Chamber and committees

Recent research suggests vaccination for shingles with the live attenuated herpes zoster vaccine (Zostavax®) could be linked to a reduction in the risk of developing dementia.

In the UK, Zostavax®, a live vaccine, was routinely offered to those eligible for the NHS shingles programme and not contraindicated to the vaccine.

In February 2019, the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation recommended that Shingrix® a non-live vaccine, should replace Zostavax® in the routine programme and since 1 September 2023, all newly eligible individuals have been offered the non-live shingles vaccine Shingrix®.

The statutory responsibility for delivering, commissioning and providing appropriate social care services at a local level lies with local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships taking account of local population needs. However the Scottish Government understands the growing concerns about the challenges around the availability of social care services, particularly in rural areas, and is committed to developing a sustainable health and social care system that ensures people get the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

That is why the 2025-26 budget includes over £15 billion for the Local Government Settlement and almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million. At £21.7 billion, the overall financial envelope for Health and Social Care also reached record levels.

Furthermore in the Programme for Government 2025 to 2026, we have committed to ensuring that social care workers, who are delivering direct care in commissioned services, continue to be paid at least the Real Living Wage.

We do however recognise the considerable current financial pressures facing the care home and wider social care sectors. These pressures have been significantly compounded by decisions taken by the UK Government, such as the increase in employers National Insurance contributions (eNICs) and changes to the social care visa system and salary threshold levels.

The Scottish Government and COSLA continue to press the UK Government to fund the impacts of these changes on Scottish public services in full; this includes the vital services provided on behalf of local authorities by social care providers in the private and third sectors.

The Scottish Government is undertaking a programme of work to understand and respond to these pressures facing the sector. This includes a new social care Financial Viability Response Group, which has met weekly since February 2025 and comprises sector representatives such as Scottish Care, Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS), Care Inspectorate and local leaders.

As well as this I, alongside the COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson, jointly host a monthly roundtable meeting with sector partners to consider the potential impacts of the eNICs and financial viability pressures on the social care sector.

That work is ongoing, but the Scottish Government is committed to working closely with partners to continue to identify the pro-active steps that can be taken to mitigate these impacts, protect services and support the people in receipt of care.

The statutory responsibility for delivering, commissioning and providing appropriate social care services at a local level lies with local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships taking account of local population needs. However the Scottish Government understands the growing concerns about the challenges around the availability of social care services, particularly in rural areas, and is committed to developing a sustainable health and social care system that ensures people get the right care, at the right time, in the right place.

That is why the 2025-26 budget includes over £15 billion for the Local Government Settlement and almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration – exceeding our commitment to increase funding by 25% by almost £350 million. At £21.7 billion, the overall financial envelope for Health and Social Care also reached record levels.

Furthermore in the Programme for Government 2025 to 2026, we have committed to ensuring that social care workers, who are delivering direct care in commissioned services, continue to be paid at least the Real Living Wage.

We do however recognise the considerable current financial pressures facing the care home and wider social care sectors. These pressures have been significantly compounded by decisions taken by the UK Government, such as the increase in employers National Insurance contributions (eNICs) and changes to the social care visa system and salary threshold levels.

The Scottish Government and COSLA continue to press the UK Government to fund the impacts of these changes on Scottish public services in full; this includes the vital services provided on behalf of local authorities by social care providers in the private and third sectors.

The Scottish Government is undertaking a programme of work to understand and respond to these pressures facing the sector. This includes a new social care Financial Viability Response Group, which has met weekly since February 2025 and comprises sector representatives such as Scottish Care, Coalition of Care and Support Providers in Scotland (CCPS), Care Inspectorate and local leaders.

As well as this I, alongside the COSLA Health and Social Care Spokesperson, jointly host a monthly roundtable meeting with sector partners to consider the potential impacts of the eNICs and financial viability pressures on the social care sector.

That work is ongoing, but the Scottish Government is committed to working closely with partners to continue to identify the pro-active steps that can be taken to mitigate these impacts, protect services and support the people in receipt of care.

Prior to the Refinery’s closure, we understood that significant financial investment would be required to retain refinery operations at Grangemouth. Noting the fiscal constraints within which Scottish Ministers are required to operate, such an intervention would clearly require UK Government action.

