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Scottish Government officials from the Directorate for Equality, Inclusion and Human Rights meet with EHRC Scotland staff regularly for general updates, and highly value the positive working relationship in Scotland.

We welcome all opportunities to engage with the EHRC across different portfolios. We will continue to maintain a positive and open working relationship with the Commission.

The SG’s position is consistent with and informed by legal advice but, due to long-standing convention, any such advice is confidential and we cannot disclose who provided any such advice or its content.

NHS boards were contacted on 10 January 2025 inviting feedback by 22 January on activities which could be delivered and supported by single-year funding of £4.5 million allocated on a non-recurring basis in the financial year 2025-26. A further opportunity to provide feedback was provided on 29 January with feedback invited by 4 February.

To enable a case for multi-year funding to be considered, on 2 May NHS boards were requested to provide by 16 May an indicative multi-year proposal covering the financial years 2025-26, 2026-27 and 2027-28. Responses beyond this date were accommodated in instances where NHS boards indicated that additional time was required.

On 6 August NHS boards were requested to provide finalised versions of the indicative proposals supplied in May. Boards were provided with the option of two deadlines for returns, 18 August and 11 September.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care wrote to NHS Board Chief Executives on 18 September to confirm that NHS boards’ shares of the available 2025-26 funding would be allocated in full on a recurring basis. These shares were reflected in NHS boards’ allocation schedules for September 2025.

The Scottish Government accepts the judgment of the Supreme Court that in the Equality Act 2010, sex means biological sex, and that a Gender Recognition Certificate does not change a person’s sex for the purposes of the 2010 Act.

The Scottish Government accepts the judgment of the Supreme Court which ruled that woman in the Equality Act 2010 is defined by biological sex.

The Scottish Government's Equally Safe Strategy is a national plan to prevent and eradicate violence against women and girls by addressing its root causes, such as gender inequality. First published in 2014 and refreshed in 2023, the strategy promotes collaborative work across public and third sectors, with a goal of creating a Scotland where women and girls are safe and protected from all forms of violence. The refreshed strategy is supported by a delivery plan outlining specific actions and is backed by the Delivering Equally Safe Fund.

While the Scottish Government will always work to support trans people in Scotland - this is not at the expense of our vital support for women and girls.

We believe the vast majority of people in Scotland want to live in a country that is respectful, compassionate and caring – and we are committed to protecting the rights of all.

Scottish Government officials attend regular meetings of the Asylum and Refugee Partnership Board (ARPB) and associated Delivery and Procurement Group, at which representatives of Mears Group are generally also present. Mears Group is the current UK Government asylum accommodation contract holder for Scotland.

Asylum is a matter reserved to the UK Parliament and handled by the Home Office. This includes provision of asylum accommodation to people who require it while awaiting the outcome of their asylum application. The Scottish Government has no control of asylum accommodation and support.

The Minister for Housing and the I met with the Managing Director of Mears Group on 19 June 2024 regarding asylum accommodation in Scotland.

It is not possible to determine the number of prescription items dispensed by community pharmacies at weekends, since 1999, using existing data.

The annual Dispenser Payments and Prescription Cost Analysis publication, managed by Public Health Scotland, provides information on the total number and cost of NHS prescriptions items dispensed in the community in Scotland. The most recent publication shows that 117 million items were dispensed in primary care settings for the financial year 2024-25. The most recent publication can be found online at Dispenser Payments and Prescription Cost Analysis - Prescribing data - System monitoring, accountability and quality of care - Healthcare system - Public Health Scotland.

This information is not held by Scottish Government. The Scottish Government published updated national-guidance-child-protection-scotland-2021-updated-2023.pdf in 2023, which includes practitioner guidance on raising child protection concerns and outlines that health visitors have a professional duty to raise concerns when they consider a child is at risk of, or experiencing, significant harm.

In relation to Scottish Government guidance, SG 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 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).