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Scottish Government analysts have access to the Office for National Statistics Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The IDBR is a database of all businesses registered for Value-Added-Tax (VAT) and/or Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) income tax. The IDBR includes address information, turnover and employment data for businesses operating in Scotland.

We cannot share information from the IDBR on individual businesses. All data on the IDBR are treated as restricted commercial and are protected by specific legislation. The disclosure of data relating to individual undertakings without consent is prohibited under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947.

The IDBR can only be used for valid statistical research purposes and the confidentiality of the data has to be preserved in outputs and publications. This includes, for example, the Scottish Government Business in Scotland publication, the latest edition of which can be found at: Businesses in Scotland: 2024 - gov.scot.

Scotland level information on costs for each of the years requested is not available. However, Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) commissioned Landman Economics to provide updated analysis on costs of smoking which was published in January 2025. This analysis estimates the UK wide costs of smoking on Social Care in 2024 were £16.541 billion. The Scottish Government undertook additional analysis of this data for the Public Service Reform Strategy. This estimated a public spending cost of smoking to Scotland, including wider costs to the health service, social care and responding to fire-related incidents, of £1.56bn in 2024, projected to reach £2.5 billion by 2035-36 unless further action is taken.

The Scottish Government is playing a key role in delivering Project Gigabit procurements in Scotland, alongside delivery of our own £600M+ Reaching 100% programme. As such, there are currently no plans to launch further procurements beyond those that are already underway.

The Highlands and Islands forms part of existing contracts and procurements, with premises across the region included in the R100 North contract, the nationwide Project Gigabit contract awarded to Openreach by BDUK last summer and a regional procurement currently underway to connect further premises in Orkney and Shetland. This is further supplemented by our Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme and improved 4G coverage provided by our Scottish 4G Infill programme.

The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcomes. It is up to Health Boards to decide how much of this funding to allocate to each outcome. The published Scottish Budget for 2025-2026 includes £72.2 million for the Outcomes Framework.

The Scottish Government provides funding annually to Health Boards for smoking cessation and prevention services. The funding is provided as part of a wider Outcomes Framework allocation, whereby budget is provided to Health Boards to cover a range of outcomes. It is up to Health Boards to decide how much of this funding to allocate to each outcome. The published Scottish Budget for 2025-2026 includes £72.2 million for the Outcomes Framework.

There is no mandatory curriculum in Scotland and the Scottish Government does not prescribe the content of lessons taught within Scottish schools. The Curriculum for Excellence framework allows teachers to plan and deliver learning which meets the needs of learners at every age and stage. This includes delivering learning and teaching on first aid.

There are a range of "experiences and outcomes", which outline expectations for learning and progression in the curriculum in Scottish schools. The section on Physical Wellbeing includes the statement, ‘I know and can demonstrate how to keep myself and others safe and how to respond in a range of emergency situations.’ This means both first aid and Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) can be taught as a part of the curriculum in Scotland. Resources used in schools include the Save a Life for Scotland approach, which provides training and advice on taking account of any healthcare needs of particular pupils. The Scottish Primary School First Aid Programme, launched by St Andrew’s First Aid, also provides free and easy online access for primary teachers to download and teach first aid in their class.

Scotland level information on costs for each of the years requested is not available. However, Action on Smoking (ASH) commissioned Landman Economics to provide updated analysis on costs of smoking which was published in January 2025. This estimated the UK wide costs of smoking on the NHS in 2024 were £2.161 billion. The Scottish Government undertook additional analysis of this data for the Public Service Reform Strategy. This estimated a public spending cost of smoking to Scotland, including wider costs to the health service, social care and responding to fire-related incidents, of £1.56bn in 2024, projected to reach £2.5 billion by 2035/36 unless further action is taken.

The Online Safety Act (OSA) is a reserved matter, and enforcement falls under the remit of Ofcom, which is developing codes of practice and guidance for platform providers. These include requirements for platforms to implement age assurance systems to prevent children from accessing inappropriate content.

We continue to monitor developments in online safety regulation and work with UK counterparts to ensure that children and young people in Scotland are protected online.

The Scottish Government has had regular engagement with the UK Government regarding the UK Tobacco and Vapes Bill over the last 12 months. The Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health met with the former Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Public Health and Prevention on 4 November 2024 to discuss the Tobacco and Vapes Bill where she reaffirmed Scottish Government support for this historic piece of legislation and highlighted how it could positively impact health inequalities in Scotland.

The Bill’s subsequent re-introduction on 5 November 2024 followed close collaborative work across the 4-nations over the content of the Bill. Officials across the 4-nations continue to meet regularly to discuss the Bill to ensure coherence and alignment of implementation, where this is possible and appropriate.

The illicit trade of tobacco and vapes falls largely under subject matters which are reserved to the UK Government.

However, the Tobacco and Vapes retail register has been an asset to enforcement authorities in Scotland for over 15 years and a banning order can be granted on the basis of 3 or more relevant enforcement actions, one of these being a conviction for an offence of selling counterfeit goods. Through the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, if passed, the retail register will be expanded to cover nicotine products, such as pouches, and herbal smoking products.

Part 5 of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill contains a suite of regulation making powers to enable requirements to be set in relation to product standards, including packaging and features of products, to enable establishment of a registration scheme for products and for information to be provided to support registration and check for compliance with product standards, and for testing of products for quality and safety.

The powers are exercisable by the Secretary of State but any regulations made under Part 5 of the Bill which contain devolved provision require the consent of the Scottish Ministers and my officials will work closely with officials across the other nations in connection with any such regulations.