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The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the opinions of disabled people, including those with sight loss, are fully considered in the design and approval of active travel infrastructure. The second National Transport Strategy sets out key priorities for the transport system in Scotland, including ‘reducing inequalities’ and ‘improving our health and wellbeing’ as two of its key priorities’, and places inclusive design at the heart of transport planning. When considering designs such as bus stop bypasses, delivery partners are required to ensure that funded projects have undertaken all statutory procedures, including but not limited to an Equality Impact Assessment. Through this process, the Scottish Government expects delivery bodies to undertake meaningful engagement with equality groups to ensure that lived experience, including that of people with sight loss, directly informs design choices. This helps to ensure that active travel infrastructure supports safe, independent and confident travel for everyone.

Future demand for care home places will be influenced by a multitude of factors, including population demographics and residents' needs, future balance of care across care home and community settings, and technological change.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission’s recent Fiscal Sustainability Report – April 2025 included long term projections of social care spending (including but not limited to care home expenditure). The SFC projected, based on current levels of provision, that social care spending in Scotland would increase in real terms from £5 billion in 2029-30 to £11 billion in 2074-75.

Under the Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 the Scottish Government will, before the end of 2026, prepare and make publicly available a report on projected social care needs in Scotland over the ten-year period from 2027. Work is underway to plan the and deliver evidential work for this reporting requirement. Further, the recently published Service Renewal Framework Foreword - Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework - gov.scot sets out commitments to develop population level strategic needs assessments for health and social care. It is expected that these areas of work will add to the current evidence - such as the SFC's long term projections - and give a fuller picture of the demands for social care services in the coming years.

We know that local authorities across Scotland are facing significant housing and homelessness challenges. However, some are experiencing much greater pressure than others, as evidenced by higher numbers of households living in temporary accommodation.

The additional £2 million investment in Discretionary Housing Payments is intended to provide targeted support where it is most needed. Local authorities are best placed to identify households in temporary accommodation who can benefit from this funding, based on their local knowledge and operational expertise.

We will work closely with local authorities to monitor the impact of this funding. This includes gathering data on how the payments are being used and assessing outcomes for households receiving support.

We will also be seeking feedback on the impact of this funding through the discretionary housing payment practitioners’ forum.

From April 2020 to March 2024 there were 202 Drug Treatment and Testing Orders (DTTOs) imposed in Edinburgh.

Bus stop bypasses are a specific type of layout which divert the protected cycle track around the back of the bus stop waiting area, ensuring that bus passengers are not affected by cycle traffic as they board and alight the bus. The Scottish Government is not aware of any intention of the UK Government to pause the installation of such types of bus stops, and does not intend to pause their installation in Scotland.

The Scottish Government understands that the UK Department for Transport intends to write to local authorities in England to request a voluntary pause in new installations where passengers board and alight directly into a cycle track. The Scottish Government does not currently intend to pause the roll-out of these facilities and already provide guidance on their use through the ‘Cycling by Design’ document. Their provision should be carefully considered on a case-by-case basis by the Transport Authority.

An extensive programme of work has been undertaken across the Scottish public sector estate to identify the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC) and to ensure buildings are safe for all building users.

Management of the Police Scotland estate, including assessments of the condition of its buildings, is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, under the oversight of the Scottish police Authority.

The Scottish Government supports the work undertaken by Police Scotland to address the issue of RAAC which has been identified in four locations across the Police Scotland estate, and their commitment to providing a safe environment for officers, staff and the public. Police Scotland has provided assurance that there is no risk to officers, staff, or visitors to those affected buildings.

We are investing a record £1.64 billion in policing in 2025-26. This includes £70 million of capital funding for investment in police assets, including the police estate.

Management of the Police Scotland estate, including assessments of the condition of its buildings, is an operational matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. The Scottish Government supports Police Scotland’s commitment to providing a safe environment for officers, staff and the public.

The Scottish Government recognises the hazard of asbestos and the risks to health that it poses, however the management of asbestos in buildings is a reserved matter for the UK Government, and the Health and Safety Executive has UK wide responsibility for enforcement of the legislation and regulations.

We are investing a record £1.64 billion in policing in 2025-26. This includes £70 million of capital funding for investment in police assets, including the police estate.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the expansion of Housing First and has pledged £3 million to incentivise registered social landlords to pledge additional tenancies through the acquisition of suitable properties. We anticipate that this investment will support the acquisition of between 40 and 50 properties. The Scottish Government supports the delivery of Housing First through the provision of Rapid Rehousing Transition Plan funding. In addition to the £72.5m provided to local authorities since 2018, the Scottish Government will provide a £1m Housing First uplift in 2025-26 and has confirmed the extension of funding to 2026-27, bringing the total funding provided to £83.5m. The Scottish Government also funds Homeless Network Scotland to provide advice to local authorities on scaling up Housing First in their areas.

The Scottish Government has funded the creation of hundreds of additional specialty training places for doctors in training in Scotland across multiple different specialties (including cancer-related specialties), since 2014. These training places have been created in response to recommendations made by the Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group (SSoTTG), which meets annually to review the number of specialty training places needed in order to meet anticipated future service demand, and consultant need.

The training programmes for relevant specialties (including Histopathology, Clinical Oncology, Surgical specialties and Clinical Radiology) follow curricula overseen by the respective Royal Colleges and include training on and/or exposure to sarcoma which varies depending on factors including the specific curriculum, specialty and placement. Furthermore, NHS Education for Scotland follow a multipronged approach to mitigate training gaps and there are also other opportunities and resources in relation to sarcoma knowledge available for doctors in Scotland.

Whilst Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland, operational matters, including staffing, are ultimately the responsibility of NHS Boards.

From 2 September, first-time buyers can apply to the Open Market Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE) alongside the priority access groups. OMSE aims to help those on low to moderate incomes secure a home that they may not otherwise have been able to do.