Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is aware of concerns that have been raised on this important matter. We ran a consultation between December 2024 and February 2025, to seek views on how best to further regulate non-surgical cosmetics procedures. Over 2200 responses were received which the Scottish Government is carefully analysing.

We have also already engaged with, and will continue to engage with, a range of stakeholders including healthcare professionals as we consider the evidence gathered to date.

Our proposals aim to be both robust and proportionate, protecting the public and our precious NHS whilst supporting reputable business to operate safely.

We will publish the analysis and announce next steps which I have committed to doing before the Scottish Parliament’s summer recess in late June.

The Scottish Government established a small team of civil servants in the months following the publication of the 2019 Programme for Government until 18 March 2020 which had work to update Scotland’s Future as part of its remit. We cannot provide you with a specific figure on the costs of that work as a full financial year was not completed.

The staffing costs of the Constitutional Futures Division (CFD), for the years that a full financial period was completed, have previously been published in response to an FOI request and in response to question S6W-22623:

2022/23 - Written question and answer: S6W-22623 | Scottish Parliament Website

2023/24 - Various questions relating to Independence: FOI release - gov.scot

The CFD disbanded on 17th January 2025 and therefore, as advised above, we are unable to provide details of staffing costs as a full financial year was not completed.

The table below show the occupancy levels at Scottish Government (SG) core office buildings for which there is an available data set. The average daily desk occupancy rate has been calculated by dividing the number of unique building pass users recorded over a 24 hour sample period by the number of available desks. A sample is taken on one day of each week and totalled together with the other sample days in the year then divided by how many weeks occurred.

No. This information is not proactively published. Information on running costs for Scottish Government buildings has been previously provided, under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002.

The Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020 and the Shareholder Relationship Framework Document outline the relationship between the Bank and Scottish Ministers as the Shareholder, including measures to ensure appropriate controls and accountability, and to ensure the administrative and operational independence of the Bank.

These are available online:

Scottish National Investment Bank Act 2020

73888039.7

Our consultation last year on a new Social Housing Net Zero Standard (SHNZS) asked for views on proposals to require social landlords to improve fabric efficiency and install clean heating where it is technically feasible and cost-effective to do so. Feedback from this consultation estimated the total upfront costs for the sector to 2045 of installing clean heating systems and improving energy efficiency would be around £6 billion, with an average cost per home of around £14,000.

We continue to discuss next steps for the proposed Standard and longer term financing options with key stakeholders from the social housing sector. I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-36595 on 24 April 2025 and S6W-36596 on 1 May 2025 for further context.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37121 on 1 May 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 allocation of resources within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is an operational matter for the Chief Fire Officer and SFRS Board. There is a Public Sector Framework contract in place for the provision of suitable helicopter services (including for the use of firefighting). This framework was constructed on the basis of estimated levels of use by the various Public Bodies who utilise this contract (including NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and SFRS).

Forestry and Land Scotland routinely work with SFRS during wildfire incidents, strategically placing available aircraft and / or helicopter support in the right locations at the right times during wildfire incidents across Scotland. The call-out process, as defined within the framework contract, is followed when helicopter support is required by SFRS and / or FLS.

The Chief Fire Officer has provided assurances to the Scottish Government that fire fighter safety is an absolute priority and that all equipment in place is safe. SFRS remains fully ready and able to respond to any instance of wildfire that occurs across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has not received any direct requests from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) for equipment to deal with wildfires.

The capital budget for SFRS in 2025-26 is £47 million, an increase of £4 million over the previous year to improve facilities for firefighters, and invest in the SFRS asset base across property, fleet, operational equipment and ICT.

This has enabled SFRS to invest in its wildfire strategy which includes provision of equipment such as leaf blowers, brush cutters, all-terrain vehicles, as well as training in subjects such as tactical burning, which is a first for the SFRS. As a result of this investment, additional resources and training, the SFRS are now better equipped and more prepared than ever for responding to wildfires.

SFRS remains fully ready and able to respond to any instance of wildfire that occurs across Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.