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The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information.

Trading Standards Scotland reports any suspected criminality directly to the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service.

In March 2020, Scotland implemented human papillomavirus (HPV) testing as the primary cervical screening test, and increased the routine screening interval from every three years to every five. Both changes followed UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC) recommendations, which were based on strong evidence that HPV causes almost all cases of cervical cancer and typically takes years or decades to do so.

The change was accompanied by guidance to explain the increased interval, and we have continued to reiterate this as part of on-going work to raise awareness of the importance of cervical screening. Considerable efforts have also continued to improve the information available for those invited for cervical screening, which includes revision of invitation letters and information leaflets and updates of NHS inform.

To date, there is no evidence that the changes made to the English programme have given rise to increased concerns in Scotland. We will, however, keep this situation under review, and consider if additional work is needed to ensure the benefits of Scotland’s cervical screening programme are communicated clearly.

It remains important that anyone who has concerns about possible symptoms of cervical cancer discusses them with their GP, even if they have not yet received an invitation for their next cervical screening appointment. In addition, anyone between the ages of 25 and 64 who did not attend their last screening appointment can ask to be screened, no matter how long ago they were last invited.

Capital expenditure is solely for the purchase of Peatland Carbon Units at a set rate as they mature within each project. However, awardees may sell their units on the open market where they can achieve an improved price.

Through ScotZEB 1, the average subsidy per vehicle, excluding infrastructure was £176,000. Through ScotZEB 2, the average subsidy per vehicle, excluding infrastructure is £108,000. ScotZEB 2 is still a live project in its delivery phase, and consortium membership and vehicle numbers may be subject to change. Both phases of ScotZEB have been designed to bring about a market transformation in Scotland’s bus sector, to see the rapid adoption of zero-emission technologies.

Through ScotZEB 1, all subsidy was offered to bus operators, not to bus manufacturers. Similarly, through ScotZEB 2, the grant award was made to Zenobe Energy, to manage on behalf of their consortium of operators, and no subsidy went directly to manufacturers.

Both the Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework (SRF) and the Population Health Framework (PHF) place prevention and early intervention at their core. The actions in the PHF – promoting healthy eating, investing in sport and active living, and work to reduce the harms of smoking – will support the prevention of cardiovascular (circulatory) disease.

The SRF includes a focus on early detection to support intervention and treatment to reduce the level of harm. For example, our CVD Risk Factors programme seeks to improve the identification and management of key risk factors (obesity, smoking, high blood sugar, blood pressure or cholesterol). As part of this programme, we will support 100,000 patients, who may be at risk of cardiovascular disease, with extra GP appointments by March next year.

Preventative measures, such as those detailed above, should help to address cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, including hospital admissions.

Universities are autonomous bodies and operate within a legal framework which places duties on them to uphold freedom of speech and academic freedom, most notably under the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016. These duties apply alongside legal obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality (Scotland) Act 2010. This includes the Public Sector Equality Duty reporting and the statutory requirement that Universities undertake Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments of their policies.

Universities must also comply with the Scottish Code of Good Higher Education Governance. Institutions are required to report on their compliance with the Code in their annual accounts.

Compliance with the Code of Good Governance is a condition of grant from the Scottish Funding Council. Regulatory bodies including the Scottish Charity Regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman also have an interest in how institutions exercise their legal responsibilities.

Bullying, harassment and unacceptable behaviour of any form cannot be tolerated within society or within policing. Police officers do an incredibly difficult job and the vast majority conduct themselves with integrity and professionalism. However, when things do go wrong, it is essential there are robust, clear and transparent mechanisms in place to investigate complaints or other issues of concern.

The new Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act, which became law in March, introduces several measures to improve the police complaints and misconduct systems and enhance the accountability of officers. It will allow for gross misconduct proceedings to continue or commence following an officer’s resignation or retirement and ongoing vetting throughout officers’ careers. The Scottish Government is also consulting with policing partners on proposals for further changes to police conduct regulations.

Ensuring public trust in police officers is vital and this legislation is building on the range of changes already delivered since Dame Elish Angiolini’s independent review of policing in November 2020.

Scottish Government consultation with the trade unions is ongoing and at this stage of the process there are no outcomes to report.

Marketing expenditure of £3.8m was spent on the Let's Do Net Zero campaign, covering the period from its development in 2020-21 through to the current financial year 2024-25.

This campaign is delivered as part of the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Public Engagement Strategy and specifically supports the strategic objective to ensure that people are aware of the action that all of Scotland is taking to tackle climate change and understand how it relates to their lives. The campaign seeks to motivate households to take action in the areas that will have the biggest impact in reducing emissions. Evidence, including from the Climate Change Committee’s Citizen panels, suggest that communications of this nature are both necessary and welcome as part of Scotland’s journey towards net zero.

The Scottish Government recently published the Climate Change – public engagement strategy:mid point review (April 2025) which reflects on the results delivered to date and includes a summary of outcomes and learning related to the Let’s Do Net Zero campaign. Independent evaluation shows that:

• Paid-for Let’s Do Net Zero campaigns typically reach a large proportion of people in Scotland: for example, the October 2021 communications activity reached 3,475,000 (75%) of adults in Scotland, who saw the activity on average 9.7 times.
• Seeing messaging relating to the need to take action to tackle climate change has a positive impact on the target audience’s commitment to taking action: for example, 76% of campaign recognisers were motivated to take action in November 2024 versus 49% of non-recognisers.

The Review’s findings indicate that the public want to see more mass communication on climate change from the Scottish Government and want to hear more on the urgency of the climate crisis from Government, balanced with communication on the practical actions that people can take, and their co-benefits.

The Scottish Government has prioritised action on marine litter through the Marine Litter Strategy for Scotland. We published our refreshed Strategy in September 2022, which sets out a co-ordinated approach to address the amount of litter entering the marine environment and supports the removal of debris that is already there. The Strategy contains multiple actions on the most problematic types of marine litter, including sewage-related debris and wet wipes. We are working across the four nations to put an end to pollution caused by wet wipes containing plastic, with legislation forthcoming. Scottish Water are a valued member of our Marine Litter Strategy Steering Group, which oversees the work of the Strategy.