Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is expecting findings from the independent Public Health Scotland evidence review of the existing literature, studies and research on alcohol marketing and advertising to be available in Spring 2025.

Trains that currently serve Intercity routes are going to be replaced as the Scottish Government has instructed ScotRail to commence the procurement process, which will secure a replacement for these trains. 

Until then, the Scottish Government has funded ScotRail to recruit additional train maintenance staff as part of its programme to improve the availability of existing refurbished Inter7City rolling stock. 

We are building on our legally binding commitment to just transition principles by developing Just Transition Plans for specific sectors. Our latest Programme for Government sets out our intention to publish Just Transition Plans for energy, transport, built environment and construction, and land use and agriculture. We are staggering the publication of these sectoral plans, to ensure that sufficient time and focus is dedicated to each. We are proposing to publish Just Transition Plans for transport, and land use and agriculture in early 2025, and will develop plans for the remaining sectors subsequently.

The Scottish Government owns two bicycles, and we do not lease any bicycles.

Our bicycles are for use in campaign marketing in respect of Net Zero messages, and are not made available to staff for use on official business.

The Scottish Government has no powers over the smart-meter network or the Radio Teleswitch Service (RTS). Telecommunications is also a reserved issue and radio network upgrades are a commercial matter for mobile network operators and wireless infrastructure providers.

However, through the Scottish Government’s £28.75 million Scottish 4G Infill Programme, we have delivered 55 mobile masts in rural and island areas, all of which are available on an open access basis and could potentially be used to site smart meter radio infrastructure. It is therefore imperative that the UK Government and Ofgem update the regulations to allow the Data Communications Company (DCC) to use mobile technology to provide a signal to homes in Scotland and ensure that all meters can be appropriately upgraded.

Ofgem and Energy UK are leading a cross-industry response to the RTS switch-off, which includes a public awareness campaign. However, with under six months till the switch-off on 30 June 2025, and no clear Plan B, the UK Government must use its powers to direct urgent and proportionate action.

I have written to the UK Minister for Energy Consumers to request that Ofgem include RTS related obligations in licence conditions for both suppliers and the DCC. This change would compel both to use every tool available to ensure that households and businesses in Scotland and across Britain are not left behind. For suppliers, this must translate in practice to ramping up the number of meters upgraded, including targeting several homes or businesses en masse.

Where access to a fully functional smart-meter is not possible, suppliers should offer a non-connected smart meter with pre-programmed switching times – thus providing a temporary solution in the short term. However, it is critical that consumers are not penalised for upgrading their meter and that suppliers are obliged to ensure that consumers are transferred to a like-for-like or improved tariff as part of their meter upgrade.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage with the UK Government on a frequent and sustained basis to ensure that Scottish communities are not caused any detriment as a result of poor smart-meter accessibility and the RTS switch-off. This includes offering to convene a jointly-chaired roundtable on energy consumer issues and participation in the Ofgem-led RTS communications working group, which brings together consumer organisations, government and industry.

It is clear that considerably more needs to be done to raise awareness and oblige suppliers to offer suitable metering solutions, whether smart or pre-programmed, which do not negatively impact the consumer.

The Scottish Government has commissioned Public Health Scotland (PHS) to undertake an evidence review to support decisions on potential proposals in relation to alcohol marketing and advertising that may be taken forward in future.

The scope of the review will include analysis of published evidence and existing literature. The commission is not seeking delivery of new studies or research.

The review will be delivered independently of Scottish Government and PHS will deliver its conclusions solely on the basis of its assessment of the evidence. 

The commissioning document will be published imminently.

Work is currently underway to establish the governance arrangements necessary to ensure that Calmac would meet the definition of a Teckal compliant body in advance of the new Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract being put in place by 1 October 2025.

The Scottish Government is aware that, since April 2024, there has been ongoing supply issues with the availability of naloxegol (Moventig®) tablets. On 25 April 2024, the Scottish Government issued a Medicines Supply Alert Notice to NHS Scotland on the availability of naloxegol (Moventig®) tablets. Medicines Supply Alert Notices are circulated to Medical Directors and Directors of Pharmacy across all Health Boards including national Health Boards (such as NHS National Services Scotland) for onward dissemination to healthcare professionals. Community Pharmacy Scotland also receive a copy of the Medicines Supply Alert Notices for onward dissemination across their network.

The preparation of NPF4 involved extensive engagement, including with rural interests. Legislation requires that within 10 years after publishing the framework, the Scottish Ministers are to either revise the framework, or publish an explanation of why they have decided not to revise it. When revising the framework, legislation requires that a participation statement must be published, setting out when consultation is likely to take place and with whom Ministers intend to consult, including such persons or bodies with a role in delivery of statutory outcomes. One such outcome is increasing the population of rural areas of Scotland.

We have no plans to review NPF4 at present, but any future review would meet the requirements to engage with relevant interests, including perspectives from rural areas, at the appropriate time. Regulations allowing for amendment of the NPF came into force in December 2025 and set out minimum requirements for engagement with stakeholders.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and makes clear our support for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies. Potential impacts on communities and individual dwellings are important considerations in the decision-making process and all applications are subject to site-specific assessments. Local Development Plans should seek to realise their area’s full potential for electricity and heat from renewable, low carbon and zero emission sources by identifying a range of opportunities for energy development.

All planning applications must be determined in accordance with the statutory development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise. For any given area of Scotland this consists of the National Planning Framework and the relevant Local Development Plan(s). If there is a conflict between the policies in NPF4 and Local Development Plans in making any planning decision, the most recently adopted prevails.

When determining applications made under the Electricity Act 1989, representations from community councils and members of the public are taken into account.