Seòmar agus comataidhean

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.

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.

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.

The Scottish Government recognises the potential of the shared apprenticeship model to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that may lack the capacity to employ an apprentice independently. Officials will continue to explore this model alongside other measures which may enable more SMEs to take on apprentices.

A key priority for the Scottish Government is also to promote apprenticeship delivery in island and rural communities, reflecting its commitment to inclusive growth. To ensure equitable access, particularly in remote and rural areas, the Government has introduced a rural uplift: an enhanced payment to training providers that incentivises delivery in these locations. This additional support enables providers to develop and deliver flexible, locally tailored apprenticeship programmes that meet the needs of learners and employers in these communities.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) produce annual Regional Skills Assessments (RSAs) and Sectoral Skills Assessments (SSAs) to inform modern apprenticeship (MA) contracting, helping to ensure that provision aligns with regional and sectoral demands.

These assessments identify current and projected skills needs across Scotland’s regions. They are informed by labour market intelligence, stakeholder engagement, and economic forecasting. They are publicly accessible via the SDS website Skills Planning - Skills Development Scotland.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that Modern Apprenticeships (MAs) are responsive to both regional and sectoral needs. We are taking responsibility for national-level skills planning, while also strengthening regional approaches to better align with local economic priorities and workforce demands.

The Scottish Government remains committed to collaborate with key partners across the NHS in Scotland to ensure that relevant information, with the appropriate safeguards in place, is available to all healthcare professionals, including community pharmacists, when and where they need it. The Scottish Government is continuing to explore the possibility of granting further access to clinical records. Health Boards continue to work with community pharmacists prescribers to ensure the safe and effective prescribing of medicines.

The Digital Health & Care Strategy, published 2021, sets out ambitions for greater access to medical information both for staff and the public. In the medium to longer term, as part of the Digital Health & Care strategy, a National Digital Platform is being developed and has started to bring together service data that is appropriately accessible to the workforce regardless of where they are based.

Our work with NHS Scotland to optimise the use of evidence supported technology to detect and manage the risk factors associated with heart attacks and strokes includes;

• Investing £1.9 million (2026-28) to support the use of Ambulatory ECG patch monitors, potentially preventing nearly 700 strokes over five years.
• The Connect Me remote monitoring and self-management service has helped around 120,000 people self-manage their hypertension, including over 19,000 in the past year.
• Committing £4.5 million (2025-28) to a national diabetes programme, offering intensive weight management support to 3,000 more people with newly or recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes in Scotland.