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Since the establishment of Research Data Scotland (RDS) at the end of 2021 my officials have had ongoing engagement with RDS.

Harper MacLeod are a provider of external legal services to The Scottish Government via call-off contracts under the Legal Services Framework 2019 to 2023 .

The Scottish Government Legal Directorate hold quarterly review meetings with Harper MacLeod to discuss contract performance; adherence to service levels; sustainability; community benefits and contract governance. Other ad hoc meetings will be held between Harper MacLeod and policy and legal colleagues.

The Scottish Government does not comment on legal advice or communications between itself and its legal advisors. In doing so the Scottish Government observes legal professional privilege between client and lawyer. This also maintains the Scottish Ministerial Code, paragraphs 2.38 and 2.39. Therefore, the sharing of content or outcomes of these meetings would be inappropriate.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials meet regularly with David Lonsdale, the Director of the Scottish Retail Consortium (SRC), through engagement with the SRC but also through other means such as the Scottish Government Retail Industry Leadership Group (ILG) - of which Mr Lonsdale is a member. The most recent engagement with the Director of the SRC was held on 22 March 2023. The Scottish Government greatly values regular updates, intelligence and input from the Scottish Retail Consortium which is informing rationale for it’s overall response to the cost crisis and challenges facing Scotland’s retail sector.

The Digital Productivity Labs pilot programme currently has over 250 businesses participating with over 1100 combined tasks on their action plans to support the implementation of their digital projects. The Scottish Government will provide a final update on findings of the programme later this year once it has concluded and next steps can be agreed.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry in its work to explore the handling of the pandemic and to identify and report on lessons learned. We will consider the Inquiry’s findings and recommendations once available.

The following table (taken from the Scottish National Investment Bank’s annual reports) shows the Bank’s operating costs and income for 2020-21 and‎ 2021-22. The Scottish Government provides budget to cover all operating costs which are not covered by the Bank’s income.

The Scottish Government is currently working with key stakeholders to finalise a new Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus (SHBBV) Strategy, which will supersede the SHBBV Framework published in 2015.

The new Strategy will be published in Spring 2023, and will outline key priorities for the sector for 2023-2026.

The Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022 was passed in June 2022. As part of learning lessons from the Covid pandemic, the Act updates the statute book to permanently embed reforms in Scotland’s public services. Although these were originally necessitated by the pandemic, they have delivered improvements for service users and improved efficiency. The Act also ensures that Scottish Ministers are able to respond swiftly and appropriately to future public health threats, by making permanent those powers that played a particularly significant role in managing the response to the Covid pandemic.

The Act also includes a Schedule of temporary justice measures, which are due to expire on 30 November 2023 and can only be extended if the Parliament agrees. Under the terms of the Act, Ministers must review the operation of each temporary measure before it expires, to inform a decision on whether it should be extended for a further year. If seeking any extension, Ministers must lay regulations to amend the expiry date, alongside a statement setting out the findings of the review, allowing for full parliamentary scrutiny.

There are no plans to repeal The Act itself The Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform) (Scotland) Act 2022 is not emergency legislation, it has been through the full Bill process, and thorough pre-legislative scrutiny. There is no statutory requirement for the permanent provisions in the 2022 Act to be reviewed.

The Scottish Government is co-operating fully with the work of the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry, this will include participating, as required, in public hearings. It is a matter for the Scottish Covid-19 Inquiry as to who they call to give evidence.

The First Minister and the Prime Minister spoke on the telephone on 28 March 2023 and have exchanged letters. The First Minister looks forward to meeting the Prime Minister in person in due course.