The Lord Advocate is not undertaking a review of the legal feasibility of safe drug consumption rooms.

The Lord Advocate received information in relation to a proposed safe drug consumption room which would operate in Glasgow. The Lord Advocate was asked, if a safe drug consumption room of the type described in that proposal were to be established, whether the Lord Advocate would consider a Statement of Prosecution Policy, which would confirm that it would not be in the public interest to prosecute individuals for the possession of illegal substances within the confines of the described facility.

Such a statement would not be a ban on prosecution or decriminalisation of an offence, rather it would be an articulation of the way that the public interest considerations relevant to a prosecutorial decision would fall to be applied in a particular context.

All prosecution policy requires careful consideration. In this case in particular, further information has been sought in relation to the practical operation and policing of the facility.

The Lord Advocate’s consideration of the request is supported by officials within the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

We funded ASH Scotland and Young Scot to develop online resources on vaping which are available for young people, and their teachers or carers on the Young Scot website. We are working with colleagues in Education to review additional resources on vaping and tobacco smoking to ensure they provide the best impact.

However, it is up to individual schools to decide what to teach against the experiences and outcomes of the Curriculum for Excellence. Children and young people will learn about a variety of substances, and explore the impact risk taking behaviour has on life choices and health.

Enforcement of legislation around the sale and purchase of nicotine vapour products (NVPs) is carried out by Local Authorities as part of the Enhanced Tobacco Sales Enforcement Programme (ETSEP). This is overseen by the Society for Trading Standards Officers in Scotland (SCOTSS) and funded by the Scottish Government.

SCOTSS membership includes representation from every Scottish local authority trading standards service. We regularly meet with SCOTSS, our last meeting took place on 21 June 2023, and our standing agenda includes enforcement in relation to NVPs and tobacco.

Through this engagement, we continue to support strong national and local alliances to tackle the availability and sale of tobacco and NVPs to under 18s.

The rollout of the new National GP IT system is being delivered by the national ‘GP IT’ re-provisioning programme and is now fully underway with the first 4 NHS Health Boards(NHS Tayside, Lanarkshire, Lothian and Grampian). To date there are 110 GP practices currently live with the new system. We expect all Health Boards to enter into agreements with the Supplier by mid-2024, and full rollout completed by 2026. More information is available in our refreshed delivery plan of the Digital Strategy: Care in the Digital Age: Delivery Plan 2023-24 (www.gov.scot)

The 2022-23 Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI) outbreak season started on 1 Oct 2022. HPAI H5N1 has since been confirmed (as 15 August) in 197 premises in the UK: 30 in Scotland, 8 in Wales, 1 in Northern Ireland and 158 in England. Of the 30 infected premises in Scotland 18 have been in commercial premises, 9 in backyard flocks and 3 captive bird premises. 16 of the cases have been in the North East of which 11 were in commercial premises, 3 in back yard flocks and 2 in captive bird premises.

One case of Low Pathogenic Avian Influenza (LPAI) H7N3 has also been confirmed in premises in Scotland this season.

APHA carries out year-round avian influenza surveillance of dead wild birds submitted via public reports and warden patrols across Great Britain on behalf of Scottish Government, Defra and Welsh Government. It is not designed to provide how wild birds are impacted by the disease but provide an indicator of the presence of disease in a specific area to help establish background risk levels to poultry and other captive birds. This information helps support how Scottish Government responds to changing disease risk. From 1 October 2022, the GB Dead Wild Bird Surveillance Scheme has identified 1,552 wild birds infected with HPAI H5N1, with 326 findings of HPAI H5N1 in Scotland. The surveillance scheme is designed to detect the presence of avian influenza.

NatureScot’s Wild Bird Mortality Surveillance Network, set up to provide early intelligence on the spread of the outbreak on wild birds and to give an indication of the impacts on different species, has received reports of a total of 10,087 dead and sick wild birds since 17 October 2022. Just under half of these (4,244) have been reported from NE Scotland (Aberdeenshire, Angus, Moray). This data is provided from key areas selected for monitoring and does not represent total wild bird deaths which will be much higher and may not all be solely attributable to HPAI H5N1. On 11 August Ministers launched the Wild Bird HPAI Response Plan that sets out how the Scottish Government and its partners will respond to any further outbreaks of HPAI in wild birds in Scotland.

However, this recent spike in wild bird occurrences has not translated into a corresponding spike in cases amongst poultry and captive birds. Although Scotland has confirmed 30 poultry and captive bird premises infected with H5N1 since October 2022, only 9 cases have occurred since 1 April 2023.

