Chamber and committees

Due to clear recommendations by the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission, and the fact that the last relevant consultation was undertaken 10 years ago, the Scottish Government is committed to a consultation on a proposal to ban remote controlled training collars.

In October 2018 we published advisory guidance on dog training aids, including remote controlled training devices using a static pulse, commonly known as shock collars. The Guidance on Dog Training Aids was developed in discussion with animal welfare organisations including the Scottish SPCA, Dogs Trust, Kennel Club and BVA. It provides important advice on aversive training techniques, including electric shock collars, for both dog owners and those enforcing the Animal Health and Welfare (Scotland) Act 2006.

The Scottish Government commissioned NHS Scotland Innovation Hubs to develop diagnostic pilot proposals aligned with the National Islands Plan commitment.

The North of Scotland Innovation Hub – in partnership with NHS Shetland, NHS Orkney and the Scottish Ambulance Service – proposed Project SOUND, which seeks to evaluate the use of point-of-care diagnostics in emergency response vehicles, assessing their impact on urgent clinical decision-making and reducing hospital admissions through treatment closer to home.

This was assessed by the Scottish Government through internal governance processes and with relevant clinical input to assess viability. The project has been approved and will launch in August 2026.

Information on progress against this commitment will be included in the National Islands Plan Annual Report to the Scottish Parliament.

Water bodies may be monitored for different purposes, such as public health or assessing the status of the water environment.

Areas where large number of bathers are expected to use the water are designated as Bathing Waters for the protection of public health. Designated Bathing Waters are monitored during the bathing water season for bacteria that indicate the potential presence of pathogens that may be harmful to human health.

SEPA also undertakes wider, routine monitoring for the protection of Scotland’s water environment for a range of parameters, including some chemicals. The EU recently made changes to its list of Priority Substances, including the addition of 25 new substances and the Scottish Government is currently reviewing these changes and considering any action which Scotland might take.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS) is the main source for Labour Market Indicators more detailed characteristics. The ONS state there are concerns with the quality of the APS estimates for smaller groups of the population. Therefore, it is not possible to produce robust estimates of the number of people aged 18 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training and not receiving out-of-work benefits from this source.

The Annual Participation Measure published by Skills Development Scotland provides estimates for 16 to 19 year olds not participating in education, employment or training by age and reason for not participating. In 2025, the SDS Annual Participation Measure estimates that 6,758 people aged 18 to 19 in Scotland were not participating in education, employment, or training. The status for those not participating in education, employment or training are included in Table 1.1b: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/appbneac/2025-annual-participation-measure-supplementary-tables.xlsx.

The Scottish Government is aware of the growing sales and ownership of non-traditional and so-called exotic pets but that the full details of this are not easily gathered. We are also aware of campaigns by NGOs as well as SAWC’s historical reports, recommending the introduction of a permitted or positive list system for the keeping of pets in Scotland.

While we acknowledge reports of certain negative welfare outcomes associated with exotic pet ownership, we equally acknowledge that with the right owner education, such species can often be kept under good welfare conditions and in certain cases some species may be kept and bred for important conservation purposes.

At this time, we have no plans to introduce a permitted/positive list system, but we will continue to hold discussions with stakeholders and consider any and all relevant information in this area.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of specialist, gender-responsive support for women who have experienced gender-based violence.

Funding for the Women's Service at Murrays Initiative was provided through the National Drug Mission Fund, administered by Corra Foundation on behalf of the Scottish Government. The grant was awarded for a fixed period from 2021 to June 2026 and concluded in line with the terms of the grant agreement.

We remain committed to supporting women affected by gender-based violence through wider investment in services that prevent and respond to violence against women and girls and through our ongoing commitment to improving support for women affected by substance use and related harms. We will continue to engage with partners across the sector to help ensure that women can access appropriate support.

Six Long Term Conditions Advisory Groups were established under the previous Government in March 2026. Advisory Group 5 focused on Long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/ CFS) and other post-infectious/ post-viral conditions.

The Advisory Groups provided recommendations by 7 May 2026 for the new government to consider. We are grateful for the work of all six Advisory Groups in developing their recommendations.

It is for Scottish Ministers to decide whether and to what extent any of the recommendations become government policy. We are carefully considering the Advisory Groups’ recommendations to inform our way forward for long term conditions. Our Programme for Government for 2026-27 will be put to the Parliament in due course.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS) is the main source for Labour Market Indicators for detailed characteristics. The ONS state there are concerns with the quality of the APS estimates for smaller groups of the population. Therefore, it is not possible to produce robust estimates of the number of people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training by age group from this source.

The Annual Participation Measure published by Skills Development Scotland provides estimates for 16 to 19 year olds not participating in education, employment or training by age.

In 2025, the SDS Annual Participation Measure estimates that:

• 2,152 people aged 16 to 17 in Scotland were not participating in education, employment, or training (1.8% of 16 to 17 year olds)
• 6,758 people aged 18 to 19 in Scotland were not participating in education, employment, or training (6.1% of 18 to 19 year olds)

The Scottish Government has long called for an effective Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Veterinary agreement to achieve some level of return to smoother, pre-Brexit, agri-food trade arrangements.

The Scottish Government welcomed the 19 May 2025 announcements (where the SPS outline agreement was described as part of the wider UK-EU reset summit and in a Common Understanding Document) – with the detail of the agreement yet to be finalized. Scottish Government officials have engaged with UK Government counterparts throughout the process on a range of issues, including animal welfare related matters.

The negotiations had been expected to conclude in advance of the UK-EU Summit, originally scheduled for the end of the month. However, following the resignation of the UK Prime Minister, the Summit has been postponed. Consequently, no further formal rounds of negotiation are expected to take place before September.

Scotland has a growing marine restoration sector which places a significant focus on native oysters and seagrass. The Scottish Government is supporting restoration projects through policy delivery and financial support. In December 2025 we published Scotland's first Marine and Coastal Restoration Plan which includes actions to further support and accelerate active restoration of species and habitats in our waters. Scottish Government officials are now implementing actions from the plan. This work will support the achievement of our goals set out in the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy.

Scottish Government has provided financial support to the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund (SMEEF) since it launched in 2022, increasing our donations for 2026-27 to £116,000. Since launching in 2022, SMEEF has raised and distributed nearly £8m from public and private sources to support marine restoration and enhancement projects across Scotland. This includes a number of projects supporting native oyster and seagrass restoration. In 2025 SMEEF launched an ambitious new seagrass planting programme that will see £2.4 million distributed to projects, with an aim to plant 14 hectares of seagrass by 2028.