The Scottish Government has not proposed a 'Heroes of Net Zero' campaign, has not done so in the past and is not aware of any proposals to do so in the future. Therefore, we cannot provide a response to points (a), (b) and (c). It is worth noting that the Scottish Government publishes its marketing spend annually on gov.scot - Marketing spend - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government has not consulted the National Mission Clinical Advisory Group (NMCAG) regarding the potential impact of the reclassification of psilocybin on the treatment of people in Scotland with substance abuse disorders. The NMCAG is not a Scientific Advisory Group, it is a consensus seeking Clinical Advisory Group.

I was first made aware of issues with maternity services in NHS Lothian in December 2024. At that time Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) had already started an investigation following whistleblower reports. I met with Lothian Chief Executive and Chair, and they outlined the improvement work they had underway. At my request, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer and Chief Nursing Officer/Deputy Chief Nursing Officer began working directly with NHS Lothian on the issues, providing support and reporting back to Ministers on progress. They noted that NHS Lothian was taking forward a suitable programme of work to address the issues raised as a priority. However the complexity of the issues and improvement required, particularly cultural change, would take time to take full effect.

Following the unannounced HIS inspection, the decision was made to escalate NHS Lothian’s maternity services to Level 3 of NHS Scotland’s Support and Intervention Framework. I have met with NHS Lothian’s Chief Executive to discuss the findings of the report and wider concerns on patient safety oversight, leadership, staff wellbeing and delays in care. NHS Lothian has provided assurances that they will move quickly to implement the required changes and I am scheduled to meet with the Chief Executive and Chair of NHS Lothian on 25 November for an update on progress.

National security and counter-terrorism, including Prevent, is reserved to the UK Government but is delivered in Scotland by devolved partners such as Education, Police, Local Authorities, Prisons and Health. The Scottish Government works closely with the Home Office and key delivery partners to ensure proportionate responses to a broad spectrum of threat. There are variations over time in the number of referrals to Prevent and the number of cases adopted to the programme. This is likely due to a combination of factors including improved training of frontline staff, increasing public awareness of terrorism, related events or high-profile incidents.

Prevent is focussed on early intervention to address all forms of ideology and does not target any one community, group, or individual. The Scottish Government’s work is centred on supporting partners, increasing awareness and improving access to training for professionals to tackle ideological causes. Our wider work to support resilient and safe communities in Scotland helps to stop people from becoming alienated or isolated, reduces susceptibility to radicalisation, and increases resilience to the narratives used to divide us.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

A range of checks are carried out before the release of a prisoner is authorised including but not limited to, an identity check of the person, confirmation of liberation date and a check for any known outstanding warrants.

A liberation in error occurs when an individual is released from a Scottish Prison Service establishment without lawful authority. This situation typically arises due to an administrative or procedural mistake, such as incorrect interpretation of documentation, miscalculation of sentence dates or incorrect data sharing from other partners.

The following table provides the numbers of total liberations and the liberations in error since 2021-2022, up to and including 13 November 2025:

The initial stages of identifying individuals eligible to have their convictions quashed under the Post Office (Horizon System) Offences (Scotland) Act 2024 focused on the assessment of potential cases referred by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) and the Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission (SCCRC) as most likely to contain relevant convictions, followed by an assessment using broader criteria applied to cases identified by Police Scotland.

As part of ongoing monitoring, the Scottish Government continue to work closely with Post Office Limited and the UK Government, with data sharing agreements in place to facilitate the exchange of information that supports the implementation of a consistent approach across the UK. The Scottish Government also engage with the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters (NFSP) and provide public information to ensure that anyone who may have a relevant conviction is aware that they can approach the Scottish Government at any time to have their conviction assessed. Information on how to apply to the Scottish Government directly remains available on the Scottish Government website.

