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Ensuring Scotland is a place where children eat well, have a healthy weight and are physically active is a public health priority. We continue to implement the ambitious and wide-ranging action set out in our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan to support our aim to halve childhood obesity by 2030, significantly reducing diet related health inequalities. Our actions emphasise prevention to ensure children have the best start in life.

We are focusing on transforming the food environment because this is more likely to be effective in improving children’s diets and reducing health inequalities than only encouraging individual behaviour change. This includes restricting promotions of less healthy food and drink and we will consult on the detail of proposed regulations this autumn. We are also working with Food Standards Scotland and Public Health Scotland to implement our 2021 Out of Home Action Plan .

We are also ensuring that all children and young people have access to balanced and nutritious food and drink options throughout the school day. All local authorities are required to meet the standards set out in the amended Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations . We are providing local authorities with funding to make free school lunches available to all primary school pupils in primaries one to five, children in funded early learning and childcare and eligible pupils in Primary 6 through to S6. We are committed to a pilot of free school meals in secondary schools to support our consideration of further expansion.

Whole Systems Approaches are increasingly being seen as influential in responding to the complexity of public health problems such as childhood obesity. We have continued to support pilots in eight local areas to develop and champion a whole system approach to diet and healthy weight. An evaluation was published on 6 December 2022, which is informing the development of resources to support national rollout.

Alongside this our Good Food Nation policy provides an over-arching framework for clear, consistent and coherent future Scottish food policy which will help our children eat well. A draft of the national Good Food National Plan will be published for public consultation this summer.

We continue to provide funding to health boards to deliver weight management services for children and young people in line with our national standards , ensuring consistent quality and equity of access to evidence-based support across Scotland.

We are also addressing the underlying causes of poor diet and higher weight. This includes ending poverty, supporting fair wages and families, and improving our physical and social environments through initiatives, such as the Scottish Child Payment , Best Start Foods and Best Start Grants.

Implementation of placental growth factor (PLGF)-based tests for pre-eclampsia does not feature in the Women’s Health Plan . Professor Anna Glasier OBE, Women’s Health Champion has not, therefore, met with NHS Scotland, the Scottish Perinatal Network, patient groups or the diagnostics sector to discuss this. Professor Glasier set out her initial priorities in our Women’s Health Plan Report on Progress and has met with various stakeholders on a number of other areas of women’s health, mainly related to the priorities of the Women’s Health Plan.

The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards in Scotland to take note of the Scottish Health Technologies Group (SHTG) recommendations, published on 23 March 2023, and take steps to ensure that any woman who requires access to placental growth factor (PlGF) based tests as part of her maternity care can do so. We wrote to NHS Boards on 23 March, immediately following publication of the SHTG guidance, and will write to NHS Boards again in June, to understand how implementation of PlGF testing is progressing.

Circularity Scotland is a private not for profit company. Decisions regarding advanced payments is a matter for them and it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment in such commercial arrangements between private companies.

One of the many factors the Scottish Government took into account when considering the timing of launch of the Deposit Return Scheme was feedback from stakeholders. We are grateful to all businesses for the investment they have made in preparing for the launch of the deposit return scheme and this investment will be important for the success of the scheme when it launches.

Zero Waste Scotland is progressing two life cycle analysis reports of the impact of secondary steel production as an update to the published carbon assessment. The other three reports referred to in the answer to question S6W-08343 have been amalgamated into one report. These reports are all expected to be published in 2023-24.

Scottish Government officials are currently undertaking further work and engagement with stakeholders to scope the potential extent of this issue and consider the most appropriate and proportionate next steps.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) has confirmed that an amendment in 2013 to the Health and safety (First – Aid) Regulations 1981 removed the responsibility of the HSE to approve first aid training providers and qualifications. The regulations now require employers to assess the needs for their workplace and ensure that they provide adequate and appropriate first aid to employees who are injured or become ill at work. If an employer’s needs assessment determines that they need trained first aiders, it is the responsibility of the employer to satisfy themselves of the competence of those first aiders.

The regulations apply to employees only, but are accompanied by guidance strongly recommending that non employees are considered when employers decide on the first aid cover necessary for their workplace.

Organisations providing first aid at events must comply with their responsibilities under general health and safety legislation.

HSE also provides guidance on how to manage events safely Events health and safety (hse.gov.uk) .

I look forward to meeting with the CEO and speaking with the workforce of Ferguson Marine. My visit to the shipyard will take place during summer recess.

In my statement to Parliament on 30 May 2023, I announced that the Public Health (Restriction of Promotions) Bill will not be introduced. We instead plan to consult on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt where they are sold to the public this autumn.

My statement is available on the Scottish Parliament website .

Final discussions and amendments of the new cancer strategy have been taking place with officials. We intend to publish the Strategy in mid to late June.

The Scottish Government wants children to grow up loved, safe and respected and to fulfil their potential, and our third sector partners play a critical role in achieving this.

We are providing over £34 million to a wide range of third sector organisations who are delivering support to families through a number of programmes – the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund, the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning & Empowering Communities third sector fund, the Residential Rehabilitation Rapid Capacity Programme, the Drug and Alcohol Services – Improving Holistic Family Support Framework - as well as through direct grant funding to organisations who are providing relationship support and support to families affected by imprisonment.