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The Welfare of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2025 received Royal Assent on 19 March 2025 and introduced provisions to help ensure more informed and responsible dog ownership. Scottish Government officials have been working with key stakeholders over a period of months to develop a code of practice that should be followed by any person who is considering acquiring a dog to keep as a pet. There is already a wealth of information available to the public from welfare organisations including the Dogs Trust and the Scottish SPCA covering the safe purchase and ownership of a dog and we urge people considering getting a dog to follow the advice provided.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Ensuring the safety of Large Panel System buildings is a shared responsibility, where there are multiple property owners in a shared residential block they hold joint accountability.

While building owners have responsibility for their properties, the matter of Large Panel System buildings has been considered by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety and discussed within the Cross Sector Building Safety Forum. The forum includes key sector leads in this area including local authorities and NHS assure. This forum helps to inform the Scottish Government approach to such buildings in Scotland.

Owners are advised to engage appropriate expert consultants to advise them using the authoritative guidance on Large Panel Systems from the Building Research Establishment and the Institution of Structural Engineers.

We are continuing to give the SAWC reports on remote control static pulse devices and other aversive training devices careful consideration, along with the findings of our review into whether further provisions for wearable static pulse training devices are required, which was undertaken as part of the review of the Animals and Wildlife (Penalties, Protections and Powers) (Scotland) Act 2020. Once we have finished our deliberations, we will announce our timeline for a further consultation.

While the Scottish Government does not directly fund Fire Groups such as the South Grampian Wildfire Group (SGWG), it recognises the valuable work which such mutual aid organisations offer to support the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of wildfire suppression efforts.

The Scottish Government is working with SFRS to support full implementation of its wildfire strategy, which will see the continued roll-out this year of new equipment, vehicles and Personal Protective Equipment. The Service’s planned spend is circa £1.6 million over the course of the 3 year roll-out of its strategy and it will continue to invest in the training and upskilling of staff in the years ahead.

Scottish Ministers are holding a wildfires summit on 14 October to discuss improving our wildfire preparedness, prevention and response in the future.

Police Scotland have advised that they are currently exploring how this information could be extracted and collated from their systems. My officials will advise on progress with this project, as and when it moves forward.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) supports open competitive grant and fellowship schemes for applied health research in Scotland. These schemes provide funding opportunities for research across the clinical spectrum inclusive of research relating to all types of cancers. Applications submitted to these schemes are assessed through independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by independent expert committees.

Funding awarded through these schemes in the years from 2022 onwards for research relating to cancer has included:

Brain cancer

2023- £299,918

2024- £340,000

2025 - £349,033

Liver cancer

2022 - £246,841

Oesophageal cancer

2025- £349,366

Pancreatic cancer

2022 - £20,000

2024 - £207,732

2025 - £348,150

No funding has been awarded for research specifically relating to lung or stomach cancer over this period.

In addition, CSO contributes financially to the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) in order that NIHR research programmes are open to applications from researchers in Scotland. These programmes also provide research funding opportunities for cancer research.

CSO also provides funding to support NHS Research Scotland infrastructure, enabling NHS Boards to host and participate in clinical studies and trials funded by public, charitable, and industry sectors. This includes dedicated support for a Cancer Research Network, which facilitates the setup and delivery of cancer studies across Scotland. Annual funding for this network is approximately £1 million encompassing both the NHS Research Scotland Cancer Research Network and the CSO’s contribution to the Experimental Cancer Medicine Centres (ECMCs) in Edinburgh and Glasgow. The ECMCs are jointly funded on a 50:50 basis with Cancer Research UK.

(a) The Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team’s (AWET) role is to ensure compliance with the Agricultural Wages (Scotland) Order, which sets out minimum pay and conditions for workers in the sector. The Order does not specifically cover the standard of accommodation but during wages inspections workers are given the opportunity to raise any concerns associated with their employment. If a worker raises any accommodation concerns, this information would be recorded and passed on to the relevant authority. In the last three calendar years, no migrant workers have raised accommodation concerns as part of an inspection.

(b) No outcomes arose as no migrant workers reported accommodation concerns to the AWET.

Responsibility for monitoring and enforcing standards of tied or seasonal worker accommodation rests with local authorities, primarily through their environmental health and housing functions. For migrant workers, the Seasonal Worker Visa scheme’s (SWV) guidance states that any housing or other concerns should be reported to their Scheme Operators (SOs), as they have a duty to ensure workers are housed in hygienic and safe accommodation that is in a good state of repair. All migrant workers receive this guidance in their induction pack. In addition, all SOs provide a confidential helpline through which workers can report their concerns.

As a condition of their licence, SOs are responsible for the welfare of workers, which includes ensuring that accommodation provided is safe, suitable and hygienic.

Excessively long waiting lists are not acceptable and the Scottish Government apologises to all patients waiting too long.

We know that endometriosis can have a significant impact on people’s lives, that the symptoms can be debilitating and impact relationships, work, education, and mental health.

Women’s Health is a key priority for this government, which is why we published an ambitious Women’s Health Plan in August 2021 aiming to reduce health inequalities and improve health outcomes for girls and women. Enhancing care and support for those with endometriosis is one of the early priorities set out in the plan. It includes actions to improve access to appropriate support, speedy diagnosis and best treatment for endometriosis.

We are considering how best to ensure that all women receive a timely diagnosis and access the care and support they need as we develop the next phase of the Women’s Health Plan.

We are determined to do more and our Budget will provide a record £21.7 billion for health and social care, with more than £110 million allocated to health boards to help tackle long waits. Funding has been assigned to specialty areas where it can have the greatest impact– this includes over £8 million for gynaecology.

The Scottish Government takes matters of building safety seriously. While building owners have responsibility for their properties, the matter of Large Panel System buildings has been considered by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety and discussed within the Cross Sector Building Safety Forum. This Forum has been established to ensure that potential building safety issues are identified and shared amongst those who may have an interest, to allow them to take action where necessary.

Owners are advised to engage appropriate expert consultants to advise them using the authoritative guidance on Large Panel Systems from the Building Research Establishment and the Institution of Structural Engineers