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The provision on community pharmaceutical care is the responsibility of territorial health boards. Each Health Board has in place a Pharmaceutical Care Service Plan which outlines how the Health Board deliver pharmaceutical services to its population, focusing on improving access, enhancing patient care, and meeting community needs through a mix of community pharmacies and integrated care. These plans help identify areas where services need improvement, ensure appropriate pharmacy access, and align with national health goals by integrating pharmacists into multidisciplinary teams.

In Scotland, theft is defined as the taking or appropriating property from another person without their consent and with the intent to deprive them of it. This definition encompasses various forms of theft, including shoplifting, housebreaking and malicious mischief. The legal framework for theft in Scotland is based on common law, which is developed through court rulings and precedents.

Common law theft is not defined in legislation but is established through the principles of earlier court decisions. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) is responsible for the public prosecution of criminal offences in Scotland, including theft.

The Scottish Government recognises the concerns expressed by the Scottish Retail Consortium regarding the impact of retail crime and the terminology used to describe it. While “shoplifting” is commonly used, both terms – “shop theft” and “shoplifting” – refer to the same underlying common law offence of theft.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling shoplifting and retail crime in general was reaffirmed in our Programme for Government, which makes clear our strong support for Police Scotland’s robust approach in addressing this issue.

We continue to invest record levels of funding in policing, with £1.64 billion provided in 2024-25, including £3 million specifically to tackle retail crime. Police Scotland has also published a dedicated action plan to deliver a visible and measurable impact in this area.

As of 31 March 2025, Scotland had 164,532 hectares of land designated as Green Belt, according to the latest Improvement Service spatial data.

This represents approximately 2.1% of Scotland’s total land area.

We do not hold information on changes in the total area designated as Green Belt between 31 March 2024 and 31 March 2025.

We recognise there could be public concerns relating to the potential health impacts of plastic pollution. We continue to closely monitor the developments and advice from the World Health Organisation (WHO) on emerging evidence in relation to plastic pollution. However, we have currently not commissioned any research on this topic.

We are committed to reducing plastic pollution in general and have introduced the Environmental Protection (Single-use Plastic Products) (Scotland) Regulations 2021, which bans certain problematic single-use plastic items.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41110 on 27 October 2025. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41171 on 27 October 2025. 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

The World Health Organisation (WHO) have advised there is currently no universal agreement on the health impacts or thresholds to measure safety levels of plastics in the environment. Consequently, there is currently no defined economic cost.

As outlined in response to the answer to question S6W-41153 on 27 October 2025, we continue to closely monitor the developments and advice from WHO on emerging evidence in relation to plastic pollution.

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.

Offshore oil and gas licensing, as well as consenting and the associated fiscal regime, are all matters that are currently reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government continues to call on the UK Government to approach decisions for North Sea oil and gas projects on a rigorously evidence-led, case by case, basis – with robust climate compatibility and energy security being key considerations.

There has been no specific research on microplastics in single use cups, but wider research on the subject of microplastics was considered as part of the Strategic Environmental Assessment. This concluded that reducing the numbers of disposable cups being used and littered the environmental impacts of microplastic pollution would be reduced. This and other impact assessments supported the development of our single use cups policy.

The Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023-2026 commits to improving data collection for secondary cancers, starting this process with secondary breast cancer. The Scottish Government is working with Public Health Scotland to review options in relation to collecting data on secondary breast cancer in Scotland.

Officials are expecting advice from Public Health Scotland imminently on this matter. We aim to make a final decision on data collection by the completion of the Cancer Action Plan in 2026.