The Scottish Government has not met with the Bakers Food and Allied Workers Union (BFAWU) regarding the working conditions of salmon farming workers.

The Scottish Government fully expects employers to maintain workplaces that are safe for workers in line with health and safety legislation, but cannot direct them in respect of these reserved matters. The Scottish Government promotes strong, constructive relationships between employers and trade unions, particularly where they are recognised, or where it is clear workers are seeking this collective representation.

Drug deaths remain far too high, and the latest suspected drug death figures indicate that 898 people are believed to have died in the first nine months of 2025. This is a stark reminder of the scale of the challenge we face.

Through the National Mission, we have strengthened access to residential rehabilitation by funding eight new facilities, increasing referrals, and remaining on track to reach our target of 1,000 placements per year by 2026. We have also supported the establishment of the UK’s first official safer consumption facility, The Thistle, and expanded the distribution of naloxone.

The growing presence of new synthetic substances, such as nitazenes, is a serious and increasing concern across Scotland and the wider UK. We have seen clusters of harms in 2025, including both fatal and near-fatal overdoses.

We are working with partners to ensure that information on emerging trends is shared with local areas as quickly as possible so they can respond effectively, and we continue to collaborate closely with partners to communicate vital advice and guidance.

We are also encouraging anyone who carries naloxone to consider carrying additional kits, as the high potency of nitazenes may mean that multiple doses are required to reverse an overdose.

Our current focus remains on supporting local authorities to meet their statutory duties, including under Part 8 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 and the associated statutory guidance.

Responsibility for raising public awareness of Common Good assets, their registers and decision-making processes lies with local authorities.

Under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, councils have statutory duties to establish, and maintain a Common Good Register and ensure members of the public can access the Register free of charge. Any decisions relating to proposed disposals or changes of use of common good land must be published by the council and representations should be sought from specified bodies.

Councils must have regard to Scottish Government guidance designed to improve transparency and community involvement. This includes the 2018 Community Empowerment and Common Good Property Guidance for Local Authorities.

The Scottish Government supports the work of the Scottish Land Commission in promoting good practice and transparency. The Commission’s work includes the development and maintenance of the Land Rights and Responsibilities Protocol on Common Good land, developed to support local authorities in managing Common Good assets consistently and engaging communities in decision-making.

There is an opportunity for Scotland to become a leader in green data centres given our capacity to generate energy from renewable sources.

The Scottish Government recognises the longstanding importance of Common Good assets and the need for a clear and effective framework for their governance. We note the Scottish Land Commission’s publications on Common Good which explore options for reform of the legislative framework.

The 2025-26 average Band D Council Tax rates are published at the following locations:

• Council tax datasets - gov.scot (Council Tax by Band 2025-26, Scotland)
• Council Tax levels set by local authorities in England 2025 to 2026 (revised) - GOV.UK (England)
• Council Tax levels: April 2025 to March 2026 [HTML] | GOV.WALES (Wales)

A summary table is as follows:

It is not possible to determine whether any suspected drug deaths are linked to waits for treatment. However, in 2011, the Scottish Government set a Standard that 90% of people referred for help with problematic drug or alcohol use will wait no longer than three weeks for specialist treatment that supports their recovery. This Standard has been met consistently every quarter since December 2022.

Over the period January to September 2024, 7,685 referrals to community-based services started drug treatment. Of these, 95% involved a wait of three weeks or less. Over the period January to September 2025, 7,606 referrals to community-based services started drug treatment. Of these, 96% involved a wait of three weeks or less. Further information is available at https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/publications/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times/national-drug-and-alcohol-treatment-waiting-times-1-july-2025-to-30-september-2025/ and https://scotland.shinyapps.io/PHS_drug_alcohol_waitingtimes/.

Transitioning to zero emission HGVs plays an important role within the draft Climate Change Plan currently under consultation. The Scottish Government worked with the haulage, finance, energy, union and manufacturing sectors to co-design the HGV Decarbonisation - Pathway for Scotland, published in 2024. The Pathway emphasizes the importance of HGV charging being in place to support the efficient and effective movement of goods.

The Scottish Government has invested £284,000 in research with fleets and academics to identify where in Scotland en route energy infrastructure for HGVs will be required, in addition to depot energy. The first iteration looked at both charging and hydrogen fuelling. The second iteration of this research focused solely on charging and can be found at Towards Zero Emission HGV Infrastructure in Scotland: Phase 2 Report. The next iteration, also focused solely on charging, will be published in the summer and will cover around 10% of all Scottish truck miles.

This research has been shared with the electricity networks and the National Energy System Operator to support future electricity network investment planning. It has been warmly welcomed by haulage fleets, trade bodies, chargepoint operators and commercial investors. It has also been of interest to international partners learning from best practice.

Building on this evidence, the Scottish Government has made £2 million available in 2025-26 for consortia and SMEs to develop business cases for potential future investment into HGV decarbonisation covering both vehicles and charging infrastructure. Early indications are that fleets and financiers are engaging well in developing projects for potential delivery from late 2026. Further information can be found at Heavy Goods Vehicle Market Readiness Fund.

Any Scottish Government investment into heavy vehicle charging infrastructure will encourage the shared use of infrastructure across operators and sectors where possible, as was the case with the recent investment of £41.7m into zero emission bus fleets. In addition to the 252 zero emission buses and associated charging funded, around 17 bus depots will be open to HGVs wishing to charge from the end of 2026 under the Scottish Zero Emission Bus Challenge Fund’s second round of funding (ScotZEB2).

Since 2014 the Scottish Government has invested over £80m into public sector bodies to decarbonise their vehicle fleets. This has included funding the trialling and introduction of electric refuse collection vehicles and HGVs, including provision of charging facilities. We are now working with the public sector to develop a Public Sector Fleet Decarbonisation Action Plan.

Transport Scotland will soon be publishing a Net Zero Route Map which will include the decarbonisation targets for HGV fleets carrying out contracted work for Transport Scotland, including work to install charging points at depots

The draft Budget ensures the estimated revenues raised from non-domestic rates in 2026-27 will be 6% lower in real terms measured by CPI than pre-COVID, despite the number of properties on the valuation roll increasing in that time, and introduces the lowest Basic Property Rate for 2026-27 since 2018-19.

The independent Scottish Fiscal Commission is responsible for forecasting tax revenues in its Scotland's Economic and Fiscal Forecasts and for 2026-27 the forecast Non-Domestic Rates revenue is £3,387 million.

Valuations are carried out by independent Assessors and we recognise that while some ratepayers will see their rateable values fall, a number will see significant increases.

That is why the draft budget will continue to support businesses and communities with a strong non-domestic rates package for 2026-27 that decreases the Basic, Intermediate and Higher Property Rates in 2026-27, delivering the lowest Basic Property Rate since 2018-19.

Businesses and communities will be supported with a generous non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £864 million in 2026-27, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK and is confirmed for the next three years, as well as transitional relief schemes for eligible ratepayers.