Given the expansive fiscal levers at its disposal, the UK Government must exhaust all options at its disposal to ensure a future for the Refinery site.

Aviation radar issues are a key consideration by Scottish Ministers in determining planning and consenting applications for on and offshore renewable energy developments. Scottish Government officials work with applicants and stakeholders to ensure the potential impacts on aviation radars from the developments are suitably assessed and mitigated.

The Scottish Onshore Wind Sector Deal contains commitments aiming to lower barriers to deployment arising from aviation radar related issues. OnWARD 2030 is the delivery body for commitments related to aviation and it has recently published its recommendations to set out a proactive, transparent, and consistent approach to the management of aviation issues relating to onshore wind developments. The Scottish Government is working with the UK Government to review these recommendations.

The statutory responsibility for delivering, commissioning and providing appropriate social care services at a local level lies with local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships taking account of local population needs. This includes the responsibility to reduce the number of people being delayed in hospital unnecessarily. This may mean expanding care home capacity where needed, but it will also mean investing in a range of community based supports to ensure people receive the right care in the right place.

Reducing delayed discharges and addressing the variation in delays across the country is the focus of significant and sustained attention and effort by the Scottish Government. No one should remain in hospital when they no longer need to be there. That is why the Scottish Government is working with COSLA, Health and Social Care Partnerships, Health Boards and Healthcare Improvement Scotland, alongside people with lived experience, to reduce variation and support improvements locally.

To support this work, the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2025-26 sets out a clear plan to reduce waiting times and delayed discharges, supported by £200m targeted investments. Alongside the record investment committed, the Scottish Government published an Operational Improvement Plan, setting out whole system improvement actions to improve access to treatment and shift the balance of care from acute hospital services to the community, and to ensure people receive the right care in the right place. That includes expanding Hospital at Home to at least 2,000 beds, including virtual, by December 2026. The range of treatment people can expect to receive at home will also expand as part of this, reducing the number of people needing to be admitted to hospital.

I am confident that with all the new measures we have set out we will continue to see an improving picture on the level of delays across the country and that people will have access to high quality care, in the setting that is right for them

In line with the Scottish Government’s policy, Scottish Enterprise does not provide support for the manufacture of munitions and responsibility for issuing export licenses remains with the UK Government.

Scottish Enterprise’s expectation is that businesses should undertake carbon footprint exercises in advance of developing their own net zero plans, particularly where one of the benefits of a project is an absolute or relative improvement in emissions.

For companies that Scottish Enterprise works with, and where appropriate, evidence of these benefits would be validated by one of Scottish Enterprise’s sustainability specialists using a recognised carbon calculation methodology.

Following a debate in Parliament on 26 February, a Parliamentary motion was passed calling on Scottish Enterprise to “review its human rights due diligence checks to ensure that they take account of where products’ end use is, and that they fully comply with legal obligations under the Export Control Act 2002 and international law”.

The Scottish Government supported this motion. Scottish Enterprise’s work on that review is ongoing and the Scottish Government will continue to stay in close contact with it on this.

The licencing of exports of military technology, including for Scottish-based companies, is a reserved matter over which the Scottish Government has no control. We have repeatedly called on the UK Government to place an immediate ban on licenced arms exports from the United Kingdom to Israel and will continue to do so. The UK Government’s decision, announced on 2 September 2024, to suspend 30 export licences to Israel for arms used in military operations in Gaza, was therefore welcome, but we have been clear that it should go much further.

Scottish Enterprise’s approach to net zero conditionality is compatible with the aims of the Paris Climate Agreement and has been developed in recognition that Scotland’s business base is at different stages of net zero maturity.

Companies are asked to quantify their scope 1, scope 2 and available scope 3 carbon emissions and to share their plan to reduce these to net zero by 2045. This is considered to be proportionate, and is designed to act as a prompt for those companies at the beginning of their net zero journey.

Scottish Enterprise encourages businesses to go further by including wider scope 3 emissions, by accelerating their net zero ambition or by seeking external certification of their plan through a scheme such as SBTi.

There are twenty-five operational windfarms on Scotland’s national forests and land, managed by Forestry and Land Scotland with an installed capacity of 1,386 MW. None of the windfarms are community owned in whole or part.