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Improving access to primary care is a key priority for this Government. We recognise the vital role that GPs, community nurses, pharmacists, dentists and other members of the primary care team play as the foundation of healthcare in our communities.

We are committed to strengthening the whole primary care system, building on our ongoing commitment through the Service Renewal Framework to shift more care into community settings and make services more accessible for patients.

As part of this, we will develop options for new and innovative ways to improve access to primary care, including local walk-in models which will provide more flexibility for patients. It is our intention to develop proposals for a model would see these services open Monday-Sunday. We will develop these proposals first as a pilot model which will complement current core general practice and provide a range of same-day assessment and small-scale diagnostics. To do this we will work in collaboration with NHS Boards and primary care delivery partners to ensure they strengthen, rather than duplicate, existing primary care services.

The Scottish Government will set out further details as these plans develop.

Following discussions with a number of stakeholders and experts over recent weeks, I have decided to delay implementation of the muirburn provisions until the start of the next muirburn season in Autumn 2026.

This decision will provide us with the time and opportunity to carefully consider the upcoming changes to muirburn and how these changes can be brought forward in a way which does not adversely affect our ability to prevent and respond to wildfires. Wildfires as I saw this summer, are very damaging to our precious peatland carbon stores and further discussions on this issue will take place with key stakeholders and at the Wildfire Summit on 14 October 2025.

The Scottish Government recognises and values the crucial role of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in delivering preventative care, early intervention, and rehabilitation across Scotland. To support AHPs in balancing the demands of system pressures with service delivery, the Government invests in workforce development, provides access to professional guidance and resources, and promotes collaborative, multidisciplinary working. AHPs are also supported in maintaining their own wellbeing to sustain high-quality care.

Despite voting to stay in the EU, Scotland was forced to leave with the UK. That means putting in place trade barriers for both exports and imports that create costs for businesses and consumers. Checks on imports from the EU stem from Brexit and, as Parliament will be aware, that interacts with devolved responsibilities.

Scottish Ministers agreed to adopt the post-Brexit Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) in August 2023. This outlined how checks on goods would begin in phases and be assessed on a sliding scale of risk. While physical and identity checks on most imports from the EU began on 30 April 2024, no definitive start date was announced for Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks on imports from Ireland arriving into Great Britain (GB) via west coast ports.

In May 2025, the UK Government announced a Common Understanding with the EU with a view to negotiating a ‘Common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area’. It could, if agreed, exempt many imports of live animals and other goods from EU countries from SPS checks at the border – something the Scottish Government has long advocated for. As a result of this negotiation, Ministers from all four nations have agreed to pause the further implementation of the BTOM at this time.

This pause applies to two categories of goods. Firstly, on the introduction of new import controls on EU and EEA live animal imports. So, at present, there will be no introduction of inspections on EU live animals at the GB border, and a continuation of inspections at destination. Existing BCP checks on goods from the EU will remain in place and controls on rest of the world goods, including transit movements, will continue.

Secondly, there will also be a pause on the introduction of new checks on certain plant and animal goods arriving from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (termed non-qualifying goods). For these goods there will be continued
pre-notification and certification (where required) but further documentary, identity and physical inspections at the border will not be introduced at the moment.

The UK Government issued a press release to outline this policy change on
18 August 2025 to ensure traders are aware that the current inspection regime will remain in place until a new SPS agreement is negotiated and implemented with the EU.

As part of this recent engagement, the UK Government committed to engaging collaboratively with Devolved Governments during the SPS negotiations with the EU. We will also continue to engage with the UK Government to formulate and introduce anti-avoidance measures to tackle illicit trade and balance Scotland’s trade and biosecurity interests.

The NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework is one of the key elements of the evidence-based approach to monitoring performance and managing risk across the NHS in Scotland.

In 2025-26 NHS Boards received increased investment in their baseline funding, bringing total investment to over £16.2 billion, with NHS Dumfries and Galloway receiving over £425 million. This represents increased investment of £60.7 million from 2024-25, including additional funding to provide for prior year pay deals, as well as a range of funding to support vital frontline services.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway’s resource budget has increased by 22.3% in real terms between 2010-11 and 2025-26, and in cash terms has increased by £218 million, 105.1%, from 2006-07 to 2025-26.

NHS Dumfries and Galloway are currently at Stage Two of the Framework for finance and all NHS Boards are continuously reviewed against the framework based on their financial position.

