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As part of the contract for two vessels for Islay, Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited (CMAL) could not have stipulated that only Scottish or UK suppliers could be used as the Regulations require them to treat economic operators equally & without discrimination and restrict them from artificially narrowing competition by unduly favouring or disadvantaging any particular economic operator.

Kongsberg have an agreement in place with Cemre Marin Endustri for Fin Stabilisers, with the production facility based in Dunfermline. Fifty-eight companies (overseas or based in England) are also set to provide products and/or services for the new build vessels. Forty of these companies have signed agreements, with the remaining 18 companies obtaining signed agreements as the shipyard build programme progresses.

The Scottish Government’s public consultation on potential restrictions to alcohol advertising and promotion in Scotland was approved by the Minister for Public Health.

A commitment to consult on such restrictions was agreed by Cabinet in August 2021 as part of the Programme for Government 2021-22. The Cabinet Sub-Committee on Legislation approved the publication of this consultation paper in November 2022.

The Scottish Government is grateful to everyone who takes the time to volunteer to give blood.

The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) adjusted the donor health check questionnaire in April 2022 so that all donors are now asked the same questions.

It is necessary to know if a donor is pregnant to ensure the safety of donors. In addition, if a donor has received certain fertility treatments they are unable to donate for patient safety reasons. Although these questions will not be relevant for many donors – male and female - the donor health check questionnaire is the most practical and appropriate way of asking sensitive questions in a busy donor environment.

In response to some concerns raised about men being asked these questions, SNBTS will be amending the form to make clear that if the pregnancy questions are not applicable then all donors should simply tick ‘NO’. This change is likely to be implemented this summer.

The Scottish Government takes a whole population approach to tackling alcohol-related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

We published our first consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion in November 2023. The consultation has now closed and will be independently analysed before any potential proposals are put forward for consultation.

Minimum unit price (MUP) is a policy which aims to tackle the consumption of alcohol at a population level by setting a floor price at which alcohol can be sold, this is currently 50 pence per unit of alcohol. A recent report from Public Health Scotland (PHS) found that MUP had been successful in creating a 3% net reduction in total alcohol sales in the first three years of implementation. PHS will be producing a final report on the evaluation of MUP in summer this year and we should wait until this has been published before drawing any overall conclusions.

The role of the Scottish Government, since the three approved schemes began operating in July 2012, is to monitor each scheme for compliance. This includes being satisfied that the tenancy deposit schemes have clear and substantial processes in place that meet the requirements laid out in the regulations.

Scottish Government officials met with (i) Chair Ian Potter and Managing Director Nick Hankey of Safe Deposits Scotland on 3 February 2023,(ii) Managing Director, Matt Trevett and Daren King, Head of Tenancy Deposit Protection of Letting Protection Scotland on 9 March 2023 and (iii) Eddie Hooker - CEOof My Deposit Scotland on 27 February 2023.

Plans for next 6 monthly review meeting are still to be set.

Our recent consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion directly references and endorses this threefold rationale as set out below:

The purpose of taking action to restrict alcohol marketing is threefold and summarised by the WHO as:

• to prevent young people from being exposed to alcohol marketing (which is known to influence the decision to start consuming alcohol and to increase alcohol use)
• to reduce the presence of alcohol cues that can induce reactivity and craving in alcohol-dependent persons
• to prevent influence on social norms relating to consumption in general, given the negative public health, economic and social consequences of alcohol use.

International evidence shows that seeing alcohol marketing is associated with an increased likelihood that children and young people will start to drink alcohol or, if they already drink alcohol, drink more. This is harmful to them in both the short and long term.

This is set out, and forms the primary rationale, for our recent consultation on potential restrictions to alcohol advertising and promotion.

Since my appointment as Minister for Transport, I have visited Edinburgh Airport and met officials on one occasion in person with a further meeting held virtually. I have met virtually the CEO of AGS Airports, who own both Aberdeen and Glasgow Airports, for a meeting. I have visited Glasgow Airport on two occasions when flying for Ministerial engagements. I have not visited Aberdeen Airport during my time as Minister for Transport. I have not visited Prestwick Airport as Prestwick is not within my Ministerial portfolio.

We are continuing to support local authorities to secure landfill ban compliant residual waste treatment options. We are doing this by facilitating collaborative procurement through Zero Waste Scotland, and funding provision of additional technical, procurement and legal support.

Local authorities are responsible for, and best placed to make decisions on, the provision of local waste services, including on options for residual waste treatment. The collaborative procurement support is supporting local authorities to consider all available options, in accordance with their procurement rules and policies. This includes support to consider transport distances and methods, within a carbon impact assessment, to inform decisions on the available options.

As our recent consultation on restricting alcohol advertising and promotion set out, there is evidence that those who drink heavily have increased susceptibility to alcohol marketing and that this can translate into drinking behaviours. For those in recovery, alcohol marketing can be a trigger which threatens their recovery and can be responsible for relapse.

The consultation closed on 9 March. An independent contractor will comprehensively analyse the responses and publish a report. We will then further consider possible restrictions.