The Pain Management Panel consisted of 16 people with lived experience of chronic pain. A sampling framework was developed by The Lines Between to ensure diversity within the panel across participants’ experiences, circumstances, and characteristics. The sampling framework was designed to recruit 15 participants to the pain management panel with the intention to interview a group of 22-25 people to mitigate potential attrition during the project.

The Scottish Government has no duty to conduct an assessment of the impact of the UK Government’s Employment Rights Bill with regard to offshore energy workers or seafarers or any other sector, but we welcome the Bill and continue to work with the UK Government to ensure it has a positive impact across Scotland. The Scottish Government supports the strengthening of fair work and workers’ rights and will continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across the Scottish labour market, whilst advocating for devolution of employment law to best protect Scotland’s workers.

As stated in the answer to S6W-35303, employment legislation is reserved to the UK Parliament and there have been no discussions to date specifically on enforcement of the national minimum wage for Inch Cape or other offshore wind farms. As long as employment legislation remains reserved, the Scottish Government will continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across the Scottish labour market, including in the offshore wind sector. We welcome the UK Government’s Employment Rights Bill and continue to work closely with them to ensure its positive application, whilst being clear that the best way to protect Scotland’s workers is to devolve employment law.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Lease for the Inch Cape Offshore windfarm was signed on 24 January 2025.

As stated in the response to S6W-35301, through the Scottish Government’s Fair Work policy all employers across Scotland, including those involved in the Offshore Wind sector, are encouraged to adopt Fair Work First principles. Leasing agreements are agreed and maintained by Crown Estate Scotland.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The UK Government is responsible for monitoring Inch Cape’s Supply Chain Plan as part of the Contracts for Difference (CfD) scheme.

The Scottish Government is investing up to £500 million over five years to anchor our offshore wind supply chain, support market certainty, and help create a highly productive, competitive offshore wind economy which supports thousands of jobs.

Projects such as Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm have the potential to boost local and national supply chain growth and support high-quality, sustainable jobs.

The UK Government is responsible for monitoring Supply Chain Plans as part of the CfD scheme.

The expansion of offshore wind represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to create thousands of jobs that drive growth, foster innovation, and generate wealth. The Scottish Government is doing everything within its power to ensure that the offshore wind opportunity for Scotland is realised so that projects and the associated economic benefits we all want to see are delivered.

The Scottish Government’s Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) undertakes risk based aquatic animal health surveillance where Aquaculture Production Businesses are assessed against their regulatory responsibilities with respect to aquatic animal health. This includes routine and intelligence-based inspections.

The FHI monitors international trade of live fish and shellfish using import notification systems and checks on import health certificates, ensuring imports meet the aquatic animal health requirements of the Great Britain trade unit. Where significant risk of listed disease is detected official control measures can be enforced to help reduce the risk of disease introduction and spread.

The FHI’s enforcement policy, including a range of enforcement actions, is set out in its Service Charter which is available on the Scottish Government website. The Service Charter is based upon the Scottish Government’s principles of good regulation including taking a response which is proportionate to the risk posed and the seriousness of any offence.

Food insecurity is driven by insufficient and insecure household income. No one should have to compromise on food or other essentials.

Mid-year statistics published by Trussell on 20 November 2024 highlighted a 6% decrease in the food parcels distributed in Scotland compared to the same period the previous year (1 April 2023 to 30 September 2023) and a 5% drop in the number of parcels distributed for children.

Our “Cash-First: Towards Ending the Need for Food Banks in Scotland” Plan sets out the nine actions we are taking to achieve our ambition to improve the response to financial hardship and to reduce the need for emergency food parcels. The actions include the Cash-First Programme, which provides ready access to emergency income when someone has no money for food delivered alongside welfare rights and income maximisation advice and support to prevent future hardship. This Cash-First approach enables people to choose the essentials they need whilst maintaining dignity. An independent evaluation of the Cash-First Programme is ongoing with the final evaluation report expected by April 2026.

However we know more needs to be done and recognise the pressure on household budgets which is why in 2025-26 we will continue to allocate over £3 billion a year to policies which tackle poverty and the cost of living.

UK Government announced full asylum dispersal policy in April 2022. Under the policy Home Office contractors can presume that asylum dispersal properties can be procured in any local authority area across the UK.

The Scottish Government is aware that over half of Scotland’s local authorities now have asylum dispersal accommodation in their area.

The Home Office regularly publishes statistical data relating to immigration and asylum including data relating to people seeking asylum in receipt of Home Office support by local authority. Latest data publication is available online: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK