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We would expect the components outlined in the paper to be included in the on-going planning work to align the governance and delivery of thrombectomy with similar national programmes. NHS National Services Scotland have been commissioned by Scottish Government to lead on the development of a national thrombectomy service and have undertaken considerable work to establish the current position of thrombectomy services. A task and finish group has been established, and this will help drive forward an assessment of updated capacity and analysis of clinical, operational, financial and workforce challenges.

The Scottish Government receives NHS Scotland sickness absence management information on a fortnightly basis, but this data does not include detailed absence reasons. This sickness absence data enables us to review and compare against the known seasonal pattern, with generally higher sickness absence in the winter months commonly caused by cold and flu.

Furthermore, management information is collected by NES on individual level absence which contains detailed absence reasons, including a cold, cough and flu category. NES have been developing this data to enable more detailed analysis.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities are responsible for paying foster carers’ allowances and may choose to pay above the Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA).

We have been working through an extremely complex legal landscape – and it, rightly, has taken time to do that work.

Every key area of government which is or may be affected by the Supreme Court judgment is carrying out assessments across legislation, guidance and policies as part of a Working Group convened by the Permanent Secretary.

The Scottish Government has already taken action that includes:

• Updating our guidance for the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018;
• Amending the public appointments recruitment process for public bodies subject to the Act, now collating and using biological sex at birth data to apply the Act;
• Moving to an interim Trans and Non-Binary Inclusion Policy for Scottish Government staff, removing a line regarding facilities use, while we develop new policy and guidance in consultation with trade unions; and
• Publishing revised Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools Guidance, while recognising that the EHRC are also reviewing Technical Guidance for schools.

We have been working through an extremely complex legal landscape – and it, rightly, has taken time to do that work.

Every key area of government which is or may be affected by the Supreme Court judgment is carrying out assessments across legislation, guidance and policies as part of a Working Group convened by the Permanent Secretary.

The Scottish Government has already taken action that includes:

• Updating our guidance for the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018;
• Amending the public appointments recruitment process for public bodies subject to the Act, now collating and using biological sex at birth data to apply the Act;
• Moving to an interim Trans and Non-Binary Inclusion Policy for Scottish Government staff, removing a line regarding facilities use, while we develop new policy and guidance in consultation with trade unions; and
• Publishing revised Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools Guidance, while recognising that the EHRC are also reviewing Technical Guidance for schools.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the body responsible for issuing guidance to and ensuring compliance by public bodies in this matter as it is the statutory regulator and enforcer of the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish Government has consistently supported the view that public bodies must comply with the law, and has actively encouraged them to take any necessary steps to do so since the Supreme Court’s judgment.

We wrote to the UK Government on 4 September, requesting sight of the revised Code of Practice sent to them by the EHRC, which we have not yet seen. We will continue to engage with the UK Government to seek urgent clarity on the timeline for the Code’s approval and laying before the UK Parliament. While we acknowledge the time that was needed by the EHRC, to analyse the public consultation responses and revise the Code before they sent it to the UK Government for approval, it is essential that clear, authoritative guidance is now provided to all those operating in this complex legal area.

I am pleased to confirm that the draft Circular Economy Strategy has been published today. Link: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781806432141.

This draft strategy sets out our vision and approach to creating a more circular economy that drives sustainable growth, competitiveness, innovation and jobs, and is vital to achieving our climate and environmental goals.

A more circular economy also brings benefits to households and communities by lowering the costs of items, creating new jobs and cutting the amount of litter on our streets, helping to improve our local environment and protect wildlife. I encourage everyone to take part in this consultation.

The draft Circular Economy Strategy has been prepared under the Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024.

The Marine Directorate is currently undertaking a project to replace the two oldest vessels in its fleet: the Marine Research Vessel (MRV) Scotia and Marine Protection Vessel (MPV) Minna, both of which are approaching the end of their operational service lives.

A procurement Prior Information Notice (PIN) was issued in June 2025 signalling the Scottish Government's intention to initiate a formal procurement process. Further details will be shared as the project develops.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Public Health Scotland (PHS), as Scotland’s national public health body for the purpose of intelligence and analysis, is responsible for sourcing waiting times data from hospital administrative systems.

PHS publish regular statistics relating to the length of time patients wait to be seen as a new outpatient or admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case. This data can be used to identify the volume of long waits and the median waiting time by the specialty of treatment, including ophthalmology. The latest publication can be found here: Stage of treatment waiting times - Inpatients, day cases and new outpatients quarter ending 30 June 2025 - NHS waiting times - stage of treatment - Publications - Public Health Scotland.

The Scottish Government, along with our tourism agency VisitScotland, acknowledges the significance of adventure tourism. VisitScotland has teams strategically located throughout rural Scotland that are instrumental in collaborating with regional stakeholders to identify local needs and opportunities.

Scotland has an enviable global reputation as a major events powerhouse. Across the country our iconic venues and picture-perfect backdrops play host to world-leading cultural, business and sporting events all year round.

The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation has collected data as part of the Scottish Demersal Observer Programme with the Marine Directorate since 2014. The data collected by the scientific observers are provided to the Marine Directorate and are used for the annual estimation of bycatch weights and numbers by species, size and fishery in March of each year for the previous calendar year. These estimates are provided during April-July of each year to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) for use in stock assessments, to the Scottish and UK governments to inform fisheries management, and to the fishing industry to provide evidence towards Marine Stewardship Council Sustainability Certification. A report summarising the time series of bycatch estimates is compiled each summer by the Marine Directorate. The report is available on request to the Marine Directorate and work has recently begun to make this publicly available online.