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The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a more equitable and accessible approach to the provision of equipment and adaptations. Our revised guidance on the Provision of Equipment and Adaptations is statutory guidance issued under Section 53 of the Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Act 2014. This means that responsibility for delivering it and assessing its impact rests with Integration Authorities.

This includes capturing data which evidences the value that effective and efficient community equipment and adaptation provision makes to the delivery of key service goals. However, to support national implementation of this guidance, the Scottish Government works closely with our national Equipment and Adaptations Network to support good practice and aid a more consistent approach to implementation.

A Lesson’s Learned report for winter 2024-25 was considered at the Scottish Government and COSLA’s joint Collaborative Response and Assurance Group meeting on 6 May 2025. This meeting agreed the approach for 2025-26 winter preparedness, marking the start of winter preparedness planning for 2025-26.

The Scottish Government is taking a range of measures to strengthen transparency and accountability in public sector health and social care procurement.

Under the Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, all public bodies are required to publish Procurement Strategies and Annual Procurement Reports, ensuring clear visibility of purchasing activity and performance. In addition, the Public Contracts Scotland (PCS) portal provides a single national platform for advertising contract opportunities and awards, offering forward visibility of procurement pipelines for NHS Health Boards and other public sector authorities. PCS continues to play a central role in improving transparency, supporting supplier access, and enhancing accountability across the system.

To support continuous improvement, the Scottish Government has published its Procurement Strategy 2025-28, which emphasises greater openness, strengthened reporting, and collaborative working across government, Health Boards and wider public sector partners. Its four outcomes - Good for Society; Good for Businesses and Their Employees; Good for Places and Communities; and Open and Connected - form the strategic framework within which health and social care procurement operates.

These principles are further developed in the NHS Scotland Procurement Strategy 2024-28, which sets out specific commitments relating to governance, monitoring and reporting of procurement activity across health and social care services. National Procurement’s priorities within this strategy include enhanced data-driven decision-making, clearer performance metrics, and strengthened assurance processes aligned with NHS Scotland’s wider strategic framework.

Planned improvements include the deployment of advanced digital systems to provide end-to-end visibility of procurement activity, embedding ethical and sustainable procurement practices, and delivering measurable efficiency, social value and sustainability outcomes. Through these combined strategies and programmes, the Scottish Government is ensuring that transparency and accountability remain central to health and social care procurement across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has not monitored container traffic on the River Clyde over the last year.

Peel Ports and The King’s Harbour Master are responsible for monitoring and managing marine traffic on the River Clyde.

The additional funding of £500,000 is allocated in the current financial year, 2025-26 across a range of projects aimed at improving access to neurodevelopmental support for children, young people and their families. Further details about the projects receiving funding will be published on the Scottish Government website in due course.

The Scottish Government is providing an additional £500,000 funding in 2025-26 to improve access to neurodevelopmental support for children, young people and their families. In line with the National Neurodevelopmental Specification, such support is not dependent on a diagnosis of a specific neurodevelopmental condition, and is based on support needs.

Regarding FASD specifically, we have provided £216,500 of grant funding to the FASD Hub in Scotland which provides support, training and advice to families, carers and professionals supporting children affected by FASD.

We also provided the Fetal Alcohol Advisory Support and Training Team (FAASTT) with grant funding of £403,500 to allow the delivery of training to improve knowledge, attitudes and confidence in professionals working with individuals with FASD.

Both organisations have been allocated the same amount of funding in 2025-26.

Provisions for changing the basis for uprating mobile home pitch fees, from the Retail Prices Index to the Consumer Prices Index, were included at section 61 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 (the Act), which received Royal Assent on 6 November 2025. We are now working on the secondary legislation required to commence provisions within the Act and will provide updates on the Scottish Government website (https://consult.gov.scot/local-government-and-communities/change-to-basis-of-pitch-uprating-consultation/) as we progress to implement the mobile home pitch fee provisions.

Expanding the role of firefighters so that they can do more to keep communities safe is a priority in the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland. The Scottish Government has been in close contact with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service over these proposals, which are included in discussions as part of the process of setting the annual budget for SFRS.

The Scottish Government has carried out analysis of the potential costs and economic benefits of a potential role expansion for firefighters. Analysis of the potentially expanded role for firefighters could deliver net economic benefits but these would be unlikely to deliver cashable savings in the delivery of public services.

The Scottish Government has not provided any specific funding to NHS boards to support testing for people who may have been affected by exposure to diethylstilbestrol.

Cervical screening is offered to women who live in Scotland and are aged between 25 and 64 years. The Scottish Government encourages all women to take up routine cervical screening appointments when invited.

Pregnant women who know that they were exposed in utero to DES should inform their obstetrician and be aware of the increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and preterm labour.