Chamber and committees

Statutory consultees are those set out in legislation as requiring to be consulted on submission of an application.

Community councils are not referred to as statutory consultees of applications for energy consents under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989. However, consultation responses from non-statutory consultees such as community councils and public bodies are important considerations during the determination process.

The Scottish Government is committed to further strengthening engagement for communities by making pre-application consultation a statutory requirement as part of the UK Government’s proposed reforms to electricity infrastructure consenting in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has not had specific discussions with North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire or Falkirk Council about underage vaping, including the sale of vapes to young people.

We work closely with the Society of Chief Officers of Trading Standards in Scotland (SCOTSS) on underage sales of vapes. SCOTSS provides an overview of the action taken at a local level on underage sales of vapes and provides an opportunity for concerns to be raised.

As members of the COSLA Trading Standards Policy and Co-ordination Group we are able to work with a range of stakeholders at national and local level on the topic of youth vaping.

Officials spoke with Glasgow City Council on 27 February 2025 following the decision to retract the proposal to close the Glasgow School of Sport. The Scottish Government understands that the proposal is no longer under active consideration.

As set out in the answer to questions S6W-35253 and S6W-35256 on 11 March 2025, as part of the NHS Scotland Board Annual Review process, the feedback obtained from Area Partnership forums highlighted safety related concerns from a wide range of Agenda for Change colleagues on any reduction to the working week in 2025.

Extensive research was undertaken on the impact of the first 30 minute reduction of the working week for Agenda for Change staff. This included its impact on maintaining system performance, meeting legislative requirements around safe staffing and the delivery of planned initiatives to support service recovery. On review of this research it was clear that, to avoid unacceptable levels of risk to service resilience and patient safety, introducing the remaining hour on 1 April 2026 would be the most appropriate option.

To confirm, there is no delay in the implementation of the reduction of the working week to 36 hours for Agenda for Change staff. It was always the intention to use the initial 30 minute reduction in April 2024 as an opportunity to learn and assess how best to move forward with any further reduction in the working week.

The Scottish Government is therefore committed to fully implementing the remaining 60 minute reduction in the working week for all Agenda for Change staff on 1 April 2026. This will facilitate patient and staff safety, support the continued recovery of services and avoid any extra burden for our workforce.

This implementation date of 1 April 2026 remains fully in line with the commitment made as part of the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay settlement and the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government.

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

Scottish waste legislation is underpinned by the waste hierarchy and Scottish Government has a range of laws and policies which implement it in managing waste.

The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 require Scottish households and businesses to present recyclable materials such as glass, metal, plastic, paper, cardboard and food waste separately for collection.

Scotland was the first nation in the UK to introduce a ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste which comes into force on 31 December 2025.

The Circular Economy Act and our Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030 set out ambitious plans to deliver priority actions which will help maximise progress towards a circular economy. The plan has 4 strategic aims: to reduce and reuse, maximise recycling, decarbonise disposal and strengthen the circular economy.

A total of £66.6 million has been allocated through the Recycling Improvement fund, to 27 Scottish local authorities for 47 projects to increase the quantity and quality of recycling across Scotland.

These are just some of the measures in place in Scotland which are to helping to drive waste up the hierarchy and away from disposal.

I met with the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention on 04 November 2024 to discuss the Tobacco and Vapes Bill where I reaffirmed my support for this historic piece of legislation and highlighted how it could positively impact health inequalities in Scotland.

The Bill’s subsequent re-introduction on 5 November 2024 followed close collaborative work across the four nations over the content of the Bill. Officials across the four nations continue meet regularly to discuss the Bill to ensure coherence and alignment of policies, where this is possible and appropriate.

The Bill will gradually increase the age of sale for tobacco products and provide powers to legislate on vape flavours, displays, packaging, as well introduce an advertising ban for vapes and nicotine products. This will create a generational change, meaning that children born after 1 January 2009 will never legally be able to buy tobacco. This landmark legislation will ban vapes and nicotine products from being deliberately promoted and advertised to children to stop the next generation from becoming hooked on nicotine.

On 21 November 2024 a Legislative Consent Memorandum was introduced for consideration by the Scottish Parliament and I provided evidence to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on the Memorandum on 17 December 2024. I await the report from the Committee, and will then update Members and Committee on the next steps.

As set out in the answer to question S6W-35253 on 11 March 2025, as part of the NHS Scotland Board Annual Review process, the feedback obtained from Area Partnership forums highlighted safety related concerns from a wide range of Agenda for Change colleagues on any reduction to the working week in 2025.

To confirm, there is no delay in the implementation of the reduction of the working week to 36 hours for Agenda for Change staff. It was always the intention to use the initial 30 minute reduction in April 2024 as an opportunity to learn and assess how best to move forward with any further reduction in the working week.

The Scottish Government is therefore committed to fully implementing the remaining 60 minute reduction in the working week for all Agenda for Change staff on 1 April 2026. This will facilitate patient and staff safety, support the continued recovery of services and avoid any extra burden for our workforce.

This implementation date of 1 April 2026 remains fully in line with the commitment made as part of the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay settlement and the Scottish Government’s Programme for Government.

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

A national HIV testing week was carefully considered by the HIV Transmission Elimination Scoping Group, including clinical and public health experts, who did not recommend that it should be prioritised in the short to medium term. Based on the Group’s advice, our HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan 2023-26 sets out our approach to addressing stigma and promoting HIV testing on a consistent, year-round basis. However, the Scottish Government has committed to reviewing the potential costs and benefits of a national testing week once priority actions to expand capacity and improve access to testing have been progressed.

There has been regular communication between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service on HMP Highland, including costs, since 2011, in line with updates to the Infrastructure Investment Plan.

• In September 2011 the Scottish Government was updated that the total capital investment for HMP Highland was estimated at £52m.
• In August 2014 the Scottish Government was updated that the total capital investment for HMP Highland was estimated at £62.8m.
• In December 2015 the Scottish Government was updated that the total capital investment for HMP Highland was estimated at £66m.
• In July 2018 the Scottish Government was updated that the total capital investment for HMP Highland was estimated at £73.9m.
• In November 2018 the Scottish Government was updated that the total capital investment for HMP Highland was estimated at £80.5m.
• In March 2020 the Scottish Government was updated that the total capital investment for HMP Highland was estimated at £92m.
• In February 2021 the Scottish Government was updated that the total capital investment for HMP Highland was estimated at £98m - £110m.
• In July 2022 the Scottish Government was updated that the total capital investment for HMP Highland was estimated at £139.5m.
• In February 2024 the Scottish Government was updated that the total capital investment for HMP Highland would be £209m.

The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally on the numbers of people with transfusion-dependent thalassaemia or sickle cell disease.

The question of how many might be eligible for exagamglogene autotemcel treatment, if it were available, would be a matter for individual clinicians following all guidance on eligibility and any required testing to ascertain this.