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The proposed powers in the Pensions Schemes Bill ensure Scottish Ministers maintain parity of powers with the UK Government for the respective Local Government Pension Schemes.

Our Programme for Government demonstrates our commitment to encouraging investment in Scotland, and we are actively engaging with pension funds, including the local government funds, to collaborate and explore opportunities to support the growth of the Scottish economy.

Social Security Scotland does not currently publish statistics on Adult Disability Payment caseload broken down by both age and disability condition.

Progress towards eliminating hepatitis C (HCV) in Scotland is monitored by Public Health Scotland (PHS). PHS’s latest HCV surveillance report, published in January 2025, described progress as “hugely encouraging”. For example, there was evidence to indicate the vast majority (89%) of individuals diagnosed with chronic HCV having cleared their infection.

However, the latest report only includes data up to 2023/24, so it is too early to say conclusively whether every indictor for HCV elimination has been reached. An update on Scotland’s progress towards achieving HCV elimination targets will be available in the next iteration of the PHS HCV surveillance report, which is due to be published in November 2025. In the meantime, identifying undiagnosed infections remains a top priority, and we continue to focus on testing and treating more people as we push towards the elimination of hepatitis C in Scotland.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) are currently coordinating a review of the UK’s progress towards HCV elimination in order to submit a dossier to the World Health Organization. Formal accreditation of HCV elimination from the World Health Organization is considered on a UK-wide basis and the Scottish Government continues to work collaboratively with partners to consider next steps, baring in mind potential differences in progress across the four nations.

It is also vital that we continue to monitor, test and treat for HCV beyond the elimination goal to ensure that we retain the elimination status and prevent cases recurring in Scotland.

When corporate devices are no longer required for operational use, we follow a structured and secure disposal process to ensure data protection and environmental compliance. This includes:

• Assessment: Devices are reviewed to determine whether they are eligible for redeployment, reuse, or disposal.
• Data Sanitisation: All devices are securely wiped using industry-leading data erasure software that complies with internationally recognised standards, and UK-specific requirements such as GDPR and NCSC (National Cyber Security Council) guidance. This process ensures that all data is permanently and irreversibly removed from the device, with tamper-proof erasure certificates generated for audit and compliance purposes.

Reused or Recycled: Devices not fit for redeployment are either reused or recycled. Reused devices may be sold through approved channels or donated to approved third-sector organisations. Devices offered for sale are sold at auction by a contracted supplier. The specifics of each purchaser are not tracked. Donated devices are provided to third-sector organisations for continued use where possible, although supply chain constrictions following COVID-19 have interrupted donations in some years.

Remaining devices are recycled through certified e-waste partners. As noted above, whether resold, donated, or recycled devices are only ever disposed of after being fully wiped of all data.

The following table gives a breakdown of laptop and desktop devices disposed of since 2020. The first column displays the year while the next two differentiate between laptop and desktop devices. The remaining columns show the total number of both device types either resold, recycled, or donated. The donated column also indicates the recipients of devices for that year.

All mobile phones returned for disposal are not eligible for reuse, therefore no data is available.

The Scottish Government has commissioned Public Health Scotland to lead national-level monitoring and evaluation of the Emergency Department Opt-Out Testing programme. This evaluation will include both quantitative and qualitative components to assess the programme’s impact, as well as cost-effectiveness modelling. Key metrics will focus on testing rates for blood borne viruses, diagnoses, linkage to care and the uptake of treatment. The evaluation will also explore the experiences of patients, Emergency Department staff, and other stakeholders to identify facilitators and barriers to implementation and engagement. The evaluation will be co-developed and delivered in collaboration with Glasgow Caledonian University, NHS Boards and frontline clinicians involved in the programme rollout.

At the UK Spending Review the Scottish Government received a Barnett share of the net changes to UK departmental budget allocations, which ultimately fed into our total block grant settlement.

Any new or additional spending allocations in 2025-26 associated with this UK policy will be included in the overall budget calculation for the Scottish Government. However, spending changes related to Barnett funding arising from UK policy decisions are not allocated to any specific programme of work in Scotland.

All budget allocation decisions are taken as part of the Scottish Budget process.

In 2023-24 the Scottish Government permanently provided funding for smoking cessation and prevention services to Health Boards as part of the Outcomes Framework funding, which also covered a wider range of outcomes. In 2025-26 territorial Health Boards received an overall funding uplift of 3%.

The Scottish Government is committed to establishing Scotland as a leading start-up nation that fosters innovation, creates jobs, and accelerates economic growth.

