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To address delayed discharge and reduce waiting lists, £200 million has been allocated in the 2025-26 Budget. Funding will be targeted at specialties with long waits to ensure that by March 2026, no patient will wait longer than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or inpatient / day case treatment.

Work is underway to review and allocate the budget across the schemes funded through the Heat in Buildings programme. The allocations will be submitted for review to the Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy early in the new year.

With the draft 25-26 budget allocation, the total allocation for Heat in Buildings within this parliamentary session is £1.7bn.

The Green Heat Finance Taskforce met on 16 July 2024 and 9 October 2024. The Taskforce’s next meeting is scheduled for 15 January 2025 when it will seek to finalise its Part 2 report.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32178 on 19 December 2024. 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.

We have seen a significant rise in recorded shoplifting throughout the UK according to our own figures and those released by the Office for National Statistics for England and Wales and Scotland, part of which is being driven by organised criminal groups.

The Scottish Government budget, if approved by Parliament, will make £3 million available in 2025-26 to tackle retail crime. This is in addition to an investment next year of a record £1.62 billion for policing. The additional funding will enable Police Scotland to work with the retail sector to target the unacceptable levels of crime on Scotland’s high streets, which costs businesses millions each year and has a knock-on effect on the prices we pay in the shops.

Through our funded partnership with Neighbourhood Watch Scotland, a dedicated group for retailers exists to help tackle retail crime which enables bespoke messages to be sent to participating members’ retail premises. Over the festive period, Crimestoppers Scotland, is running campaign, with a focus on social media to also highlight the issue of violence against retail staff across Scotland

The funding for Drugs and Alcohol in the 2025-26 draft budget is £80.9m. This includes £60m as part of our commitment to provide £250m in additional funding over 5 years to reduce drug deaths and improve the lives of people who use drugs and alcohol.

£19.1m has moved to baselined funding which ADPs have highlighted as important for sustainability and recruitment.

Overall funding for Alcohol and Drugs, including Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) has been maintained at the record levels set in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government considers that, if one or more juror is excused during a trial, that should not place the accused person at a disadvantage or an advantage: the majority required for a conviction should not fluctuate depending on the number of jurors who remain. The Scottish Government therefore considers that the requirement for at least a two thirds majority should remain constant in cases where the jury reduces in size. Specifically, the Government's proposal is that:

• in the case of a jury consisting of 14 or 15 jurors, at least 10 jurors must be in favour of a guilty verdict for a conviction,
• in the case of a jury consisting of 13 jurors, at least 9 jurors must be in favour of a guilty verdict for a conviction, and
• in the case of a jury consisting of 12 jurors, at least 8 jurors must be in favour of a guilty verdict for a conviction.

The Government will be bringing forward Stage 2 amendments to the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill which, if passed, would set these thresholds for conviction.

Scottish Ministers are currently considering all the available information on bovine EID and technology and any potential impacts it may have, including on trade. This includes the results and analysis of the Consultation on Cattle ID and Traceability held earlier this year.