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The deployment of officers and staff are a matter for the Chief Constable.

I have regular meetings with the Chief Constable where we discuss relevant issues. Minutes of these meetings can be found at: Police Scotland and Scottish Government meeting: June 2025 - gov.scot

The welfare of officers within Police Scotland are a matter for the Chief Constable.

Post-traumatic support is offered to all officers and staff who are directly involved in potentially traumatic incidents. I am aware that on 29 May Police Scotland indicated to the SPA People Committee that it will undertake an in-depth review of its support provisions in relation to trauma.

I discussed the issue of post-traumatic support with the Scottish Police Federation on 11 June. On 25 June I passed on the concerns raised to Police Scotland who advised that they would be engaging further with SPF on this issue.

The ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey is an annual survey of a representative sample (by age and gender) of 11–18-year-olds across Great Britain, which has been running since 2013. The Scottish Government began purchasing a booster sample since 2024 to achieve representativeness by age and gender specifically for Scotland.

In 2025, the total number of participants aged 11 to 18 from Scotland in 2025 was 856. This is a sufficiently large sample to conduct analysis of age-related differences in prevalence and demonstrate clear patterns of use (a).

The sample is not representative in terms of deprivation as it leans towards higher social grades. The data are not weighted to account for this, and this limitation should be considered when interpreting the results. Data are collected on social grade and grouped into ABC1 and C2DE categories, which are not directly comparable with the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

Regarding behaviours by regular and never users of tobacco, e-cigarettes and nicotine pouches (c), we report on ‘current use’, which includes both regular (once a week or more) and occasional use. This is because the percentages of young people reporting regular use of tobacco, vapes and other nicotine products is very small. This approach aligns with established statistical reporting standards and reflects the low prevalence – particularly for newer products like nicotine pouches – among adolescents.

To ensure transparency, we do not present percentages for subgroups with fewer than 50 respondents. Instead, we report counts and note the small base to minimise the risk of misinterpretation – see our 2024 report Vaping and smoking among Scottish adolescents.

Purchasing data in the ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey enables monitoring of progress against key indicators 4(i) and 4(ii) of the Tobacco and Vaping Framework (i.e. smoking and vaping behaviours in children and young people). It reflects a considered trade-off between cost, analytical value, and timeliness – ensuring prompt delivery of insights to inform policy decisions and interventions.

The Scottish Government is committed to increasing organ and tissue donation and transplantation to enable more people who desperately need a transplant to access one. The UK-wide Organ Donor Register (ODR) was established in 1994 and is run by NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT). As of 1 August 2025, NHSBT reports that there were 3,156,442 people residing in Scotland who have registered their decision on the ODR. The numbers of people in Scotland who have registered in each year since 2021 are as follows:

There is no place for antisemitism, Islamophobia or any form of racism or discrimination in Scotland’s education system. Antisemitic statements, behaviour or offensive or threatening material either on line or in person in universities is wrong and not acceptable. Debate on the current conflict must be done in a courteous and respectful manner. We expect universities to have in place measures to safeguard students and staff and continue to build good relations on campus. Jewish students should be able to express their faith and identity openly and without fear.

We are aware of the StandWithUS UK Report and regularly receive reports from the Community Security Trust (CST) which chart the rise in antisemitism since the start of the current conflict in the Middle East.

My officials meet regularly with Universities Scotland, the Union of Jewish Students and the Universities of Glasgow and Edinburgh and, at the end of August, met with a range of stakeholders, including Chaplaincy, Community Security Trust, Jewish Council of Scotland, Scottish Funding Council and Universities Scotland. The meeting provided the opportunity for stakeholders to share concerns on antisemitism on campuses, and the roles of key partners including higher education institutions, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and Police Scotland in addressing those.

Any student who has experienced antisemitism should report it to their institutions, the Community Security Trust (CST) and Police Scotland.

Our Domains Management contract provides Scottish Government and other Scottish Public Sector organisations a single set annual cost on a per top level domain basis. The cost per domain is set for the duration of the contracted period and includes the annual renewal, management and enterprise DNS fees.

The ASH SmokeFree GB Youth survey is an annual survey of a representative sample (by age and gender) of 11–18-year-olds across Great Britain, which has been running since 2013.

The total number of participants aged 11 to 18 from Scotland in 2025 was 856.

The sample size is sufficiently large to report overall prevalence and to monitor progress against key indicators 4(i) and 4(ii) of the Tobacco and Vaping Framework (i.e. smoking and vaping behaviours in children and young people).

The sample is not representative in terms of deprivation as it leans towards higher social grades. The data are not weighted to account for this, and this limitation should be considered when interpreting the results.

Data are collected on social grade and grouped into ABC1 and C2DE categories, which are not directly comparable with the Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD).

The former Minister for Climate Action last met with representatives of the Shell Natural Gas Liquids plant, and Exxonmobil Fife Ethylene Plant on 28 October 2024. The Minister discussed with the businesses, their views on Just Transition planning, their long-term plans, as well as wider matters regarding participation in the Acorn project and engagement with the UK Government regarding the Track process.

Scottish Government Ministers have not met with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency or the Health and Safety Executive in that last 4 years to specifically discuss the Mossmorran industrial complex.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the specific upstream fields that supply feedstock to the Mossmorran Natural Gas Liquid Plant, operated by Shell.

The appeal has been recalled for determination by Scottish Ministers under Schedule 4 of the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997, and the document referred to forms part of the internal administrative arrangements to support that process.