Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government welcomes the recommendation made by the UK National Screening Committee in June 2025 that evidence supports offering HPV self-sampling to individuals who have not attended their cervical screening appointment within six months of their most recent invitation. Self-sampling has the potential to significantly enhance accessibility and increase participation in life-saving cervical screening.

The cervical screening programme in Scotland is working towards offering the first self-sampling kits by spring 2026. The initial roll out will focus on reducing inequalities through offering self-sampling to some of the most deprived areas first, as we know cervical screening uptake is lower in these areas.

For the purpose of this request, the Scottish Government has classified four medications as being widely recommended for use for weight loss in Scotland. Three of these medications (Mounjaro®, Saxenda®, Wegovy®) are Glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (aka GLP-1s or GLP-RAs) and the other is tetrahydrolipstatin, also known by its brand name orlistat.

Data provided by Public Health Scotland (PHS) indicates that the number of patients who have received items paid as Mounjaro®, Saxenda®, Wegovy® or orlistat in Scotland in the period from Jan to Mar 2025 and dispensed from community pharmacies is as follows:

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with long term conditions including Chronic Kidney Disease are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

As indicated in the answer to S6W-38295, Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for service expansion. While there is not a specific date for publication, we expect the next steps for service expansion to reflect work to align the governance and delivery of thrombectomy with similar national programmes. This alignment with wider health service planning aims to support oversight of thrombectomy planning and encourage greater collaboration between NHS Boards in delivering this vital service.

There has been no discussion between the Scottish Government and Historic Environment Scotland regarding the future or sale of the South Sleat Estate.

The Scottish Government publishes quarterly figures on all homes started and completed throughout Scotland, which can be found online here: Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scot

Figures specific to private sector-led homes started and completed, broken down by local authority area and by financial and calendar year, can be found in the table ‘New housebuilding – Private sector starts and completions’

The decision to approve the donation of the surplus NHS Scotland medical supplies to Ukraine was made jointly by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and myself. The submission, dated 18 September 2024, was released under FOI/202500451642. The transport of the medical equipment was provided as Official Development Assistance which, according to The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD, cannot be spent on military aid and this is a rule that the UK as a whole, including Scotland, adheres to.

Scottish Government officials have now looked further into this matter, and in relation to the member's previous questions S6W-30076, S6W-30077 and S6W-30078, we can provide the following further information.

On question S6W-30076 (To ask the Scottish Government what due diligence was carried our prior to it providing funding to the group of companies referred to in the BBC's recent reporting on modern slavery within the Scottish fishing sector):

As part of the due diligence process for the historical schemes in question, grantees were required to ensure that they and anyone acting on their behalf comply with the relevant law. The scheme rules and eligibility criteria included, where appropriate, assessment of any previous relevant offences and convictions.

On questions S6W-30077 and S6W-30078 (To ask the Scottish Government whether it was aware that there were ongoing police investigations into the companies referred to in the BBC's recent reporting on slavery in the Scottish fishing sector when it awarded any funding to those companies: and to ask the Scottish Government whether it was aware that workers at the companies referred to in the BBC's recent reporting on slavery in the Scottish fishing sector had been recognised by the Home Office as victims of human trafficking when it awarded any funding to those companies):

Any form of human trafficking or exploitation is of course totally unacceptable. Whilst Scottish Government officials may from time-to-time be aware of the existence or generalities of specific Police Scotland investigations, or be informed of relevant outcomes following their conclusion, they are not privy to detailed investigatory or procedural information. A live police investigation or sub-judice proceedings are not automatically grounds for refusing funding unless and until those proceedings had concluded and resulted in a conviction for a relevant offence, with decisions taken on a case-by-case basis. Historic funding schemes were subject to the relevant scheme rules and eligibility criteria which included, where appropriate, assessment of any previous relevant offences and convictions. That continues to be the case for the current Marine Fund Scotland funding scheme.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS), an estimated 710,700 people in Scotland aged 16 to 64 were unemployed or were economically inactive for reasons other than being a student in April 2024 to March 2025. This was an estimated 20.5% of people aged 16 to 64 in Scotland.

Table 1: Unemployed and economically inactive people aged 16 to 64 (excluding those who gave their reason for inactivity as student) by Sex, Scotland, April 2024 to March 2025

Scotland is a highly attractive destination for investors, including in offshore wind where we offer extensive natural resources, a deep history of engineering excellence, strong supply chain capability, excellent port infrastructure, and a stable policy environment backed by long-term government support.

The Scottish Government’s strategic investment of up to £500 million over five years is intended to unlock £1.5 billion in private investment to support market certainty and create a highly productive, competitive offshore wind economy.

The Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum was a key milestone in realising these ambitions. Almost £150 million has been invested in 18 months, leveraging £670 million in private investment and supporting 5,000 jobs. Specifically, investments at Nigg, Montrose and Kishorn were announced at or soon after the event.

GOSWIF has driven targeted follow-up engagement by the First Minister, myself, officials, and Team Scotland partners both in Scotland and internationally. This includes active discussions with developers, ports, and supply chain companies to progress the opportunities highlighted at the Forum, supporting a strong pipeline of future investment announcements.

As highlighted in the recent EY Attractiveness Survey (Scotland) 2025, Scotland has cemented its reputation as the top UK foreign direct investment (FDI) location outside of London – for the tenth year in a row. These latest results are an endorsement of Scotland’s proposition as a destination for global investment despite geopolitical uncertainties.

Along with our Enterprise Agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank, we continue to work with the sector to ensure that the right infrastructure, facilities, skills and supply chains are in place to deliver our offshore wind objectives and maximise the economic benefits for Scotland and our communities.