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The Scottish Government has not undertaken an analysis of the impact of the SEPA not publishing Controlled Activities Regulations (CAR) licence compliance data since 2019. However, there is no evidence of any significant increase in non-compliance with respect to CAR authorisations in recent years.

SEPA historically published annual compliance data under its Compliance Assessment Scheme (CAS), which rated licences under CAR and other regimes. This publication stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic but SEPA has continued to check compliance and tackle non-compliance where necessary, and some authorisation information is available on request.

SEPA has consulted on a new Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme (EPAS) for reporting on performance against regulatory requirements. Reporting under EPAS is expected to start during 2027. More information is available on SEPA’s website at Environmental Performance Assessment Scheme | Beta | SEPA | Scottish Environment Protection Agency.

In parallel, SEPA transitioned from CAR licencing to Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018 on 1 November 2025. This will create a more streamlined and integrated system for environmental authorisations in Scotland by bringing together the processes for authorising, enforcing and managing activities that may impact the environment.

The definition of ‘rewilding’ in the report ‘Defining Rewilding for Scotland's Public Sector’ prepared for the Scottish Government by the James Hutton Institute, has never been adopted by the Scottish Government.

While the Scottish Government does not use the term rewilding, it recognises that the term includes many interventions which the Scottish Government and NatureScot actively support. For example, our £65 million Nature Restoration Fund has committed over £65 million since 2021 to unlock the full potential that nature restoration projects can bring to communities.

In addition, our Biodiversity Delivery Plan sets out over 100 actions that need to be taken to ensure a nature-positive Scotland by 2030. A key action in the first Delivery Plan is the creation of Nature Networks in each local authority area in Scotland. These create habitat corridors and stepping stones, which help species to migrate in response to our changing climate.

The Mossmorran Fife Ethylene Plant Taskforce will be led by Fife Council. The information requested is therefore a matter for Fife Council.

The Scottish Government is working with Scottish Enterprise at pace to identify a route forward that will support a sustainable future at Mossmorran. They will update the Scottish Government in due course on the most viable proposals and ways in which they could be deployed to support an industrial transition for impacted workers and the wider community.

The Scottish Government has also commissioned an independent assessment of the potential economic impact of ExxonMobil’s planned closure of the Mossmorran Fife Ethylene Plant.

The Scottish Government was informed of ExxonMobil’s plans to market the Fife Ethylene Plant in November. On 4 November, Scottish Government officials met with representatives of the business who initially informed them and subsequently, on 11 November, I met with the Chairman of ExxonMobil, who confirmed the company’s position. The Scottish Government was notified of the businesses’ decision to close the plant on 17 November. I have engaged closely with ExxonMobil on a number of occasions since 17 November, including on her visit to the site on 25 November.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-42335 on 16 December 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.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

A range of checks are carried out before the release of a prisoner is authorised including but not limited to, an identity check of the person, confirmation of liberation date and a check for any known outstanding warrants.

A liberation in error occurs when an individual is released from a Scottish Prison Service establishment without lawful authority. This situation typically arises due to an administrative or procedural mistake, such as incorrect interpretation of documentation, miscalculation of sentence dates or incorrect data sharing from other partners.

The following table provides the numbers of total liberations and the liberations in error since 2016-2017, up to and including 5 Dec 2025:

The decision to offer grant funding for Phase 2 of Offshore Solutions Group’s Temporary Storage – Floating Offshore Wind (TS-FLOW) project in 2024, to undertake site investigations and design work, was taken by Scottish Enterprise following analysis of the business plan for the project. Scottish Enterprise operates independently of the Scottish Government and is responsible for funding decisions within its delegated authority. This includes providing early-stage support to strategically significant and innovative businesses to help them assess the feasibility and deliverability of their proposals.

Scottish Enterprise has not had direct communication with Ministers in respect of this financial support. Following due diligence by Scottish Enterprise and an assessment of the project’s strategic alignment with the Scottish Government’s investment objectives, the grant was supported by the Scottish Government in 2025 with £1.83m as part of our strategic investment in supply chain and ports infrastructure for offshore wind.

Any applications for marine licences by the developer following exploratory work would be subject to the required regulatory processes, which includes formal public consultation. No applications for marine licences have been submitted.

The pilot committed to in the Population Health Framework (PHF) will represent the first phase of the roll out of a national programme. The Scottish Government has commissioned Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland to plan and implement this. Due to the size and scale of the programme and the complexities involved, a multi-disciplinary Programme Board has been established to ensure that the roll out both improves outcomes while remaining sustainable for the wider NHS.

The Board met for the first time on 12 December, and will act as the vehicle to plan the scope and timing of the first phase. It is anticipated that the initial roll out will focus on inviting eligible individuals in areas experiencing the highest levels of socio-economic deprivation, as evidence shows that they are at higher risk of lung cancer, and have poorer outcomes.

This first phase is currently estimated to cost approximately £3.5 million, although this is subject to change depending on further planning discussions.

The lung screening Scottish Expert Advisory Group estimated that full implementation could take 7-10 years due to the complexities of establishing a screening programme of this size, which is also recognised by the UK NSC.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

"Environmental Standards Scotland has recently welcomed that Scottish Water and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) are working to develop an approach to identify overflows where action is needed to prevent dry weather spills from happening.

In the first instance, Scottish Water responds to and carries out any operational interventions to check for blockages, misconnections or other potential faults where any overflow events appear to be happening in dry weather. Scottish Water has also proposed a definition for dry day overflow events and is working in the background to investigate overflows using data from Event Duration Monitors installed as part of commitments made in its ‘Improving Urban Waters Route map’. Where overflow events are confirmed to be occurring in dry weather because of insufficient capacity in the sewerage system, a process is being developed whereby these will be identified as Unsatisfactory Intermittent Discharges (UIDs) and will be agreed with SEPA as a priority for improvement."