Seòmar agus comataidhean

Scotland is excited to co-host EURO 2028 as part of the biggest ever sporting event jointly hosted by the UK & Ireland. EURO 2028 will be an unforgettable summer of football that will create memories to last a lifetime.

The Scottish Government will invest up to £73 million, including contingency. This funding will help deliver a safe and successful event, and unlock the far-reaching social and economic benefits. Updated socio-economic figures show benefits of hosting EURO 2028 of £3.6 billion for the UK and Ireland. Scotland’s estimated share is £270 million.

Scottish Government investment sits alongside funding contributions from other government partners in the UK and Ireland. Our support for EURO 2028 includes a £3.2 million investment into social impact and community activity programmes which form part of a wider partner social impact fund of circa £45 million. This investment will generate significant benefits long after the tournament concludes. It will help to deliver on the Scottish Government’s priority of Growing the Economy by creating jobs, driving regional prosperity and encouraging visitors to our nation. It is also designed to reduce barriers to opportunity, bring communities together through shared national moments and showcase Scotland as a world class host of major events. A key objective for Scottish Government is to spread the socio-economic benefits of hosting EURO 2028 throughout Scotland.

Through the relevant budget review processes Scottish Government will continue to scrutinise the budget lines and engage with the Scottish Parliament’s Finance and Public Administration Committee as appropriate.

The statutory guidance to local authorities sets out how they should exercise their powers under the Act to implement Firework Control Zones lawfully. It takes into consideration wider legal requirements than just the Firework Control Zone provisions in the Act as passed by Parliament.

The guidance notes that the geographic size and area of a zone must be evidence-based and proportionate. It states that firework control zones have not been designed as a measure to cover a whole local authority area, or to cover extensive parts of a local authority area.

The Scottish Government has already designated the Mental Welfare Commission to undertake national monitoring and reporting on the use of restrictive practices in inpatient mental health units. NHS Boards were notified of this on 30 October 2025.

The regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is currently reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency. As a result, the Scottish Government has no plans to assess the reasons for three states in the United States of America legalising psilocybin for the treatment of major treatment-resistant depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance-use disorders and in end-of-life care.

The Scottish Government will revise the Code of Practice under the Mental Health (Care and Treatment) (Scotland) Act 2003 to add guidance on the use of restrictive practices in inpatient mental health wards against children, young people and adults. This will include minimum expectations for reporting, and will be aligned to the new role for the Mental Welfare Commission with regards to national monitoring and reporting on the use of restraint. The Code of Practice will be revised before the end of October 2026.

The total amount of carbon levy collected in each of the last three financial years is as follows. The levy is calculated and paid back annually by the Scottish Governments travel provider. It is not broken down by Ministerial portfolio.

2024-25 - £8,704

2023-24 - £9,658

2022-23 - 11,148

The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES) advice is challenging for a number of our key stocks this year across the Northeast Atlantic, not least the iconic stocks of cod and mackerel. There are many factors that may be contributing to this, such as natural mortality, climate impacts and low recruitment across the North East Atlantic.

North Sea cod is not collapsing. The ICES advice shows a stark picture of the health of the southern substock, and this is primarily what is driving down the overall advice. The immediate priority must be the implementation of spatial management measures that restrict potential catches of that southern stock. We already have significant measures in place in Scottish waters and we are reviewing these to see what, if any, improvements can be made.

The advice for mackerel is unprecedented, well below anything we have seen on the ICES advice sheetsat least since 1987. Scotland continues to work with the UK Government and our Coastal State neighbours to agree a comprehensive sharing arrangement. ICES advice clearly demonstrates the importance of the interim steps taken by the UK, Norway and the Faroe Islands, whose agreement immediately reduced the total outtake of the stock, representing a step towards more sustainable fishing, whilst the wider sharing discussions continue.

Our stocks are jointly managed with the fishing nations around us, with negotiations currently ongoing. It is important that we continue to work together to balance sustainably managed fish stocks and a sustainable and prosperous industry and coastal communities. Whilst there is some challenging advice there are also many stocks where the picture remains more positive and the overall trend is good. The Scottish Sustainable Fishing Indicator (SFI), which summarises the sustainability status of commercial fish and shellfish stocks in Scottish waters, shows that the sustainability status of stocks in Scottish waters has increased through time, from 39% in 1995 to 73% in 2023.

I last met with representatives from the Royal College of Midwives on the 11 September 2025.

Concerns about staffing was not the focus of discussion. Staff skill mix was raised, however it is the responsibility of Health Boards to ensure the appropriate staff skill mix of services. No actions were noted pertaining to concerns about staffing.

The Scottish Government carbon levy is collected annually and is accumulated until there is enough available funds to invest in carbon reduction projects on the core estate. In the last three financial years no carbon levy money has been spent.

Scottish Government officials met with representatives of Alexander Dennis on 12 September and 14 September. The First Minister then visited the Alexander Dennis site at Larbert on 15 September to announce Scottish Government support for the company’s furlough scheme. Papers relating to the meetings will be available upon appropriate request in due course.