Following this review the decision was made for NHS Dumfries and Galloway to be escalated to Stage Three of the Framework for finance. This is based upon an assessment of the financial sustainability of the Board, and the level of support required to deliver a return to financial stability.

Stage Three escalation comes into effect from 7th August 2025 and involves enhanced monitoring and support from Scottish Government. This includes increased oversight and coordinated engagement to ensure the Board is provided the appropriate support and return to financial sustainability. This will include increased oversight from the Chief Finance Officer of Health and Social Care.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with NHS Dumfries and Galloway to monitor their financial position and assist with longer term financial planning and improvement. Regular updates will be provided to Ministers on the financial position of NHS Dumfries and Galloway following this escalation.

It is not normally the case that Parliament is informed of determinations on consenting applications. However, given that Parliament is in recess and that the Berwick Bank offshore windfarm consenting application of significant interest and of strategic importance, I considered it appropriate and helpful to proactively inform Parliament of the decision made in relation to this application.

I can therefore advise that Scottish Ministers have today granted consent to the application for the Berwick Bank Offshore Windfarm which will be located in the North Sea in the outer Firth of Forth. It will be one of the world’s largest windfarms and will have an estimated capacity of 4.1GW. This decision has been taken after careful and lengthy consideration of the project’s potential environmental impact and its potential impacts on other users of the sea.

This decision is a major step in Scotland’s progress towards achieving net zero and tackling the climate crisis, as well as supporting national energy security and growing our green economy. Increasing renewable energy generation is critical to meeting our climate change targets, with climate change being one of the biggest threats to Scotland’s biodiversity and health of its marine ecosystems.

We are requiring that the developer must deliver environmental compensation to address the environmental impacts of this windfarm, alongside measures which will mitigate and minimise impacts to other sea users. The Scottish Government will work with SSE Renewables and stakeholders on proposed environmental compensatory measures required to address the impacts of the project.

Offshore wind is already one of Scotland’s greatest modern success stories – we now have the opportunity to deliver a potential offshore wind pipeline of over 40 GW putting us at the forefront of offshore wind development globally. This is the right decision for Scotland’s interests and will help to deliver significant benefits for our nation.

The determination paperwork can be found here: Section 36 Consent - Construction and Operation of Generating Station - Berwick Bank Wind Farm - Firth of Forth | marine.gov.scot.

We welcomed the publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 1 report on pre-pandemic preparedness and resilience on 18 July 2024. On 16 January this year, in line with the timeframes set out by the Chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, we published our response to her report and recommendations. Our response set out the actions and steps we are taking to address the Inquiry’s recommendations.

As requested by the Chair, we are today publishing our first six monthly progress report, setting out details of the action taken to date against each of the accepted recommendations. Since the Chair issued her report last year, we have been working together with our stakeholders, at all levels, to continue our efforts to make effective, practical and measurable improvements in pandemic planning preparedness.

Over the past six months the Scottish Government has been working, in partnership with local and national stakeholders and working as a four nations group, where appropriate, to implement the accepted recommendations within the timeframes set out in our response. During autumn 2025, the Scottish Government will be participating in the UK-wide pandemic exercise, Exercise Pegasus, to test our national and local preparedness for future pandemics. This is the first exercise of its kind in almost a decade.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to Public Health Scotland to support the establishment of the National Scottish Pandemic Sciences Partnership, a key recommendation of the Standing Committee on Pandemic Preparedness. The National Scottish Pandemic Sciences Partnership will augment our existing approach to pandemic preparedness and establish itself as a collaboration that leverages our strengths in pandemic science.

The Scottish Government recognises, however, that there is still further work to be done to ensure that Scotland is as resilient as possible to future risks and we are committed to taking the necessary steps. The Scottish Government looks forward to continuing to work closely with our partners and stakeholders to deliver these recommendations and we will provide our next progress update by the end of January 2026.

A copy of the progress report is available online at: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836919100

Our next progress report will be provided in early 2026.

The Scottish Government has not had any recent discussions regarding potentially extending the regulatory protections pertaining to red deer to encompass native wild goat populations.

As set out in our response dated 25 May 2025 to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee’s consideration of Petition PE2151 – Grant Protected Status To Primitive Goat Species In The Scottish Borders, whilst feral goats can bring benefits, they are an invasive non-native species that can cause damage to the natural environment and forestry interests.

We currently have no plans to increase regulatory protection for primitive goats, or feral goats as they are more commonly known.