Chamber and committees

The regulation and licensing of medicines is reserved to the UK Government and is a matter for the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The decision to market a product in the UK rests with the pharmaceutical company. Neither the MHRA nor the UK or Scottish Governments can compel a pharmaceutical company to seek a marketing authorisation for, or supply, a product in the UK market.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO) for Scotland has discussed the issue with Pfizer representatives who advised that the company is continuing to assess whether it will pursue a UK marketing authorisation for its Solu-Cortef Act-O-Vial® 100 mg/2 mL injection.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of robust evidence in understanding any relationship between domestic abuse against men, substance use and recovery. However, limitations in the available data mean it is difficult to draw firm conclusions regarding potential correlations or causative relationships between these factors.

Existing data sources that provide some insight into these issues include:

• National Drug Related Death Database – records, by sex, whether individuals who have died a drug death were victims of domestic violence prior to death. It also records details of social circumstances including who they were living with and whether individuals were a parent/parent figure. The database also records whether the individual had a psychiatric condition (including depression).
• Drug and alcohol information system (DAISy) – collects data on those presenting for specialist treatment for drugs/alcohol in Scotland. The data set includes some (limited) information on living situation, dependents, and existing medical conditions.

While these data sources can provide information on the circumstances of people affected by substance use, they do not currently provide a comprehensive picture of the relationship between men’s experience of domestic abuse, substance use and recovery outcomes. The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners across the health, justice and research sectors to strengthen the evidence base where appropriate and make the best use of available data to inform policy development and service delivery.

We are continuing to work with NHS Boards, local authorities, COSLA, the third sector and other delivery partners to improve access to neurodevelopmental support for children, young people and adults across Scotland, including in the Highlands and Islands parliamentary region.

For children and young people, this includes delivering the actions set out in the implementation review of the National Neurodevelopmental Specification for Children and Young People through our work with COSLA and the Children and Young People’s Neurodevelopmental Taskforce.

For adults, we are working with partners to take forward the Royal College of Psychiatrists in Scotland’s four-tier national pathway for neurodevelopmental conditions, helping ensure people can access support based on need, whether or not they have a formal diagnosis.

Over £2.9 million of funding in 2025-26 is supporting projects to improve access to neurodevelopmental support across Scotland, while the £2.5 million Autistic Adult Support Fund continues to support autistic adults in communities across the country. The 2026-27 Budget includes additional investment of £7.6 million to enable improvements in neurodevelopmental support for children and young people.

The Scottish Government does not hold this operational information. The member may wish to contact the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service directly, as the Service is responsible for the deployment and operation of its vehicles.

Scottish Ministers are assured that the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has the appropriate governance, assurance and decision-making arrangements in place for the management of its resources and assets, consistent with its statutory responsibilities and the ministerial expectations set out in the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2022.

The Scottish Government maintains regular engagement with SFRS on a range of strategic, operational and corporate matters. These meetings provide an opportunity to discuss issues relating to service delivery, performance, governance and organisational assurance as appropriate. Responsibility for the governance, approval and delivery arrangements for individual procurements rests with SFRS, who follow the Scottish Procurement Journey to ensure best practice.

The Scottish Government does not hold this operational information. The member may wish to contact the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service directly, as the Service is responsible for the deployment and operation of its vehicles.

Operational deployment of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service’s (SFRS) vehicles is a matter for the Service. Scottish Government officials have previously engaged with the SFRS regarding these assets in order to seek assurance regarding the Service’s ability to respond to incidents. SFRS previously advised officials of the circumstances affecting the deployment of these units and provided assurance that appropriate arrangements were in place to maintain operational response capability while the vehicles were being brought into service.

The Scottish Government does not hold this operational information. The member may wish to contact the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service directly, as the Service is responsible for the deployment and operation of its vehicles.

The Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014 established the framework for integrating health and social care services in Scotland. It required local authorities and NHS boards to create Integration Authorities responsible for the governance, planning and funding of integrated services.

Integration aims to improve care and support for people who use services, their carers and their families. It does this by putting a greater emphasis on collaboration, joining up services, and focussing on anticipatory and preventative care. We support Integration Authorities to do this through regular dialogue between officials, myself, the Cabinet Secretary and the networks of Integration Authority Chief Officers, Chairs and Vice-chairs.

For 2025-26, we provided £144,812.30 in Scottish Government funding to Health and Social Care Scotland (HSCS) for their work supporting key networks, including IJB Chief Officers. HSCS work closely with IJBs and Chief Officers to promote good practice, strengthen IJB leadership networks, support meaningful engagement with communities and the third sector, and enhance independent sector involvement in local governance.

More recently I met with the leadership of the IJB Chief Officer network to discuss current priorities and challenges facing integration authorities, and to support continued collaborative working across the health and social care system. I look forward to continued engagement with them.

Under the Marriage (Scotland)Act 1977 and the Civil Partnership Act 2004, there are a number of different systems for religious or belief celebrants to be approved to solemnise marriage or register civil partnership. At the moment, Independent Humanist Ceremonies(IHC) nominate persons to the Registrar General to be registered as celebrants under section 9 of the 1977 Act.