Scotland’s National Innovation Strategy noted the importance of investing in innovation and since its publication in 2023, the Scottish Government has delivered the following as part of its investment in innovation:

• Invested almost £3 million in a Proof of Concept Fund to support university researchers to develop their innovative ideas and technologies and bridge the gap between groundbreaking research and commercial applications.
• Continued to invest in the Techscaler programme which now in its third year has supported member companies to collectively raise over £195 million to date - demonstrating Scotland’s growing reputation as a leading tech hub.
• Since 2023, the Ecosystem Fund has invested £2.4 million across 70 projects that strengthen the infrastructure supporting innovators and entrepreneurs to commercialise their ideas and access the resources, knowledge and capital needed to bring innovations to market.

The Scottish Government has also provided £5 million to support accelerated growth of Scotland’s innovation clusters and launched our AI Scotland programme, including a pilot scheme for SMEs that positions Scotland as a creator and supplier of AI technologies.

In line with their scaling innovation mission Scottish Enterprise(SE) has also supported industries where Scotland has global strengths to convert and scale innovation into growth. During 2024 – 2025 SE invested £43m into approximately 100 innovative, high-growth potential, early-stage companies leveraging £111m of external investment. Additionally, SE has supported 66 companies to raise
£132 million in growth funding, supported 46 innovative spinout projects, including the creation of three new spinouts, and backed ten female academic founders through market explorer programmes.

The Scottish Government’s National Innovation Strategy sets out an ambitious programme of actions which aim to use innovation as a key driver of productivity and economic growth.

Since 2007 productivity has grown at an average rate of 0.9% per year compared to the UK average of 0.3%. We continue to work with partners to build upon this and maximise opportunities for sustainable productivity growth.

The Scottish Government has allocated almost £228 million to Scottish Enterprise to support its activity in 2025-26. Scottish Enterprise is delivering on the actions set out by the Innovation Strategy’s Productivity Programme through its two missions aligned to innovation and productivity. These missions aim to:

1. Scale innovation strengths into high-growth industries, strengthen competitive sectors, support scaling companies, create high-value jobs and enhance global competitiveness.
2. Drive capital investment to boost productivity, by increasing business investment, raising productivity, and supporting higher-value employment opportunities that contribute to inclusive economic growth.

The Scottish Government is also working with the Productivity Institute and the University of Glasgow on an Innovation-Driven Productivity Study, which will deliver a productivity framework tailored to Scotland’s high-value sectors, supported by regional and sectoral case studies to inform future policy and practice.

The National Innovation Strategy sets a clear ten-year vision (2023–2033) for Scotland’s innovation and productivity ambitions. It provides a long-term direction for government and partners — a compass setting the course for our innovation journey. While the priorities established in 2023 remain fixed, the delivery of these priorities is designed to be adaptive, allowing programmes and actions to respond effectively to evolving economic conditions, technologies, and business needs, while maintaining alignment with the Strategy’s overarching objectives.

The Scottish Government remains firmly committed to expanding access to hepatitis C testing across all NHS Board areas, as part of our blood borne virus (BBV) elimination efforts. The latest surveillance report from Public Health Scotland shows that the number of individuals tested for hepatitis C (HCV) antibodies in 2023 has exceeded pre-pandemic levels in nearly all settings. While this progress is encouraging, we recognise the need to further improve uptake in key services, particularly within prisons and drug and alcohol services.

All NHS Boards and other relevant services are encouraged to adopt approaches to HCV testing which are appropriate to their local contexts. These include testing in primary care, drug and alcohol services, custodial settings, community pharmacies and through outreach initiatives. This year, for the first time, the Scottish Government has set targets for hepatitis C testing in prisons and drug and alcohol services to encourage uptake.

The introduction of additional HCV testing targets will complement the rollout of Emergency Department Opt-Out Testing for BBVs, beginning with NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lothian and Grampian. These measures will help identify undiagnosed people, facilitate earlier access to care and support progress towards our BBV elimination goals.

In 2025-26, the Scottish Government committed £975,000 to the National AI Adoption Programme, reflecting its ongoing support for the responsible and inclusive uptake of AI across Scotland’s business community.

Of this total, £290,000 will be delivered as direct grant support to businesses. This includes £200,000 for AI Transformation Grants, which are aimed at helping SMEs discover, explore and implement AI solutions that can drive significant change within their organisations. An additional £90,000 will fund AI Exploration Vouchers, designed to support businesses at the early stages of their AI journey by enabling them to test and explore potential use cases.

No funding has been allocated to loans within the 2025-26 programme. The remainder of the budget will be used to deliver a range of complementary support activities — including expert advice, engagement events and targeted outreach — to help build confidence, capability and awareness around AI adoption across the wider economy.