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The Scottish Government does not hold specific information on these issues, however information regarding the impact of migraine on workplaces and the economy have been published by organisations such as the Migraine Trust.

Officials are in regular contact with our UK Government counterparts. We are engaging closely with the newly formed Office for Clean Energy Jobs - set up to tackle workforce and skills challenges in the energy sector - and we look forward to supporting the work this office will drive forward. 

Whilst skills are a devolved responsibility, we are committed to working with all the stakeholders necessary to deliver the skills system needed as our energy sector transforms. This includes Scottish Government taking responsibility for skills planning at the national level and working with partners to strengthen regional skills planning.

The Procurement Act 2023 does not generally legislate for the procurement activities of devolved Scottish authorities, and there is no provision within the Act for the Scottish Government to simply adopt it, though the Scottish Ministers will use the powers conferred on them by the Act appropriately, for example to implement international agreements, or to set out provision in relation to cross-border procurement.

The Scottish Government has already taken significant steps to reform public procurement practice in Scotland. The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 already requires contracting authorities in Scotland to consider the economic, social and environmental wellbeing impact on their area of procurement activity, increases transparency by requiring contracts to be advertised on one single advertising portal, requires authorities to set out anticipated contracts over the next two years in an annual procurement report and requires authorities to consider community benefits in major contracts.

This was achieved in a way which was consistent with EU law. It remains the view of the Scottish Government that Scotland is best served by aligning with EU law where it is practical and sensible to do so.

There has been significant contact at official level on this issue. When devolved Scottish authorities award a contract from a framework advertised and awarded under the terms of the Procurement Act 2023, then relevant elements of the rules established by that Act will apply to the call-off procedure. Similarly, when non-devolved Scottish authorities award contracts from a framework agreement awarded under the Scottish regulations, then relevant elements of those rules will apply to the call-off procedure. Regulations made under section 115 of the Procurement Act 2023 will set this out.

Devolved Scottish and other UK authorities can continue to work together to procure jointly. The applicable rules will be determined by which authority is designated as the lead authority for the procurement exercise as outlined in Section 114 of the Procurement Act 2023.

The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) is a strategic leadership group that brings together the Scottish public sector and the offshore wind industry. SOWEC has five subgroups that are administered by individual group leads and are tasked with dealing with different industry challenges.

The Scottish Government does not hold a complete list of the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council (SOWEC) sub-group members as this is held by individual sub-group leads.

A range of organisations across the sector have been involved to date, including: BP, college sector, Copenhagen Offshore Partners, Crown Estate Scotland, Dundee Council, EDF Renewables, Equinor, ESB, Energy Skills Partnership, Floatation Energy, Forth & Tay Cluster, Fred Olsen, Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), HIE/DeepWind Cluster, Inch Cape Offshore Wind Farm, Mainstream, Muir Mhor, Nadara, Net Zero Technology Centre, Northland Power, Ocean Winds, Orsted, RenewableUK, RWE, Scottish Enterprise, Scottish Renewables, ScottishPower, Skills Development Scotland, Scottish Funding Council, Shell, Simply Blue Group, SSE Renewables, University of Strathclyde and Vattenfall.

The Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council is a strategic leadership group that brings together the Scottish public sector and the offshore wind industry. The group is co-chaired by the Minister for Climate Action, and Brian MacFarlane of SSE.

Group membership includes: Andrew MacDonald (Innovation Working Group Chair, ORE Catapult), Alex Louden (Innovation Working Group Deputy Chair, Ørsted), Andy Riley (Crown Estate Scotland), Claire Mack (Barriers to Deployment Working Group Chair, Scottish Renewables), David Oxley (Highlands, and Islands Enterprise), Jim Brown (Skills Working Group Chair, Energy Skills Partnership), Lloyd Duthie (Supply Chain & Clusters Working Group Chair, Seaway 7), Mark Baxter (Developers’ Forum Interim Chair, Ocean Winds), Paul Wheelhouse (South of Scotland Enterprise), Reuben Aitken (Scottish Development International) and Suzanne Sosna (Scottish Enterprise).

New chairs for the Developer Forum and Skills Working Group will be appointed before the end of 2024.

The Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate will be sharing draft outputs, as noted in our revised Statement of Public Participation and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy, as they become available so we can collaboratively develop the plan with communities as part of our commitment to considering the Just Transition principles in the marine planning process.

By including a staged approach to our engagement for NMP2, and by speaking to people who use or rely on Scotland’s seas, the Marine Directorate can take time to better understand their needs and use these experiences and knowledge to create a new plan that works well for the people of Scotland.

This engagement has included the first National Marine Planning Forum and sector-based workshops, with future engagement planned around the consultation on the NMP2’s forthcoming Planning Position Statement (PPS) and draft plan.

The aim of Minimum Unit Pricing (MUP) of alcohol is to reduce health harms caused by alcohol consumption by setting a floor price below which alcohol cannot be sold. In particular, it targets a reduction in consumption of alcohol that is considered cheap, relative to its strength. It aims to reduce both the consumption of alcohol at population level and, in particular, those who drink at hazardous and harmful levels. In doing so, it aims to reduce alcohol related health harms among hazardous and harmful drinkers, and contribute to reducing harm at a whole population level.

Public Health Scotland's independent evaluation of MUP, commended by internationally-renowned public health experts, found that evidence pointed to the policy having a positive impact on health outcomes – during the period study it was estimated to have reduced alcohol specific deaths by 13.4% and likely to have reduced hospital admission wholly attributable to alcohol by 4.1%. There was also a finding that MUP was estimated to have reduced alcohol consumption by 3% when compared to England.

Overall, the evidence supports that MUP has had a positive impact on health outcomes, including alcohol-related health inequalities.

The Scottish Government will be contributing to a UK wide report on compliance to the Aarhus Compliance Committee very shortly. The report will detail significant progress towards addressing concerns previously raised by the Compliance Committee.

Our “Vision for Justice in Scotland: three-year delivery plan” contains an action to engage with key stakeholders to inform and shape future legislative proposals in relation to the reform of legal aid. Those proposals will build upon the recommendations of the independent strategic review undertaken by Martyn Evans and upon subsequent public consultations. Discussions on legal aid reform will commence this year and will include environmental stakeholders.

The Scottish Government does not have any plans to raise awareness of digital legacies or to make provision for their digital accounts and assets after they pass away. The Scottish Government encourages all individuals to consider taking professional advice and make a will. Digital assets take many forms and will vary from one individual to another. Solicitors are best placed to offer advice tailored to a person’s specific circumstances and the Law Society of Scotland offers training and advice to its members on digital legacies and digital assets.