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The Scottish Government recognises the importance of raising awareness of conditions such as pulmonary fibrosis and welcome the work of third sector organisations in raising awareness.

We currently have no events planned for Pulmonary Fibrosis Awareness month in September.

Flood risk management implementation reports for the years 2010 to 2012 are available on the Scottish Government’s archive website. These reports are joint publications detailing progress in implementing both the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009.

Relevant links are provided below.

Report for year 2010:

[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Implementation of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009: Annual Report to the Scottish Parliament - 2010

Report for year 2011:

[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Annual Report to the Scottish Parliament, 2011 - Implementation of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003 and the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009

Combined report for years 2012 and 2013:

[ARCHIVED CONTENT]

The Education (Scotland) Act 1980 places statutory responsibility for the provision of education in Scotland with individual local authorities. Under section 70 of the 1980 Act any interested party can make a reference to the Scottish Ministers that a responsible body (the managers of a school or education establishment, an education authority or other persons) has failed to discharge a duty imposed on them by or for the purposes of any enactment relating to education. This includes duties imposed by the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004.

Furthermore, where families are concerned that education authorities may not be fulfilling their duties under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, there is a range of dispute resolution mechanisms available to them. These mechanisms include mediation, independent adjudication, and referral to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.

As set out in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, Scottish Ministers have a statutory duty to promote take-up of devolved benefits across the Scottish social security system. Reserved benefits remain the responsibility of the UK Government and the Scottish Government has no formal role in the administration of these payments. We continue to urge the UK Government to more actively promote reserved benefits and to follow Scotland's example by developing a Benefit Take-Up Strategy.

Welfare rights advice services, supported by Scottish Government investment, continue to assist people to take up benefits they may be entitled to, including reserved payments. In 2025-26, we are allocating over £15 million for provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice services.

As responsibility for promoting the take-up of Pension Credit lies with the UK Government, the Scottish Government has not had any specific discussions with the UK Government regarding access to the Department for Work and Pensions or HM Revenue and Customs data for the purposes of promoting take up of Pension Credit.

However, I have wrote to the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions last year, highlighting the need for a targeted campaign to increase awareness of Pension Credit and offered our support in promoting take-up, which we will continue to do to ensure everyone receives the support they are entitled to.

There are no current plans for the Scottish Government to conduct an independent review of the two existing National Parks in Scotland, as we consider there are already adequate accountability mechanisms in place. As set out in their underpinning legislation, National Parks are accountable to their boards and to the Scottish Government. They are required to produce a five year National Park Partnership Plan and their Corporate Plans are aligned to these. These Plans, including the aims and objectives within them, are signed off by Ministers.

Delivery is monitored and reviewed at regular meetings between the Scottish Government and National Park authority Convenors and Chief Executives. Park authorities are also required to report on their delivery and performance through their Annual Report and Accounts, which are laid before Parliament and published.

The Scottish Parliament can also scrutinise the Parks’ performance directly, as it can for all public sector bodies.

All public bodies in Scotland, including National Parks are required to demonstrate value for money in the discharge of their functions via compliance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) and Accountable Officer (AO) Framework. The use/publication of cost-benefit analysis as a tools to support and inform spending decisions is an operational matter for individual organisations to consider with the overarching financial framework of governance and accountability set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM).

Scotland’s National Parks generate significant economic benefits via tourism, employment and investment. Like all Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs), National Park’s Annual Reports & Accounts are formally reviewed by external auditors before being laid in the Scottish Parliament for public scrutiny. The Scottish Government has not routinely raised concerns about these formally audited records of public spend, and nor have concerns been raised by other bodies.

The Scottish Government allocated £4 million in 2024-25 to support road authorities in the development and implementation of 20 mph speed limits on appropriate roads. A further £7.6 million is available in the current financial year, reflecting the Government’s ongoing commitment to the rollout of 20 mph speed limits on roads where it is appropriate to do so by March 2026.

Sanofi’s VidPrevtyn has not been used in the Scottish Vaccination Programme since winter 2023-24, and is no longer available in the UK. The withdrawal was at the request of the marketing authorisation holder, Sanofi Pasteur, which notified the European Commission of its decision to permanently discontinue the marketing of the product for commercial reasons.

It remains Scottish Government policy that Health Boards must make non-mRNA COVID-19 vaccines available to those individuals who are contraindicated to, or allergic to, mRNA vaccines. However, trometamol is used in the manufacture of some vaccines, including the mRNA COVID-19 vaccines and at present there are no non-mRNA products authorised for use in the UK by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) available for purchase. Health Boards have contacted all individuals affected to explain the situation.

National Services Scotland (NSS) National Procurement team will continue to monitor the non-mRNA market position to see if any non-mRNA options become available for future COVID-19 vaccination programmes.