To date, the Scottish Government have identified 64 individuals with convictions quashed by the Act, and one individual with an alternative to prosecution within the scope of the Act. While a matter for the UK Government, we understand that all of these individuals are eligible to apply to the Horizon Convictions Redress Scheme (HCRS) administered by the Department for Business and Trade (DBT). It should be noted that DBT does not provide information to the Scottish Government on the outcome of compensation claims, as this is considered a matter between the individual and the administrator of the scheme. However, from the information available to the Scottish Government, 52 out of the 65 eligible individuals have now applied to HCRS. Furthermore, the Scottish Government has proactively shared with DBT the information pertaining to the remaining individuals eligible to apply for compensation, to enable DBT to engage with them and provide more information about the scheme.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed to reaching net zero by 2045 and Scotland’s new draft Climate Change Plan (CCP) is clear that climate action presents a real and growing economic opportunity to create green jobs and boost investment. The CCP describes how we will ensure that the opportunities of net zero – for cleaner air, better infrastructure and energy security, affordable heating and improved public services – are seized and fairly distributed as part of a just transition. Supporting people to take climate action has never been so important – particularly as we are witnessing a concerning rise in anti-climate rhetoric, despite the majority of people in Scotland recognising that climate change is an immediate and urgent problem.

Scotland’s share of global greenhouse gas emissions has decreased from 0.25% in 1990 to between 0.08%-0.09% in each of the last five years. Scotland has demonstrated how smaller countries can contribute to global change, decarbonising much faster than the EU27 average. Using comparable statistics published by the EU (which exclude emissions from land use), Scotland is 18 percentage points closer to net zero than the EU27 average. Through our positions as Regions4 president and Under2 Coalition European co-chair, Scotland is using its leadership to strengthen international cooperation and capacity building; strengthen states, regions and devolved governments’ influence within international climate discussions and drive global climate ambition. If the world is to deliver on our Paris Agreement commitments and the Glasgow Climate Pact, all nations need to continue to increase ambition and take credible action to reach net zero emissions, rather than rolling back on collective progress.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) commenced their safe delivery of care inspection of all 18 obstetric maternity units in January this year. HIS publishes its methodology for the maternity inspection programme on its website: Safe delivery of care in maternity units inspection programme – Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

All of the inspections carried out by HIS are independent, unannounced and specific to each hospital and NHS Board. This allows for a real-time response to emerging issues and allows us to take a local approach, ensuring lessons are learned and improvements made quickly.

HIS has published inspection reports for Ninewells Hospital Dundee in May 2025 and Edinburgh Royal Infirmary in October 2025. The Scottish Government is notified when HIS inspectors begin a Safe Delivery of Care inspection at a hospital. In addition to the published reports HIS have undertaken unannounced inspections of three further maternity units, and we expect to see those reports publish in due course.

Legitimate use of Controlled Drugs is enabled through scheduling under the Misuse of Drugs Regulations 2001, which regulates their availability according to their medicinal value and perceived risk of misuse. Controlled Drugs are placed in one of five schedules, where Schedule 1 has the greatest restrictions on activities and Schedule 5 the fewest. Psilocybin is classed as a Schedule 1 drug. All research in the UK involving Schedule 1 Controlled Drugs requires a Home Office domestic licence.

In this instance study recruitment closed in August 2025, before NHS Lothian's Home Office licence was granted.

In 2022, joint inspection arrangements between HMICS and HIS were established to ensure that healthcare aspects of custody centre operations are appropriately scrutinised by suitably qualified professionals. They work to ensure that individuals in custody receive equitable healthcare and support compared to the general population, within the constraints of the custody environment.

Following the development of an interim framework to inspect, and the HIS baseline review of healthcare provision in police custody in 2023, the framework to inspect was finalised in 2024. This has since underpinned the programme of joint inspections.

Scottish Government provides £180,000 annually to support the healthcare aspect of these inspections.

When issues are identified through inspections, be they systemic or specific to individual centres, it is for Police Scotland and the NHS to work alongside relevant partners to deliver the necessary improvements to align with recommendations made.

Relating specifically to obtaining Controlled Drug Licenses and implementing policies on access to prescribed medication, in March 2024 the Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy committed to request annual updates from health boards to monitor progress. This followed the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee’s consideration of Petition PE1900.

The Scottish Government continues to oversee implementation across Scotland including a recently commissioned survey to all Health Boards to monitor compliance in each area. These steps demonstrate commitment to ensuring detainees in police custody across Scotland have access to prescribed medications, including methadone.