Seòmar agus comataidhean

All Scottish Ministers routinely use electronic boxes (‘e-boxes’) for ministerial business. Cabinet Folders are issued to Cabinet Secretaries on appointment.

The Scottish Government is not responsible for taking action against any land occupiers who have received multiple Section 59 notices. It would be for SEPA or the local authority responsible for issuing the notices to determine whether or not any further action or investigation would be appropriate in relation to any ongoing activity on the land.

Scottish Government funding of over £2.5m has been committed to support the mental health and wellbeing of health and care staff in 2024-25. These resources include a 24/7 compassionate listening service, confidential mental health treatment through the Workforce Specialist Service and access to psychological therapies and interventions.

Prioritising these treatment and therapeutic programmes reflects our commitment to offer care and support to those staff suffering from stress, anxiety and other conditions. In addition, the National Wellbeing Hub offers a range of self-care wellbeing resources and signposting to relevant mental health and support services.

There is no specific criminal offence of causing harm to birds by poorly installed or maintained building netting. Should such an offence be prosecuted in Scottish criminal court it would most likely be done under Section 1 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981. Although we cannot identify building owners as a subset of convicted persons, Criminal Proceedings in Scotland national statistics show no companies were convicted under Section 1 in the most recent available three financial years (2019-20 to 2021-22). The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service additionally confirmed no companies were convicted for an offence involving bird netting in the last five years (2019-2024).

Funding allocated to Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) is for both alcohol and drug treatment services. In 2024-25, £112.9 million is being made available to ADPs. This funding is used to ensure that local services meet the needs of people who experience alcohol and drugs harms.

On 7 September 2023, the previous Minister for Drugs and Alcohol Policy supported a Member’s Debate Motion calling for investment in alcohol services, outlining the Government’s plan to reduce harm from alcohol misuse.

We have asked Public Health Scotland to investigate the apparent decline in alcohol treatment numbers. This is underway and is expected to be completed in 2024. In 2023-2024, the number of statutory-funded residential rehabilitation placements increased to 938, the majority of which included alcohol use or co-dependency.

We are working with partners and stakeholders to develop a national specification for alcohol and drug treatment in Scotland. The national specification will build on the forthcoming UK Alcohol Treatment Guidelines which will support the improvement of alcohol treatment in Scotland, mirroring the use of the Orange Book Guidelines for drug treatment.

Special Advisers are appointed in accordance with Part 1 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 by the First Minister as a Special Adviser for the purpose of providing assistance to the Scottish Ministers. There are currently 12 Special Advisers.

The Scottish Government has published a list of the Special Advisers and their specific portfolio responsibilities at: Special advisers - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

In response to the increasing number of laboratory-confirmed cases of pertussis that have been reported in Scotland as well as other parts of the UK and Europe, the Scottish Government is working closely with Public Health Scotland (PHS) and NHS Maternity Services to raise awareness of the risks of pertussis, particularly to young infants and to promote timely vaccination uptake as well as emphasising the importance of pertussis vaccination during pregnancy to protect newborn infants.

A National Incident Management Team (IMT) was convened by PHS on 23 May to ensure best practice across all Boards, including addressing any issues locally that might cause vaccination to be delayed.

The National Pertussis Incident Management Team continues to meet regularly to consider and review all actions in response to the increase in pertussis cases.

The Chief Midwifery Officer wrote to Maternity Services on 15 May 2024 encouraging midwives to promote the offer of vaccination to pregnant women.

The Chief Medical Officer wrote to Immunisation Coordinators and Directors of Public Health on 27 May 2024 about the importance of timely vaccination of infants and young children. He also wrote to Medical Directors and health professionals on 30 May 2024 to encourage all health care staff in priority groups working with infants and pregnant women to keep up to date with their own pertussis vaccinations via their occupational health services.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) is the national health and social care improvement organisation for Scotland which develops standards and indicators to support health and social care organisations improve the quality of care and support they deliver.

To support nationwide improvements in the quality of care, work is currently underway to develop a set of healthcare standards which outline the requirements for all healthcare services across Scotland.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland will publish draft National Healthcare Standards for consultation by 31 January 2025. It is anticipated that the final National Healthcare Standards will be published by end summer 2025.

The Scottish Civil Justice Council's review of access to justice in environmental cases has resulted in new rules being made. The new rules are contained within the Act of Sederunt (Rules of the Court of Session 1994 Amendment) (Protective Expenses Orders) 2024.

The Council continues to assess what more can be done via rules in support of environmental actions in the sheriff court and will consult again when appropriate to do so. Work also continues on the plan of action to address the remaining Aarhus concerns raised, where they would result in an amendment to court rules.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with the UK Government to provide a further update to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee in advance of the 1 October.

As set out in The Dangerous Dogs (Compensation and Exemption Schemes) (Scotland) Order 2024 , from 1 August 2024 it is illegal to own an XL Bully dog in Scotland without a certificate of exemption, or without having applied for a certificate of exemption where a decision has not yet been made.

XL Bully dog owners had from 1 April 2024 to 31 July 2024 to apply to the Scottish Government for a certificate of exemption for their dog, to allow them to continue to legally own the dog.

3,308 certificates of exemption for XL Bully dogs have been issued to dog owners by the Scottish Government during the period 1 April 2024 to 31 July 2024.

454 were issued in April 2024

243 were issued in May 2024

479 were issued in June 2024

2,132 were issued in July 2024