Chamber and committees

A reporter from the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) was appointed to examine the proposed development in January 2025 and following our recent recall for ministerial decision on the appeal, will now produce a report to Ministers, with recommendations, instead of the reporter making the final decision.

The Scottish Government uses a variety of sources to measure Scotland’s inward investment performance, including data from Scottish Enterprise and independent analysis published annually in the EY UK Attractiveness Survey for Scotland. Mergers and Acquisitions (M&A) is not a classification that the Scottish Government or Scottish Enterprise use when measuring the performance of inward investment projects into Scotland. Scottish Enterprise classifies projects as new, expansion and safeguarding projects and as such, does not collect information on M&A activity. The UK Government’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) provides estimates for M&A activity in Scotland based on their own internal definitions, classifications and methodology.

Scotland continues to attract new high quality investment projects, according to the latest EY survey published in June 2025. Scotland has maintained its position as the top performing region or nation of the UK for foreign direct investment (FDI) projects outside of London, for a record tenth year and is the sixth best performing region in Europe.

The recalled appeal is currently with Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) with further procedures being carried out, with a revised target date of 11 September 2025 to provide a report to Ministers.

Once Ministers receive a reporter’s report from DPEA, we normally aim to issue decisions within 3 months, although the timescale can sometimes increase where there are more complex issues involved.

In Scotland, we provide a range of targeted support to Scottish businesses via our various agencies and partners as they progress through their internationalisation journey. This includes investment and resources to grow their exports, build resilience and compete on the global stage. This support is Scotland wide, and as such is accessible to all businesses regardless of their location.

The current round of the Housing Infrastructure Fund launched in October 2021 and forms part of the overall Affordable Housing Supply Programme budget. £40.71m of funding has been approved by the Scottish Government in this round and, of that, £9.927m of has so far been drawn down.

We are working with all health boards to develop a whole-system NHS infrastructure plan and we meet regularly with NHS Ayrshire and Arran and other NHS Boards, to discuss the development of the plan. The infrastructure plan will reflect on needs across Scotland and support the continued safe operation of existing facilities, as well as the determination of longer term investment priorities.

Data on the average age of a doctor leaving the oncologist or radiologist NHS Scotland workforce is not held centrally.

Official Statistics published by NHS Education for Scotland, and available on the Data and reports | Turas Data Intelligence website, show that 32 doctors, across all ages, left the combined clinical oncologist, clinical radiologist and medical oncologist NHS Scotland workforce in the year to 31 March 2025. There were 43 joiners, and a turnover rate of 5.2%, which is the lowest turnover rate since at least 2010.

These Official Statistics also show that the median age of the combined clinical oncologist, clinical radiologist and medical oncologist NHS Scotland workforce was 46 years old as at 31 March 2025 – the same as 10 years prior. The proportion of this workforce aged 55 and over has increased from 17.7% at 31 March 2015 to 21.5% at 31 March 2025.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with local health boards through the Public Health Scotland-led National Drug Deaths Incident Management Team process, which strives to support and coordinate multi-agency activities to reduce drug related deaths including through consideration of ongoing trends and risks. Through this process, we have engaged with local areas following reports of an increase in clusters of drug harms in people using heroin during the course of 2025, including Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Ayrshire and Arran, and Lanarkshire.

Local response to trends and risks is coordinated through Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships, appropriately applying local intelligence and coordinating the collaborative deployment of resources of local partners and services, including those of local authorities. The Scottish Government engages regularly with representatives of the ADPs – with the last meeting with those from the named localities and others on 11 June 2025.

Every death is a tragedy and through our National Mission we are determined to continue our efforts to reduce harm and deaths. The total funding for alcohol and drugs, including health board baseline, exceeds £160 million in 2025-26.

We are taking a wide range of evidence-based measures including opening the UK’s first Safer Drug Consumption Facility pilot, working towards drug checking facilities and widening access to treatment, residential rehabilitation and life-saving naloxone.

Quarterly reporting on trends gives services useful information on what types of support are needed. This report provides an indication of current trends in suspected drug deaths in Scotland. It uses Police Scotland management information so is not subject to the same level of validation and quality assurance as Official Statistics.

While this publication records a quarter-on-quarter rise in suspected drug deaths, it also notes a year-on-year fall. Between January and March 2025 there were 308 suspected drug deaths, 33% (76) more than during the previous quarter though 4% (12) fewer than during the same period of 2024. It is important to note that numbers of suspected drug deaths fluctuate from quarter to quarter. Care should be taken not to interpret movements between individual calendar quarters as indicative of any long-term trend.

The Scottish Government provides early access to substance use treatment and support for all those who need it through the National Mission. This has been backed by an investment of £250 million over the life of the Parliament.

Responsibility for school funding, education provision and pupil support rests with local authorities. Under the Curriculum for Excellence framework, schools and practitioners are empowered to design the curriculum in a way that best meets the needs of learners.

School Nurses are equipped to support school aged children and young people with concerns regarding substance use. Scottish Government continues to promote the role of the school nurse and their strong focus on prevention, early intervention and support for the most vulnerable school-aged children and young people. Between 2019 and 2024 the Scottish Government invested over £34 million to support the recruitment and retention of over 216 additional school nurses. Funding has now been added to annual Health Board budgets to support retention of the school nurse workforce.

The Scottish Government has invested £1.5 million over the last 2 years in Planet Youth. Also known as the Icelandic Model, Planet Youth is a universal approach to prevention which empowers communities to support their young people to reduce the risk of substance use and harms. The Scottish Government has committed a further £750,000 to Planet Youth over 20025-26.

Through the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund, the Scottish Government has also provided nearly £4 million funding between the years 2023-24 and 2025-26 to expand the Routes programme. This model provides support for young people who are affected by substance use in their families.