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To support work with refugees, people seeking asylum and local communities, the Scottish Government provides funding to organisations such as the Scottish Refugee Council to ensure that all people seeking refugee protection in Scotland are welcome, where women, children and men are protected, find safety and support, have their human rights and dignity respected and are able to achieve their full potential.

Refugee Festival Scotland, is coordinated by Scottish Refugee Council. The breakdown of indirect funding to Refugee Festival Scotland each year since 2021 can be found in the answer to question S6W-37679 on 30 May 2025. 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 Scottish Government continues to monitor and consider a range of evidence in relation to the energy sector.

As part of this approach, we commissioned and published independent analysis on Scotland’s Energy System and Just Transition found here: Publication of the outputs from a programme of work to better understand our energy requirements as we transition to net zero - Energy system and Just Transition: independent analysis - gov.scot. This analysis considers the economic impact of Scotland’s oil and gas industry, including in terms of employment, during the transition to net zero. A partial final-report.pdf of the baseline data underpinning this analysis was published in April 2025.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on domestic or commercial broadband speeds for Scottish regions. The broadband speed that a premise can receive is determined by a number of factors including the infrastructure available in the area and the broadband package an individual chooses through their internet service provider. Ofcom’s website provides further information on factors impacting broadband speeds and steps people can take to address these.

Despite the reserved nature of telecoms legislation, the Scottish Government is continuing to deliver access to high-speed broadband connections through our Reaching 100 (R100) programme, supported by over £600m of investment, and through our key role in delivering Project Gigabit in Scotland.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport operates on a commercial basis and at arm's length from Scottish Ministers. The airport's management have been working hard to develop new commercial opportunities, which is evidenced by the launch of scheduled freight services between GPA and China earlier this summer.

These new services provide fast, direct access to the growing Chinese market for premium Scottish food and beverage products.

My officials are in regular contact with GPA and have received trading updates which show considerable growth in GPA's revenues as a result of GPA's success in securing new freight services.

Kaldor’s growth laws align with the Scottish Government’s economic and industrial strategies through emphasis on sectoral growth as a driver for overall economic progress. The National Strategy for Economic Transformation outlines a ten-year plan to build a fair, green and growing economy, focusing on entrepreneurship, new markets, productivity, skills and equitable opportunities. The Green Industrial Strategy, published in 2024, identifies wind, carbon capture, professional and financial services, hydrogen, and clean industries as priority sectors, with targeted investment in these areas to maximise benefits from the global move to net zero.

Furthermore, the 2025 Programme for Government sets out investment in priority sectors such as renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

Scotland level information on costs for each of the years requested is not available. However, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) commissioned Landman Economics to provide updated analysis on costs of smoking which was published in January 2025. This analysis estimated the UK wide productivity costs of smoking in 2024 were £32.777 billion

Scotland level information on costs for each of the years requested is not available. However, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) commissioned Landman Economics to provide updated analysis on costs of smoking which was published in January 2025. This analysis estimates the UK wide costs of smoking on Social Care in 2024 were £16.541 billion. The Scottish Government undertook additional analysis of this data for the Public Service Reform Strategy. This estimated a public spending cost of smoking to Scotland, including wider costs to the health service, social care and responding to fire-related incidents, of £1.56bn in 2024, projected to reach £2.5 billion by 2035-36 unless further action is taken.

The Scottish Government is playing a key role in delivering Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland, alongside delivery of our own £600M+ Reaching 100% programme. As such, there are currently no plans to launch further procurements beyond those that are already underway.

The Highlands and Islands forms part of existing contracts and procurements, with premises across the region included in the R100 North contract, the nationwide Project Gigabit contract awarded to Openreach by BDUK last summer and a regional procurement currently underway to connect further premises in Orkney and Shetland. This is further supplemented by our Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme and improved 4G coverage provided by our Scottish 4G Infill programme.

Scotland level information on costs for each of the years requested is not available. However, Action on Smoking (ASH) commissioned Landman Economics to provide updated analysis on costs of smoking which was published in January 2025. This estimated the UK wide costs of smoking on the NHS in 2024 were £2.161 billion. The Scottish Government undertook additional analysis of this data for the Public Service Reform Strategy. This estimated a public spending cost of smoking to Scotland, including wider costs to the health service, social care and responding to fire-related incidents, of £1.56bn in 2024, projected to reach £2.5 billion by 2035/36 unless further action is taken.

Scottish Government analysts have access to the Office for National Statistics Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The IDBR is a database of all businesses registered for Value-Added-Tax (VAT) and/or Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) income tax. The IDBR includes address information, turnover and employment data for businesses operating in Scotland.

We cannot share information from the IDBR on individual businesses. All data on the IDBR are treated as restricted commercial and are protected by specific legislation. The disclosure of data relating to individual undertakings without consent is prohibited under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947.

The IDBR can only be used for valid statistical research purposes and the confidentiality of the data has to be preserved in outputs and publications. This includes, for example, the Scottish Government Business in Scotland publication, the latest edition of which can be found at: Businesses in Scotland: 2024 - gov.scot.