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As Scotland’s independent environmental regulator, SEPA determine the permitting of facilities and what waste streams they are allowed to accept – although individual facilities will make decisions on inputs based on commercial and operational considerations. So, while a facility may be able to accept a particular waste type, there may not be the capacity or the appetite to do so.

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

The Scottish Government is taking the appropriate time to carefully consider the UK Government’s consultation on Building the North Sea’s Energy Future and its potential outcomes.

Alongside this consideration, Scottish Government Ministers and officials continue to engage with UK Government counterparts as well as trade unions, industry bodies and other stakeholders on a range of issues relevant to the energy transition.

We are clear in our own support for a just transition for Scotland’s oil and gas sector, that recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments. At the heart of our approach is ensuring a just transition for Scotland’s valued and highly skilled oil and gas workforces to a net-zero future.

During the build phase of MV Glen Sannox, certain specifications required amendment to ensure compliance with updated regulatory standards issued by the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA). This is standard practice within the shipbuilding industry, where ongoing engagement with the MCA is essential to ensure that vessels meet all necessary safety and operational requirements.

Following the nationalisation of Ferguson Marine in 2019, ownership of vessels 801 (MV Glen Sannox) and 802 (MV Glen Rosa) was transferred to Scottish Ministers. As part of the restructuring arrangements, new contracts for the construction and completion of each vessel were entered into between Scottish Ministers and Ferguson Marine (801 & 802) Limited.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the number of people presenting as homeless to (a) A&E and (b) GP surgeries.

We must conduct an Equality Impact Assessment (EQIA) at the earliest stages of developing new policies or revising existing ones. This includes strategies, legislation, guidance, frameworks, training, funding, reviews, and any other activities that affect people. The EQIA process requires evidence gathering to understand and assess the potential impact of policy decisions. This evidence gathering can include public consultations and lived experience discussions with those organisations and members of the public to understand and assess any potential impacts.

Regulation 5 of these Scottish Specific Duties is particularly relevant to EQIAs, as it requires the assessment of all new and revised policies and practices for their impact on the three Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) needs, as well as the publication of these assessment results within a reasonable timeframe and in an easily accessible manner.

NHS Boards have exceeded the commitment to deliver 64,000 appointments and procedures in 2024-25, funded through our additional investment of £30 million to drive action to address the longest waits.

In 2024-25, Boards were required to provide regular management information to the Scottish Government on activity being delivered as a result of additional funding provided. Boards have reported delivery of 105,500 appointments and procedures, as follows:

Over 15,800 new outpatient appointments;

almost 10,700 surgeries; and

almost 79,000 diagnostic procedures delivered.

This total is around 30,000 more than reported to the end of January in the answer to question S6W-35115 on 20 February 2025.

Funding was targeted in specialties including Diagnostics, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, Urology, and Cancer. Since April 2024, Scottish Government has been closely monitoring progress and impact. The volume of diagnostic procedures is almost double those originally planned for.

Across Scotland, the latest published data in the PHS Stage of Treatment Statistics show that, between October 2024 and December 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, there has been an 2.0% increase in activity for inpatient/daycase procedures and 1.6% increase for new outpatients appointments. Additionally, in relation to diagnostics, at the end of December 2024, the diagnostic waiting list had reduced by over 18,000 compared to end of April 2024. Since December 2022 the diagnostic waiting list has reduced by over 14,870. While changes to overall activity and waiting times cannot be solely attributed to the £30 million additional investment, we are confident that it has supported increased throughput.

At Board level, we have seen reductions in waiting times across a number of specialities where funding has been targeted, as set out in the following table:

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a just transition to net zero in the region. That is why we are launching a new 2025-26 open bidding round of £8.5 million for projects for the North East and Moray Just Transition Fund. Applications will open on 6 May 2025.

This is a capital Fund and forms part of our ongoing delivery of a 10-year programme of support. Since 2022, the Just Transition Fund has allocated over £75 million to create jobs, support innovation, empower communities, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future. We have recently undertaken an independent evaluation of the Fund that is nearing completion and will be published shortly. Its findings point to the real impact of the Fund in providing momentum to just transition in the region during its first two years of operation, especially in leveraging additional investment.

For the Fund’s second open bidding round, we will focus on projects that particularly support jobs, skills, and economic opportunities. This reflects our mission to ensure the Fund is responsive to the identified needs of the region and continues to maximise the impact of our investment for business and communities.

We will also be continuing delivery of projects currently supported through the Fund. This includes our annual commitment to £1 million for community projects through Just Transition Participatory Budgeting, giving communities a direct say on where money is spent in their area. It will also include the continuation of the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund delivered through ETZ Ltd, which is primarily aimed at SMEs and awards grant funding to accelerate innovation and market entry, support business growth, create new jobs, and increase turnover.

In total £15.9 million will be delivered through the Fund over the next year, sending a clear signal of our ongoing commitment to a just transition for both the North East and Moray.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a just transition to net zero in the region. That is why we are launching a new 2025-26 open bidding round of
£8.5 million for projects for the North East and Moray Just Transition Fund. Applications will open on 6 May 2025.

This is a capital Fund and forms part of our ongoing delivery of a 10-year programme of support. Since 2022, the Just Transition Fund has allocated over £75 million to create jobs, support innovation, empower communities, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future. We have recently undertaken an independent evaluation of the Fund that is nearing completion and will be published shortly. Its findings point to the real impact of the Fund in providing momentum to just transition in the region during its first two years of operation, especially in leveraging additional investment.

For the Fund’s second open bidding round, we will focus on projects that particularly support jobs, skills, and economic opportunities. This reflects our mission to ensure the Fund is responsive to the identified needs of the region and continues to maximise the impact of our investment for business and communities.

We will also be continuing delivery of projects currently supported through the Fund. This includes our annual commitment to £1 million for community projects through Just Transition Participatory Budgeting, giving communities a direct say on where money is spent in their area. It will also include the continuation of the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund delivered through ETZ Ltd, which is primarily aimed at SMEs and awards grant funding to accelerate innovation and market entry, support business growth, create new jobs, and increase turnover.

In total £15.9 million will be delivered through the Fund over the next year, sending a clear signal of our ongoing commitment to a just transition for both the North East and Moray.

A national public energy company that is involved in large-scale energy generation would only be possible in an independent Scotland where we had full powers over the energy market and full access to borrowing. The Green Industrial Strategy sets out how the people of Scotland will see maximum benefits from Scotland’s energy transition, including identifying Scotland’s wind economy as one of the five opportunity areas.

We are investing up to £500m over five years to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland and are almost tripling our capital funding to £150 million in 2025-26.

No decisions on the future regulation of gene edited crops have been taken at this stage, and we will ensure that any future position is both informed by the evidence base and is in Scotland’s national interests.

We are both closely monitoring developments on gene editing in the EU, and liaising with Scottish stakeholders, and will decide whether or not to allow gene edited crops to be grown, or food using gene editing techniques to be produced, based on what is in the best interests and needs of the Scottish people.