The detailed information requested is currently being collated and I will write to the member as soon as the information is available and a copy will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib number 65812).

As detailed in our programme for Government for 2025-26, we are committed to carrying out a comprehensive assessment of the law in relation to non-fatal strangulation to determine if there is further action that needs to be taken.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water measures the performance of its partner organisations through a structured framework that ensures alignment with its standards for safety, health and wellbeing, cost management, efficiency, and service excellence. Executive Director led Strategic Boards, and Senior Manager led Operational Boards are in place to review performance, and set direction for future strategic improvements.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water (Regulated) Contractor P&L expenditure for 2024-25 was £31.7m against a Budget of £30.7m. The actual costs include £4.0m unbudgeted proactive leakage recovery costs so therefore the underlying variance is favourable.

We recognise that pulmonary rehabilitation is an important element in managing respiratory disease and it is already a key recommendation for all appropriate patients in NICE clinical guidelines, which we expect all NHS Boards to follow.

The Scottish Government has not provided any specific funding to NHS Boards for pulmonary rehabilitation. We provide NHS Boards with baseline funding, and it is for each individual NHS Board to determine how they utilise the resources provided by the Scottish Government to best meet the needs of their local populations.

The final decision on how protections for Priority Marine Features (PMFs) will be implemented will be made by Ministers after the proposed fisheries management measures have been consulted on and the responses analysed.

Whilst the legislation to be used is yet to be decided it cannot be done through the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and use of Marine Conservation Orders (MCOs). MCOs can only be used to implement management measures in specific designated sites. These are nature conservation Marine Protected Areas, demonstration and research Marine Protected Areas, historic Marine Protected Areas and, any European marine site which overlaps these (either wholly or partly), which requires management measures.

The proposed PMF management areas will be fisheries closures with measures being introduced via a Scottish Statutory Instrument (SSI), allowing for Parliamentary scrutiny.

The Scottish Government engages with both Ineos and Petroineos as a matter of course. We remain open to discussion on all commercial options for the future of the Finnart Terminal and would urge the present owners to engage constructively with any parties with an interest in utilising it in the future.

Extended producer responsibility for packaging funding will be paid directly to local authorities by PackUK (the scheme administrator) and it will be for each local authority to decide how it manages this funding. Under the Verity House Agreement, local government funding in Scotland will not be ring-fenced or directed, unless there is a clear joint understanding to do so. Similarly, council tax is a local tax, set and administered by individual local authorities, who had full flexibility in setting rates for 2025-26. There will be no reduction in the local government finance settlement as a result of extended producer responsibility for packaging payments in the first year of the scheme (2025-26)

It has always been the Scottish Government’s intention that extended producer responsibility for packaging funding should support investment to improve recycling rates and reduce carbon emissions, especially during the early years of the scheme. Therefore, there will be no reduction in the local government finance settlement as a result of extended producer responsibility for packaging payments in the first year of the scheme (2025-26). The funding purpose - to pay for the cost of managing household packaging waste - is clearly set out in legislation.

Scotland’s National Water Scarcity Plan sets out how water resources will be managed during periods of prolonged dry weather. As part of that plan, the Scottish Government, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) and Scottish Water have established processes to monitor the situation and support those affected.

On 25 April, SEPA published the first in a series of weekly water scarcity reports to update key sectors and stakeholders on the latest position. SEPA, Scottish Water, Nature Scot and the National Farmers Union Scotland are all working to encourage water users to develop contingency plans to minimise their impact on the environment.

Public Water Supplies are largely operating as normal and, due to many years of strategic investment by Scottish Government and Scottish Water to strengthen resilience measures, Scottish Water are able to maintain supplies during prolonged dry periods to all parts of Scotland.

We recognise that there are a number of households, largely in remote and rural locations, who are serviced by private water supplies and who may be affected by water scarcity. The Scottish Government are proactively engaging with local authorities to determine if water scarcity and low water flows are having an impact on households who are reliant on private water supplies. We will continue to assess the conditions closely and liaise with local authorities where necessary.