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The Scottish Government is committed to an evidence-based approach to the energy transition. In support of our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan, we commissioned and published (in March 2023) a programme of independent analysis on Scotland’s energy requirements during the transition to net zero – including the role of North Sea oil and gas. This analysis includes sections on the economic footprint of Scotland’s offshore oil and gas sector, including its regional distribution. The published reports can be found here: Publication of the outputs from a programme of work to better understand our energy requirements as we transition to net zero - Energy system and Just Transition: independent analysis - gov.scot

The National Energy System Operator (NESO)’s Beyond 2030 report (published in March 2024, available here: Beyond 2030 | National Energy System Operator) itself states: “Independent analysis commissioned by us as the Electricity System Operator (ESO) suggests that by 2035, the recommendations in this report could add up to £15 billion to the UK economy and support an average of 20,000 jobs each year. A third of these benefits (£5.2 billion to 2035 and over 6,000 jobs per year) are likely to be in Scotland”

As head of the system of prosecutions in Scotland, I have primary responsibility for the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences in Scotland.

I have, along with Procurators Fiscal, who hold commissions on my behalf, legal authority to instruct the police in their investigation and reporting of crime and all suspicious, sudden and unexplained deaths, both under the common law and on a statutory basis.

Instruction of the police can take the form of Lord Advocate Guidelines to the Chief Constable to inform of approaches to be taken by the police in specified circumstances. Equally, instruction and direction may be issued in relation to specific matters in the context of ongoing liaison between the police and Procurators Fiscal who can instruct the police during the course of investigations and when further investigation is required in a case. Instruction of the police is a continuous process in the discharge of the Lord Advocate’s duties as regards the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences in Scotland.

In general, if the police consider that there is insufficient evidence of a crime being committed, they will not make a report to the Procurator Fiscal. In some instances, particularly in more serious cases, where police are not sure there is sufficient evidence that a crime had been committed, they may report the matter to the Procurator Fiscal for advice and direction. This structure recognises the expertise of the police in investigating crime, the responsibility of prosecutors in respect of the investigation of crime, and the independence of prosecutorial decision-making.

As is referenced in the answer to S6W-36157 on 2 May 2025, instruction and direction may be issued in relation to specific matters in the context of ongoing liaison between the police and Procurators Fiscal who can instruct the police during the course of investigations and when further investigation is required in a case. Instruction of the police is a continuous process in the discharge of the Lord Advocate’s duties as regards the investigation and prosecution of criminal offences in Scotland.

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 would refer to the answer provided in respect of S6W-36157 on 2 May 2025 as regards my role as head of the system of prosecutions in Scotland and direction of the police.

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

The Scottish Government has not undertaken any specific assessment in regards to the impact of a lack of continuity in senior medical staffing on patient care. However, we regularly engage with Boards at official level to ensure they are providing a safe, high-quality service to patients.

In addition, we are progressing the actions within the Mental health and wellbeing: workforce action plan 2023-2025 which seeks to address key workforce challenges. This includes the Mental Health Nursing Review and Psychiatry Recruitment and Retention Working Group, which are due to report shortly. This work has been informed by views from each profession and people with lived and living experience.

The Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards set out what people should expect from substance use services. MAT Standard 3 sets out that people at high risk of drug-related harm should be proactively identified and offered support, while MAT Standard 9 sets out that all people with co-occurring drug use and mental health issues should receive mental health care. Implementation of the MAT Standards is supported by multi-year funding of £10.3 million per year over the life of the Parliament.

We recognise the importance of support for individuals on release from custody. While we are not currently pursuing a pilot on post-custody outreach, we are improving support for these individuals by introducing a new national voluntary throughcare service, Upside, which offers one-to-one support for men and women leaving short sentences and periods of remand. This service, which launched on
1 April 2025, will assist people with the immediate challenges they face post-custody, including accessing housing, healthcare and social security, while also linking them to the wider support services they may require, such as mental health or substance use services.

In addition to this, through the Getting It Right For Everyone (GIRFE) model, we are supporting Health Boards to provide a package of care and support in a joined-up, holistic manner across various services and agencies. This will also support people with their needs on release from prison.

NHS Boards have duties under the Carers Act to involve unpaid carers in decision making and planning the return from hospital of the person they care for (or will care for). More specifically, the Core Mental Health Quality Standards state that a person’s support network should be involved in their care if they wish. Progress on implementing the standards is measured by Healthcare Improvement Scotland.

To support Boards in discharging these duties we have funded NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to develop three training modules for the health and social care workforce to help them identify, include and support unpaid carers including young carers. In 2025 and 2026 NES will promote and support the use of these training resources across the health and social care workforce. We are also funding NES to develop carer awareness training for staff in mental health services.

The Medication-Assisted Treatment (MAT) Standards set out what people should expect from substance use services. MAT Standard 3 sets out that people at high risk of drug-related harm should be proactively identified and offered support, while MAT Standard 9 sets out that all people with co-occurring drug use and mental health issues should receive mental health care. Implementation of the MAT Standards is supported by multi-year funding of £10.3 million per year over the life of the Parliament. Implementation of the MAT Standards is assessed by Public Health Scotland (PHS) via annual Benchmarking Reports.

Extensive work is ongoing to improve coordination of public services as part of our commitment to public service reform. We will support all areas to follow the Getting It Right for Everyone model of person-centred services (GIRFE). This model brings the person, their families, carers and all service providers together to devise a package of care and support in a joined-up, holistic manner across various services and agencies to achieve the best outcomes for individuals. In December 2024 we published the GIRFE toolkit and Health Boards are now required to set out how they will embed the GIRFE principles and toolkit in NHS Annual Delivery Plans for the organisation and delivery of their services. In addition, we are establishing the new National Care Service Advisory Board to improve social care, social work and community health services.

More specifically to support individuals with complex co-occurring mental health and substance use issues we commissioned Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to create a gold-standard protocol that sets out how these services should work together, which has now been published. HIS are now working to support areas across the country to develop and implement their own protocols. We are also supporting Mental Health Officers (MHOs), who assess and support individuals with mental health conditions and are pivotal to integrated health and social care services. Actions underway include undertaking workforce planning initiatives to address shortfall in MHOs, developing a pilot exercise to reduce administrative burden, and developing a scheme to harness the potential of AI powered tools to support reporting and reduce associated workloads.