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The grant agreement containing the full CHFS3 specification has been published on the Transport Scotland website and we have intimated this by letter to unions amongst other bodies and welcome the positive statements made at publication by union representatives.

All homes and businesses in Scotland should now be able to access a minimum of a superfast broadband connection, thanks to the three strands of activity that make up the Reaching 100% (R100) programme - the R100 contracts, our Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme and ongoing commercial coverage. According to Ofcom figures, gigabit coverage in Scotland stands at 78% - up from just 59% in 2022. Ofcom figures also show North and South Lanarkshire as amongst the best served areas in Scotland for access to gigabit capable broadband – with 92% and 87% gigabit coverage respectively.

Digital infrastructure is essential for building a fairer, greener, and stronger economy, which is why over the last decade the Scottish Government has delivered over one million faster, more reliable broadband connections across the country - backed by over £1 billion of publicly driven investment. This is despite telecoms being wholly reserved to Westminster.

There is, however, more to be done. This is why we are playing a crucial role in the delivery of Project Gigabit in Scotland, having awarded new local and regional contracts earlier this year with further regional contracts in procurement, as well as managing delivery of the nationwide contract which was awarded by the UK Government to Openreach last year.

There will, however, remain premises which are beyond the reach of Project Gigabit procurements and are considered very hard to reach by the UK Government. Despite promises that an approach to connecting such premises would be forthcoming in 2022 and then again in 2023, we continue to await a clear proposal. We stand ready to work with the UK Government to develop a solution to connect those premises, ensuring that no one is left behind.

All NHS Boards, apart from NHS Orkney and NHS Shetland, have the ability to refer patients for thrombectomy procedures at hub hospitals.

Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for thrombectomy service expansion.

We recognise the distress and pain that migraines cause and we take the issue of migraine seriously.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery launched the national headache pathway in October 2023, to improve care for migraines and headache across Scotland. The pathway is being implemented to aid with the diagnosis and management of headache disorders including migraine, offer guidance on management, and support health boards to aid their future planning.

Additionally, NES Pharmacy hosted a webinar in September 2024 to provide guidance to pharmacy staff on the assessment, support and management of people living with migraine in line with the Scottish National Headache Pathway.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme plays an important role in driving forward improvements in Stroke care, including thrombolysis, throughout Scotland. Regular reviews are held with the stroke services in every NHS Board, and improvements in thrombolysis and reasons for variations in performance are discussed at these meetings. We continue to expect Health Boards to work to improve their standards of care locally.

A dedicated thrombolysis improvement event has been arranged for 8 October. This will allow medical and nursing representatives from all NHS Boards to share good practice, assess reasons for disparities in thrombolysis performance and agree approaches to clinical improvement.

The Scottish Government has made no specific estimate of the economic impact of migraine on Scotland’s economy and workforce productivity, however information regarding the impact of migraine on workplaces and the economy has been published by organisations such as the Migraine Trust.

We are working to support people with health conditions, such as migraine, to play an active role within the economy. We are investing up to £90 million in 2025-26 for the delivery of devolved employability services, providing intensive and personalised pre-employment and in-work support for unemployed people with barriers to progressing within work, including disabled people and with those with health conditions.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme report provides information on thrombectomy procedure numbers, and the latest report can be found at: Scottish stroke improvement programme annual report 2025 - Scottish stroke improvement programme - Publications - Public Health Scotland.

As part of ongoing Contract Management, Transport Scotland officials discuss regularly capacity, including during the Peak Livestock Season.

Officials have not held any discussions specifically about crewing levels as this is a matter for the operator.

The Brand Scotland media spend can be found here Marketing spend - gov.scot

Effectiveness of Brand Scotland marketing is assessed throughout and at the conclusion of activity reviewing a combination of metrics and using an independent market research agency where relevant. Brand Scotland plays a key role in Scotland’s reputation and how it is perceived internationally which is critical to support Scotland’s economy. Since 2008, the Scottish Government has used the Anholt Nation Brands Index to assess and monitor how Scotland is perceived around the world. In 2024 Scotland had a score of 65.1 and rose one place in terms of its overall rank of 15th out of 50 nations indicating that Scotland’s reputation is strong and continues to grow. Full results can be found here The Anholt Nation Brands Index®: 2024 report for Scotland - gov.scot

Brand Scotland has been effective in reaching widespread international audiences e.g. in 2024-25 a BBC Worldwide media partnership that reached 29.5 million and organic social reached 23.5 million with total users of Scotland.org has growing from 1.39 million in 2023-24 to 1.89 million in 2024-25 and 89,249 total referrals to partners.

Brand tracking research by an independent market research agency in 2025 showed that 25% of people in the target markets of US, UK, France and Germany could recall Brand Scotland advertising. Amongst these campaign recognisers 88% claimed to have taken an action after seeing the campaign (e.g. 33% talking to friends and family, 33% researching visiting or going to Scotland on holiday and 28% talking to other people). The BBC’s in-house emotional engagement measurement tool found strong sentiment uplift after viewing of Brand Scotland films for 2024-25. 61% of viewers believed that ‘Scotland is a progressive nation’ after viewing the campaign, with a 45% uplift (compared to a control group of non-viewers of the campaign) in belief that ‘Scotland is innovative’.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of early diagnosis of cancer or serious illness and would expect any patient presenting with potential symptoms to be assessed as quickly as possible.

The Scottish Referral Guidelines (SRG) for Suspected Cancer support primary care clinicians to identify those with symptoms suspicious of cancer and identify those who require urgent assessment by a specialist.

A clinical review of SRGs has been completed with updated guidance published on 6 August 2025.