Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government remains committed to funding local services who make decisions on commissioning and planning services for people impacted by drugs, including heroine. Funding to local areas where decisions on preventative measures are taken remains at an all-time high, supplemented by additional funding over the life of the current Parliament through our National Mission. It is important that decisions are taken and plans are made locally to take account of local need.

The Scottish Government recognises that the prescribing of methadone, and all forms of OST, is a matter for clinicians in consultation with individuals and that the risks of prolonged use and any possible side effects are a matter for clinicians who are bound by professional codes and evidence-based UK-wide clinical guidance on this.

The Scottish Government agreed with recommendations made by the Drug Deaths Taskforce who recommended that more choice should be available on the types of OST offered where appropriate and notes that a significant proportion of people have chosen to move from methadone and oral buprenorphine to long acting injectable buprenorphine since the introduction of the medication Assisted Treatment standards in May 2021.

However, methadone remains a recommended, evidence-based first line option for clinicians and individuals according to independent codes and clinical guidance.

I last met with the National Energy Systems Operator on 29 October 2024 to discuss Clean Power 2030.

Information about Ministerial engagements, overseas travel, car journeys, domestic travel and gifts received is also published on the Scottish Governments website: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The First Minister wrote to Friends of the Earth Scotland on 21 August and again on 25 October to set out his detailed considerations of their allegations and his conclusion that the Code had not been breached.

The application under consideration in these exchanges and as noted above was received on 18 February 2022 and that this application has yet to be determined.

Medical packaging, such as blister packaging, is not easily recycled due to strict regulatory requirements for pharmaceutical packaging set by the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. However, the Scottish Government is taking steps to encourage businesses to reduce the amount of packaging waste and to improve recycling through implementation of extended producer responsibility for packaging from 2025. This includes obligations for producers of pharmaceutical packaging.

The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 requires that Scottish Ministers publish a circular economy strategy, which will be developed over the next two years. In advance of that, we will shortly be publishing a final version of our circular economy and waste route map, which will set out actions to deliver sustainable use of our resources and progress a circular economy to 2030. As part of these we will continue to consider medical packaging items.

The Scottish Government is committed to reducing high deer numbers in order to help us to achieve our biodiversity and carbon objectives. In addition to the Cairngorms National Park Authority deer management incentives pilot, NatureScot launched two pilot schemes led by this autumn to incentivise deer managers to increase deer culls in specific parts of Scotland.

These pilot schemes have been implemented this year in different parts of Scotland to test different approaches to incentives and to better understand the barriers to deer management.

While these pilots do not constitute a single national scheme, we will use the findings from them to inform decisions on future incentive schemes.

The Scottish Government made a commitment in the 2024 New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy to develop an Asylum Right to Work Pilot proposal. I am pleased to confirm that we have today published our proposal setting out a design for a prospective pilot scheme which would enable a cohort of those seeking asylum to work in Scotland, operating within the current UK immigration framework.

We have worked closely with a range of key stakeholders including local authorities, the third sector and employers to shape the development of the pilot proposal. This proposal would allow pilot participants awaiting a decision on their asylum claim to work after six months rather than the current twelve months, to no longer be restricted to roles on the Immigration Salary List, and to be supported by a flexible, wrap-around provision of support including employability and language learning. Individuals will be able to access employment sooner, have fewer restrictions on the jobs they can do and be supported in accessing, and maintaining, securing employment.

The next step is to share this proposal with the UK Government. I would urge the UK Government to engage constructively to agree a delivery model which supports individuals in making a positive contribution to their family and the community and includes safeguards.

Working jointly to develop and deliver a pilot will help individuals, communities and help to inform future policy approaches on the right to work.

The publication link will go live at 09:30 at: http://www.gov.scot/ISBN/9781836910466

I am delighted to confirm that today the final Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and Delivery plan is being published. The strategy sets out our ambition: to halt the loss of nature by 2030 and to make significant progress in restoring nature by 2045.

Our Strategic Vision is for a nature positive, net zero future where Scotland’s natural environment is restored, and where everyone can play their part in securing that future. The delivery plan, the first in a series, sets out the actions needed, which taken together represent a step change that will accelerate the pace and scale of our efforts to address the biodiversity crisis.

A new Natural Environment Bill, planned in year 4 of this Parliament, will establish a framework for statutory nature targets securing accountability and driving action across government. Protecting our natural environment will lead to a greener, fairer and more prosperous Scotland for all.

The Digital Assets in Scots Private Law Expert Reference Group has made its findings and recommendations to the Scottish Government, and a consultation on possible legislative reform was published today, 27 November 2024, with a closing date of 5 February 2025. The consultation seeks views on proposals to provide greater legal certainty on the kinds of digital asset that can be objects of property in Scots private law and some key features as to how they would operate in property law. The consultation can be accessed here: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836910510.

Scotland's Road Safety Framework to 2030 sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and an ambitious long-term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050. However, the number of fatal casualties in 2024 are tracking 21% above the same period in 2023.

The reasons behind this are varied, with speeding and driver frustration being a persistent factor in a number of injury collisions on Scotland’s roads. It is therefore timely that Transport Scotland have undertaken a National Speed Management Review. This review seeks to ensure speed limits on Scotland’s roads are appropriate and help contribute to a reduction in injury and death on our roads.

The review examined a range of approaches, including HGV-specific speed limits, drawing insights from both national and international case studies. This includes the impact of the 50 mph speed limit trial for HGVs on the A9 single carriageway sections between Perth and Inverness. Since this trial there has been improved driver behaviour on this section of the route, a greater compliance with speed limits and a reduction in deaths and serious injuries.

I can therefore announce that a public consultation on proposed changes to speed limits has launched and will be open until Wednesday 5 March 2025. It invites feedback on proposals to lower the national speed limit on single carriageway roads from 60 mph to 50 mph and to increase speed limits for goods vehicles over 7.5 tonnes on single-carriageways from 40 mph to 50 mph and dual carriageways from 50 mph to 60 mph. Analysis from the review indicates that these changes could significantly reduce injury collisions while maintaining journey times and enhancing journey time reliability.

I urge all elected members to encourage constituents and stakeholders to participate in the consultation at: https://www.transport.gov.scot/consultation/national-speed-management-review-consultation/