’ document on the Scottish Government website, some respondents suggested a scalable fee structure. i.e. the level of the occasional licence fee should be dependent on the size of the event.

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

Officials are in regular contact with our UK Government counterparts. We are engaging closely with the newly formed Office for Clean Energy Jobs - set up to tackle workforce and skills challenges in the energy sector - and we look forward to supporting the work this office will drive forward. 

Whilst skills are a devolved responsibility, we are committed to working with all the stakeholders necessary to deliver the skills system needed as our energy sector transforms. This includes Scottish Government taking responsibility for skills planning at the national level and working with partners to strengthen regional skills planning.

The Procurement Act 2023 does not generally legislate for the procurement activities of devolved Scottish authorities, and there is no provision within the Act for the Scottish Government to simply adopt it, though the Scottish Ministers will use the powers conferred on them by the Act appropriately, for example to implement international agreements, or to set out provision in relation to cross-border procurement.

The Scottish Government has already taken significant steps to reform public procurement practice in Scotland. The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 already requires contracting authorities in Scotland to consider the economic, social and environmental wellbeing impact on their area of procurement activity, increases transparency by requiring contracts to be advertised on one single advertising portal, requires authorities to set out anticipated contracts over the next two years in an annual procurement report and requires authorities to consider community benefits in major contracts.

This was achieved in a way which was consistent with EU law. It remains the view of the Scottish Government that Scotland is best served by aligning with EU law where it is practical and sensible to do so.

There has been significant contact at official level on this issue. When devolved Scottish authorities award a contract from a framework advertised and awarded under the terms of the Procurement Act 2023, then relevant elements of the rules established by that Act will apply to the call-off procedure. Similarly, when non-devolved Scottish authorities award contracts from a framework agreement awarded under the Scottish regulations, then relevant elements of those rules will apply to the call-off procedure. Regulations made under section 115 of the Procurement Act 2023 will set this out.

Devolved Scottish and other UK authorities can continue to work together to procure jointly. The applicable rules will be determined by which authority is designated as the lead authority for the procurement exercise as outlined in Section 114 of the Procurement Act 2023.

As set out in the Scottish Government’s response to question S6W-30400 on 18 October 2024, planned engagement with stakeholders will commence in the next few months. No timescale has been set for concluding this work, but this would be agreed in discussion with said stakeholders.

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 Public Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2015, Utilities Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 and Concession Contracts (Scotland) Regulations 2016 will continue to apply to the award of contracts by devolved Scottish contracting authorities.

Regulations made under section 115 of the Procurement Act 2023 will set out the procedures to be followed when a contracting authority awards a contract under procurement arrangements put in place under the other jurisdiction’s regime.

The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council is a strategic leadership group that brings together the Scottish public sector and the offshore wind industry. The group is co-chaired by the Minister for Climate Action, and Brian MacFarlane of SSE.

Group membership includes: Andrew MacDonald (Innovation Working Group Chair, ORE Catapult), Alex Louden (Innovation Working Group Deputy Chair, Ørsted), Andy Riley (Crown Estate Scotland), Claire Mack (Barriers to Deployment Working Group Chair, Scottish Renewables), David Oxley (Highlands, and Islands Enterprise), Jim Brown (Skills Working Group Chair, Energy Skills Partnership), Lloyd Duthie (Supply Chain & Clusters Working Group Chair, Seaway 7), Mark Baxter (Developers’ Forum Interim Chair, Ocean Winds), Paul Wheelhouse (South of Scotland Enterprise), Reuben Aitken (Scottish Development International) and Suzanne Sosna (Scottish Enterprise).

New chairs for the Developer Forum and Skills Working Group will be appointed before the end of 2024.

Putting in place the remaining fisheries management measures remains a top government priority. We want to achieve this as soon as possible, however developing the evidence based and effective fisheries management measures for over 160 inshore sites is a complex and challenging process.

Statutory social, economic and environmental impact assessments are currently being undertaken for inshore MPAs and we will then undertake a public consultation within the current Programme for Government timeframe. Final fisheries management measures will then be implemented as soon as possible once the consultation responses have been analysed and a final decision on the measures taken.