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There are 38.25 miles of street lighting over 150.1 miles of the A90 trunk road and the junctions of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. There are currently no plans to extend this coverage.

In reaching their decision, Scottish Ministers will determine applications in accordance with legislative requirements and relevant policy. No steps are necessary to ensure alignment, as National Planning Framework 4 is a policy document to be considered as appropriate in the decision-making process.

The Energy Consents Unit processes applications in accordance with the relevant legislation and regulatory framework. Community and environmental considerations are integrated into the decision-making process and are essential factors when considering applications.

The Scottish Government acts on many fronts to promote low-impact, sustainable sea fishing.

Our Future Fisheries Management Strategy sets out our vision for Scotland to be a world class fishing nation, delivering responsible and sustainable fisheries management, and actions we will take to deliver that vision. This ten year Strategy includes our Future Catching Policy which aims to develop new rules, in cooperation with stakeholders, to regulate activity at sea in order to support the increased accountability and sustainability of Scottish fisheries: Fisheries - future catching policy: consultation - gov.scot.

On a day-to-day basis our compliance and operational staff oversee compliance with regulation and administrative requirements (whether that be in our 18 coastal offices or marine protection vessels), and our scientists provide data to help inform management decisions at a Scottish, UK and international level.

In 2024 the Scottish Government launched the Inshore Fisheries Management Improvement Programme to develop a more agile, responsive and regional management framework. Our vision is that this framework will enable us to tailor a wider range of fisheries management tools to the changing needs of our marine environment and fishers, based on the best available scientific data.

This is a transformational project for inshore fisheries in Scotland, supporting delivery of locally appropriate management solutions. As such, the Scottish Government is not currently progressing proposals for a national cap on fishing activity in our inshore waters.

The Scottish Government’s amended economic link conditions took effect in 2023 to increase landings of key stocks into Scotland and ensure there is a significant economic benefit to Scottish coastal communities from this fishing opportunity.

Indications are that the policy change has succeeded in delivering greater pelagic landings into Scotland – widening the benefit arising from Scotland’s fishing opportunities.

Economic link conditions apply to vessels greater than 10 metres in length and for 2025 requires vessels to land at least 55% of their total combined landings of herring, mackerel, Nephrops, haddock, anglerfish, cod, hake and whiting into Scotland or provide the Scottish Government fishing opportunities (in the following year) that we give to the broader fleet.

We monitor progress and compliance with the economic link conditions via established data gathering programmes, remote electronic monitoring is not required for that purpose.

In 2025-26 we are providing £37 million resource to support the expansion of free school meals to pupils in Primary 6 and 7 in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment. Agreement to the budget from parties across this Chamber will ensure this work continues.

The Scottish Government has prioritised this work to maximise the benefit to those in low-income households.

We are continuing work with local authorities to understand what a pilot proposal for provision in secondary schools might look like.

Colleagues in the Centre for Sustainable Delivery continue to engage with Health Boards across NHS Scotland and regional cancer networks, such as the North Cancer Alliance, to extend Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services. We are committed to achieving population based coverage by 2026.

A clinical refresh of the Scottish Referral Guidelines for Suspected Cancer is currently underway to help ensure the right person is on the right pathway at the right time. The guidelines are due to be published in Spring 2025. A new guideline will now be included for those patients presenting with symptoms that do not follow the specific tumour referral pathways, ensuring that patients across NHS Scotland who present with non-specific symptoms of cancer will have a clear Urgent Suspicion of Cancer referral route. This non-specific symptom guideline is closely aligned to the referral route for those who are referred to a Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Service (RCDS).

SEPA has been preparing for implementation of the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025 for several years, investing in new systems, people, processes and support mechanisms to ensure a smooth transition to the integrated authorisation framework.

Since 2021, SEPA has developed and launched on-line services for waste carrier registrations, existing private sewage treatment systems, simple waste exemptions, and radioactive substance notification. In July 2024, SEPA launched a new digital service for those who want to apply for an authorisation for a new small-scale sewage treatment system.

When the draft Regulations come into force, SEPA will have a system that will allow all new applications to be received, paid for and issued digitally. To ensure that this system will be ready, SEPA has been developing and testing prototypes of the systems and webpages that easily direct customers and stakeholders to the information they need and takes them through the application process.

Sara Sharif experienced unimaginable abuse during her life and was murdered by someone she trusted. It is essential children and young people are protected from harm and the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that robust child protection measures are in place across Scotland, and continue to be followed at all times.

The Scottish Government published revised National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland on 31 August 2023. The non-statutory guidance describes the responsibilities and expectations of everyone who works with children, young people and their families in Scotland. It aims to support improved cross-agency working and outcomes for children at risk.

The National Child Protection Guidance makes clear that, no matter the circumstances, concerns about risk to a child or young person should be reported without delay to social work or, in situations where risk is immediate, to Police Scotland. Child protection procedures are initiated when police, social work or health determine that a child may have been significantly harmed or may be at risk of significant harm. All concerns which may indicate risk of significant harm must lead to consideration of an inter-agency referral discussion (IRD). Again, this applies whether or not the child is in school. A practitioner’s failure to report child abuse could constitute a breach of their employment contract, lead to disciplinary action, or give rise to a claim for civil damages. Practitioners could also be struck off from social work, teaching, or medical registers for gross misconduct.

As outlined in the guidance, the decision to home educate a child should not, in itself, be regarded as a child protection concern. The Scottish Government is determined to ensure children and young people are fully engaged in their learning and Ministers recognise home education as a valid choice alongside sending a child to school.

Where a child is on a school roll in a local authority area, a parent must seek that local authority’s consent before withdrawing their child from the school. Whilst the authority must not unreasonably withhold consent to withdraw, local authorities can refuse to give their consent for a child to be withdrawn from the school roll in certain circumstances, including:

• where a child has been referred to social work, police or health for child protection reasons, and the matter is being investigated
• where a child is on the child protection register
• where a child has been referred to the Children’s Reporter on care and protection grounds, and the referral is being considered
• where the child is the subject of a supervision requirement.

The Scottish Government have been reviewing the home education guidance, working with stakeholders, and will publish updated guidance shortly.

Scottish Government officials are monitoring progress of the UK Government’s Children’s Wellbeing Bill and what implications this might have for child protection processes in Scotland.