Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-36412 on 29 April 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/written-questions-and-answers

The Public Health Scotland evaluation of MUP found some evidence of cross-border purchasing, but its extent was observed to be minimal. The evaluation also found online sales to be relatively minor at a population level.

Public Health Scotland holds alcohol retail sales data for both the on-trade and off-trade, which includes all electronic point of sale data for the main supermarkets and a representative sample of smaller retailers and independent stores. Detailed information on cross-border online alcohol sales is not available and such information is likely to be commercially confidential and would require businesses to supply this on a voluntary basis.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to make any changes to the collection of online alcohol sales data.

Scottish Government Marine Directorate has two main fora for fishing industry engagement on inshore fisheries such as lobster. The first is the Regional Inshore Fisheries Group (RIFG) network which has existed in its current form since 2016. This network gives inshore fishers a strong voice in matters which affect them, while providing an environment for co-management of fisheries improvement projects. The second is our Fisheries Management and Conservation (FMAC) Group, this group and associated sub-groups provide a national platform for marine stakeholders to feed into strategic fisheries management discussions.

There is regular engagement with fishing industry stakeholders to discuss a variety of fisheries management issues, including technical measures such as the minimum landing size of lobster. For example, engagement through these two fora helped inform the introduction of interim measures for improvement of crab and lobster fisheries from May 2024 in response to stock assessment advice indicating that these fisheries were under pressure in the majority of areas. We expect this close engagement to continue as we develop our Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement (IFMI) Programme during 2025 and 2026.

Details of meetings conducted by the RIFG network as well as the FMAC Inshore Subgroup are hosted on the RIFG website at www.rifg.scot.

Numerous Scottish public bodies deliver support and tailored strategic investment into Scottish businesses including Scottish Enterprise, the Scottish National Investment Bank, Highlands and Islands Enterprise, South of Scotland Enterprise, Business Gateway and the Scottish Government’s £42m national Techscaler programme.

The Scottish Government-backed investment funds deployed by these organisations are designed to fill gaps in the supply of capital available to businesses and at the same time crowd in private capital to create a busier ecosystem of investors active in Scotland. Underpinned by Techscaler offering online education, expert mentoring, and a network of 14 hubs across seven regions in Scotland, these funds support tech startups from creation through to scale, ensuring support is accessible and rooted in communities across the country.

Examples of this funding and support include:

• Over £118m capital raised by founders since the inception of Techscaler in 2022 and in November 2024 Techscaler, in partnership with Focused for Business launched the Funding Accelerator programme designed to help Scottish startups secure their first or second equity funding round, with investments ranging from £100k to £1m.
• In 2024/25, Scottish Enterprise made 125 investments totalling £42.5m in early-stage companies, with 52% of these investments in companies located out with Edinburgh and Glasgow.
• South of Scotland Enterprise has supported 391 individuals in the South of Scotland as part of a Pathways pre-start pilot for under-represented groups, providing start-up grants of £1,000 to eligible participants.
• Highlands and Islands Enterprise IMPACT30 programme has supported 301 young entrepreneurs across its region and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise Techscaler Kickstart Grant Scheme offers grants ranging from £5,000 to £10,000 to ambitious tech founders and entrepreneurs in developing their business ideas.
• Through our Ecosystem Fund, we have supported various in-person and remote projects specifically focussed on access to finance, resulting in over 700 individuals growing their investment network.
• Scottish Government has consistently provided support for the Scottish EDGE business competition, including £1.4m in 2024-25, with an aim of identifying and supporting Scotland’s innovative, high growth potential entrepreneurial talent. This recently included a pilot Regional EDGE competition to specifically target support to different regions.
• To support the establishment of a network of entrepreneurial campuses, the Scottish Government allocated Converge with £100k to provide early-stage business microgrants. These microgrants have enabled 55 projects, run by university students and staff, to test their initial business idea. Microgrants were awarded to every university in Scotland to ensure all parts of the country have educational institutions that support entrepreneurial activity.

I refer the member to the answer provided in S6W-36463 on 29 April 2025 with reference to this question.

NHS Forth Valley is responsible for assessing patient safety risks in its mental health facilities, including those posed by ligature anchor points, and for taking appropriate local action. Local governance arrangements within each Health Board should include clear oversight, regular reporting, and continuous improvement in line with national guidance and patient safety standards.

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 the question S6W-36532 on 29 April 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/written-questions-and-answers

Offshore oil and gas licensing, consenting and the associated fiscal regime are all matters that are currently reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government is taking the appropriate time to carefully consider the UK Government’s current consultations on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future and a future Oil and Gas fiscal mechanism, and their potential outcomes.

Alongside this consideration, Scottish Government Ministers and officials continue to engage with UK Government counterparts and UK regulators (including the North Sea Transition Authority) on a range of issues relevant to the energy transition.

We are clear in our own support for a just transition for Scotland’s oil and gas sector, that recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments. At the heart of our approach is ensuring a just transition for Scotland’s valued and highly skilled oil and gas workforces to a net-zero future.

Official labour market statistics do not include data on reasons why individuals are unemployed. However, there is data available on reasons why individuals are economically inactive and not participating in the labour market.

The latest ONS Annual Population Survey (APS) statistics for 16 to 24 year olds for January to December 2024, published on 16 April 2025, show an estimated 12.7% of economically inactive 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland gave their reason for being inactive as “long-term sick or disabled”.

The Scottish Government has published analysis on the link between economic inactivity and ill health. On 24 September 2024 an evidence review indicated an increase in physical and mental health conditions in inactive people since 2018, with rising numbers of young people citing mental health concerns as a reason for being economically inactive (Economic inactivity in Scotland: supporting those with longer-term health conditions and disabilities to remain economically active - gov.scot). Previous analysis published on 30 August 2023 identified physical and mental ill-health as possible barriers that prevent young people from entering the labour market (Economic inactivity of young people aged 16-24: Definition, reasons and potential future focus - gov.scot).

The Scottish Government does not collect this data.

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People, published in September 2021, which specifies service standards that all children’s services should follow, to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland.

The Scottish Government have also established the National Autism Implementation Team, in partnership with Queen Margaret University, to support Health and Social Care Partnerships to consider best practice and support improvement through the redesign of autism diagnostic services.

The National Implementation Team is supporting NHS Boards to examine diagnostic pathways for autism and establish regional experts to assist with improving tiered autism specialisms across health boards.

The Scottish Government has information on the proportion of 16-24 year olds who are economically inactive due to being long-term sick or disabled from the National Records of Scotland Census 2022 results and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS).

The National Records of Scotland Census results show there were around 11,700 people aged 16-24 who were economically inactive due to being long-term sick or disabled in 2022, 5.6% of all economically inactive 16 to 24 year olds.

The latest data from the ONS Annual Population Survey, which continues to be subject to increased volatility due to lower survey response rates in recent years, reports that an estimated 12.7% of economically inactive 16 to 24 year olds in Scotland gave their reason for being inactive as long-term sick or disabled for the period January to December 2024.