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Our Tobacco and Vaping Framework: Roadmap to 2034 committed to tracking and reporting progress towards our 2034 target. This included work to develop further indicators, building on existing baseline data (taken from the Scottish Health Survey and the Health Behaviour in School-Aged Children study) as part of the first two-year implementation plan.

As part of our ongoing analytical work on the Framework, we identified a need for more regular and more detailed data on children due to the rapidly changing landscape.

Since 2024 the Scottish Government has purchased a booster sample in the ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey. This is an annual survey of 11-18 years olds in Great Britain that has been running since 2013. This has allowed us to achieve representativeness by age and gender for young people age 11 – 17 years living in Scotland.

Data from the Scotland booster sample provides robust and valuable information annually on patterns of use of cigarettes, vapes and novel nicotine products (including nicotine pouches).

The Scottish Strategic Network for Genomic Medicine (SSNGM) is currently working to document and address these gaps as part of the genomic medicine strategy, with the aim of improving alignment and equity of provision across the UK.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) supports open competitive grant and fellowship schemes for applied health research in Scotland across a wide remit that is inclusive of consideration of applications for funding for research relating to skin conditions such as topical steroid withdrawal. Applications submitted to these schemes are assessed through independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by independent expert committees. No projects for topical steroid withdrawal are currently being funded. CSO also invests in NHS Research Scotland to support NHS Boards host and participate in public, charity, and industry sector funded clinical studies and trials. This includes a Dermatology Research Network to support the delivery of clinical research on skin conditions. While a number of clinical studies of treatments for skin conditions are being supported, none relate specifically to topical steroid withdrawal.

The Scottish Government received an Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP), Draft Programme Business Case (PBC) from the Home Office in May 2024. This indicated that the Emergency Services Network (ESN) would be delivered by 2029-30.

Since then the Home Office has completed a major re-procurement exercise, which has resulted in the appointment of new commercial suppliers to deliver the Programme. The Home Office is currently updating the 2024 PBC and associated documentation, to reflect the impact of the new suppliers. This information is expected to be shared with partner organisations, including Scottish Government, in the coming weeks.

While the re-procurement exercise has introduced delays into the Programme, this has not had any operational impacts on the emergency services in Scotland, who continue to use the Airwave network for critical communications.

Officer wellbeing and retention are operational matters for Police Scotland. I refer the member to my response to S6W-35420 on 17 March.

The Chief Constable has stated to the Criminal Justice Committee that the wellbeing of police officers and staff is one of her main priorities. Police Scotland has made a £17 million investment in wellbeing, which includes a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and enhanced occupational health services, to support officers and staff wellbeing.

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

Disturbance by low frequency sound is typically described as hearing a low rumble, and it can be distressing, due to sleep disturbance and other symptoms. In some instances the low-frequency noise complaint can be traced to a sound source. If the source can be found then there is a chance the noise can be mitigated. However, in many cases no sound can be traced that could account for the disturbance.

The relevant local authority has responsibilities to consider the granting of any planning permission and enforcement action related to low-frequency noise, supported by the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4). The environmental health department of that authority consider and act if there was determined to be a breach of the relevant legislation, such as noise and statutory nuisance legislation.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that the increase in children, young people and adults seeking neurodevelopmental support and assessment across Scotland is creating challenges for services.

Scottish Government officials are engaging with Health Boards across Scotland to understand the challenges that they are facing in providing assessment and support services for neurodivergent adults, and to discuss potential solutions.

We fund the National Autism Implementation Team to support NHS Boards to develop, enhance and redesign local neurodevelopmental services for adults.

While the Scottish Government has overall policy responsibility for health and social care policy in Scotland, decisions on how to deliver services to best meet the needs of the local population are the responsibility of NHS Boards and their partners.

The 2025-26 Budget which has been approved by Parliament will provide a record £21.7 billion for Health & Social Care next year. This includes £16.2 billion for health boards - a 3% cash uplift and real terms increase on their baseline funding. It will also deliver record funding of over £15 billion for Local Authorities, a further 4.7 per cent real terms increase.

We have allocated £123.5 million to Health Boards this year on a recurring basis through the Enhanced Mental Health Outcomes Framework which plays a part in improving the quality and delivery of mental health and psychological services, including neurodevelopmental services for children, young people and adults.

Ministers recognise the very challenging financial landscape across health and social care but remain committed to making progress regarding the removal of non-residential charging in partnership with others.

Ongoing engagement work has made clear there is variation in non-residential care charging across the country and some groups and people are more adversely impacted. We will continue to work with others on this issue to ensure people have greater clarity on what charges apply and where they can go for support.

The Scottish Government will take forward discussions with the UK Government on the matter of quota distribution following the recent agreement with the EU. Those discussions will include how sea fish quotas are apportioned. The majority of quota is currently apportioned by the UK Government on the basis of each Administration's share of Fixed Quota Allocation (FQA) units.

The operation of Police Scotland, including the deployment of officers, is for the Chief Constable. The latest official statistics show there were 16,553 FTE police officers in Scotland on 31 March 2025. The Scottish Government supports the Chief Constable in having the flexibility to develop and utilise her workforce in a way that responds to the challenges she faces by ensuring she has the right workforce in place. In 2025-26, we are increasing investment in policing by £90 million to a record £1.64 billion to support police capacity and capability.