Scotland’s Chief Vet and officials continue to monitor the situation closely and remain in daily contact with other UK administrations to discuss policy options, control measures and future strategies for the control of avian influenza. The Scottish Government will continue to review the range of potential proportionate responses available. Together the three nations of Great Britain have an agreed notifiable avian disease control strategy which underpins our collective response to the disease.

The Scottish Government condemns all incidents of religious persecution and the targeting of innocent people based on their beliefs.

The Scottish Government’s new Hate Crime Strategy was published on 24 March 2023. The strategy sets out a vision for a Scotland where everyone, including people of faith, live free from hatred and prejudice. The strategy was informed by those with lived experience of hate crime, including faith communities. A delivery plan, setting out immediate and longer term activity, will be published later this year.

In addition, the Scottish Government’s Faith and Belief Engagement Strategy for Scotland was published on 22 March 2023. It was developed in partnership with faith and belief organisations and makes a clear commitment to strengthen communication and collaboration with Scotland’s diverse faith and belief communities. It aims to enable fairer representation for minority groups and intersectional voices, and to further support community cohesion.

In February 2022 we published research commissioned through the ClimateXChange (CxC) into direct, point-of-use greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with zero carbon heating technologies, including hybrid boilers ( Direct greenhouse gas emissions from low and zero carbon heating systems (ed.ac.uk) ).

In May 2021 we published an evidence review, commissioned through the CxC, of all aspects of the use of hydrogen to heat buildings ( Evidence review for hydrogen for heat in buildings (climatexchange.org.uk) ), including converting gas boilers to run on hydrogen.

We will continue to monitor the growing body of research commissioned by other bodies and factor that in to our own decisions concerning further studies.

The Scottish Government places great importance on sport and leisure facilities, they are vital in supporting the physical and mental health of the nation.

sport scotland, our national agency for sport, is working with Scottish Swimming to undertake a review of the facilities estate. This will improve the understanding of the current swimming pool facilities provision and help to predict the landscape in the short, medium and long term to ensure the sustainability of these important facilities. This review will contribute to a better understanding of how we can best support facilities in Scotland.

In the interim, it is vital that all partners at a local level work together to explore all avenues and approaches, to ensure that local clubs and communities have access to sport and leisure facilities.

Later this year we will publish our Heat in Buildings Public Engagement Strategy setting out how we will work with stakeholders to increase public awareness and understanding of zero emission heating systems, the different technological options available and how to access advice and support.

This year we will also consult on proposals that might be included in a Heat in Buildings Bill and aim to set out further details of any planned new regulations. We want to hear from as many people as possible, across all areas of Scotland, on ways to help us ensure that we design the right protections and exemptions from the start – making sure the transition is just, fair and effective.

Home Energy Scotland (HES), administered by Energy Saving Trust on behalf of the Scottish Government, is a domestic advice service that acts as a single point of access for free, bespoke, impartial advice on energy efficiency, renewable heating and fuel poverty support in Scotland. HES provides in-depth support to householders on low and zero emissions heating technologies, other domestic renewables and more complex energy efficiency improvements. In the new calendar year we plan to launch a new national marketing campaign to promote action amongst potential early adopters of heat pumps, directing people to find out more through contacting our HES service.

Our Let’s Do Net Zero marketing campaign will support this by highlighting carbon emitting heating systems as being a major contributor to climate change and challenge myths associated with zero emission heating technologies, like heat pumps, to increase consumer confidence.

The Heat in Buildings Strategy published in October 2021 set out a pathway to achieve zero emissions from all buildings in Scotland by 2045. As part of a phased approach, our ambition is to see domestic buildings meeting energy efficiency standards of equivalent to Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) band C by 2033, where this is technically feasible and cost effective. We are currently consulting on reform of EPC design to support our emissions reduction aim. Scotland’s non-domestic buildings are hugely diverse, we are working with partners such as Local Energy Scotland to ensure that each non-domestic building has the advice and support required to lower their energy demands and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

We recognise that approaches to regulating energy efficiency standards of Scotland’s listed buildings must be balanced with respecting and preserving the special characteristics of those buildings and places.

We also recognise it may be more challenging for some homes and buildings to meet the energy efficiency standards than for others. We are working with stakeholders, including Historic Environment Scotland, to consider our approach to buildings which are listed or in conservation areas.

There may be circumstances in which the scale and range of measures possible may vary from the standard required. These circumstances include, but are not limited to, the method of construction, cost of measures required, the measures having an unacceptable negative impact on the fabric or structure, or the need for, but lack of, third party permissions.