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The Scottish Government is actively considering the recommendations from the independent review of the anaesthesia associate (AA) and physician associate (PA) roles in England. I met with the Medical Associate Professions (MAPs) Programme Board on 9 September 2025 to discuss the review and its implications for Scotland.

I intend to write to the Programme Board imminently to set out the Scottish Government's position.

We are currently working with all NHS Health Boards to identify investment priorities across Scotland, that includes NHS Fife.

Historic real terms cuts to our block grant from the UK Government have put pressure on our capital budget and we have only recently received clarity from the UK Treasury for our capital and FT funding up to 2029-30.

As part of our own Scottish Spending Review, we are undertaking a full review of our capital spending to prioritise available funding towards projects that drive progress against our priorities. We will provide clarity over which projects will receive funding in the medium term when we publish this review, alongside our new Infrastructure Pipeline.

The NDA Framework document underwent routine three yearly revision in 2024 and text was updated throughout the document. On pages 36-38 of the updated 2024 Framework Document there is a commitment that the NDA will comply with a range of government guidance, documents and instructions. These set out a number of requirements for openness and transparency to ensure that NDA continues to embody these principles in its operation and engagement with Scottish Government. Information on key risks is included in the NDA Annual Report and Accounts which is provided to Scottish Government as well as being published and laid at the Scottish Parliament every year.

In addition, specific requirements relating to accountability of the NDA to Scottish Ministers for its operations in Scotland as well as provision of relevant information and other specific requirements pertinent to Scottish Government remain in the updated 2024 Framework document.

We are currently working with all NHS Health Boards to identify investment priorities across Scotland, that includes NHS Fife.

Historic real terms cuts to our block grant from the UK Government have put pressure on our capital budget and we have only recently received clarity from the UK Treasury for our capital and FT funding up to 2029-30.

As part of our own Scottish Spending Review, we are undertaking a full review of our capital spending to prioritise available funding towards projects that drive progress against our priorities. We will provide clarity over which projects will receive funding in the medium term when we publish this review, alongside our new Infrastructure Pipeline.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of 24/7 thrombectomy provision.

Research suggests that, on average, every patient treated with a thrombectomy procedure could save the NHS £47,000 over five years, due to the reduction in length of hospital stays and a reduced need for social care input. This economic benefit is in addition to the significant improvements in outcome and quality of life for patients.

The Scottish Government’s actions to improve the efficiency of household recycling systems are set out in the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map.

In partnership with local authorities and other stakeholders, the Scottish Government is co-designing a new statutory Code of Practice for household recycling. The Scottish Government held co-design events with local government on 23 June and 22 July 2025. The findings from these sessions are being used to inform the planning of wider stakeholder engagement with business, the third sector and citizens. The new Code of Practice will be completed by the end of 2026, after which it will be made available for public consultation.

We are making one of the biggest investments in a generation to modernise recycling in Scotland through the Recycling Improvement Fund. A total of £66.6 million has now been allocated to 27 local authorities for 48 projects to increase the quantity and quality of recycling across Scotland.

Local authorities in Scotland will see around £150 million per year in funding to support collection for household packaging waste through extended producer responsibility (EPR) for packaging. These payments will start from November 2025

Learning in the Social Studies curriculum area helps young people to develop important skills in research and evaluation, creativity, critical thinking and communication and it helps our young people develop as responsible, informed citizens with a global outlook covering important topics such as democracy and voting. In particular, Modern Studies helps to equip pupils with a range of Investigative and critical thinking skills; and English helps pupils to engage with texts of all kinds, critically evaluate the contents of those texts, and make informed judgements about the material they encounter on a day to day basis. SQA course specifications for Modern Studies and English are available at: A to Z of National Qualification (NQ) subjects - SQA To support learning and teaching, schools can already draw on a range of resources. For example, in relation to political literacy they can access the You decide - A political literacy resource | Resources | Education Scotland from Education Scotland, which provides guidance on how to ensure that learners use their voice, participate and contribute to decision-making processes.

The Scottish Government is providing funding to Time for Inclusive Education’s Digital Discourse Initiative. The resources provide teachers with the tools they need to teach core critical and digital media literacy skills, and to equip pupils with the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding they need to navigate digital media and counter the impacts of disinformation and online hate.

Later this year, Education Scotland will publish further professional learning resources on English, aimed at supporting teachers’ understanding of what critical literacy is and how they can support children to develop these crucial skills.

Finally, as the member may be aware, the Curriculum Improvement Cycle is also updating and strengthening the curriculum across all curricular areas.

The Scottish Government continues to develop policy and legislation to reduce marine litter pollution and grow our circular economy by reducing waste which can become litter.

We know that a lot of our marine litter comes from single-use products and we are building on previous legislation to tackle more of these items in the future. We are working across the four nations towards legislation that will ban businesses from supplying and selling wet wipes containing plastic, with exceptions for medical or industrial use. We remain committed to the delivery of a successful deposit return scheme for single-use drinks containers, working closely with industry and the rest of the UK to launch this in October 2027. In addition, we have also consulted on proposals to introduce a minimum 25 pence charge on single-use drinks cups, with the aim of incentivising the use of reusable alternatives.

To reduce packaging waste an Extended Producer Responsibility scheme is being implemented in 2025 across the UK. It will move the full cost of dealing with packaging waste from households to the producers. It will also incentivise businesses to reduce excess packaging and to design packaging that is more easily recycled.

Since its inception, excluding staff costs, 2.1% of the Techscaler budget spent to date has been invested in international activity, spotlighting Scotland’s growing reputation as a leading tech hub. This is helping our startups secure investment and compete in the international marketplace. Multiple export contracts have been secured, six participants have secured £5.4m of investment and several other firms are in dialogue with investors.

There has been no direct assessment made about the impact of early release of prisoners on knife crime rates.