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The Westminster Commission on Forensic Science, set up by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Miscarriages of Justice in 2022, visited the Scottish Police Authority Forensic Services Division (SPA-FSD) in early 2025. Subsequently, the Commission published its report which highlighted Scotland’s different model of forensic delivery in comparison with the police and privatised market driven model in England and Wales. The Scottish model of delivery is cited in the report as publicly governed, multi-disciplinary and scientifically rigorous in comparison with the position in England and Wales.

On 20th November 2024, the Director of SPA-FSD and the Chair of the SPA alongside scientific experts attended the Scottish Parliament to showcase the work of SPA-FSD to MSPs. This included demonstrating Scotland’s world leading services, how they are deployed to scenes of crime in Scotland and how the captured evidence provides vital intelligence to Police Scotland in the investigation of crime. Given that the Scottish Government has no role in operational policing, it is for the SPA to highlight good practice in the provision of forensic services for the investigation and prosecution of crime in Scotland. The SPA Board regularly receives reports on SPA-FSD’s performance and standards.

The food environment, including promotions, significantly influences the food choices people make, both in and out of home. This report adds further to (the evidence base and) our understanding that promotions can encourage impulse spend and can lead to people buying more than they need, overlooking cheaper and healthier alternatives.

The Scottish Government is taking forward wide ranging action to support people make healthier choices in the out of home sector.

On 17 June, the Scottish Government confirmed that it will introduce regulations to restrict the promotion of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt to the Scottish Parliament this autumn. These regulations will, amongst other things, restrict unlimited refills for a fixed charge of non-prepacked soft drinks with added sugar in qualifying out of home businesses. Further detail on the final scope of the policy is available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/restricting-promotion-food-drink-high-fat-sugar-salt-hfss-consultation-detail-proposed-regulations-scottish-government-response/.

We are working with Food Standards Scotland and Public Health Scotland to develop our Eating Out Eating Well Framework https://eatingouteatingwell.publichealthscotland.scot/, one of the actions from our Out Of Home Action Plan https://www.gov.scot/publications/diet-and-healthy-weight-out-of-home-action-plan/. The new Framework is designed to help businesses serving food out of home, such as restaurants and cafes, to provide healthier options for customers, and includes developing a Code of Practice for children’s menus. Further detail is set out in the answer to question S6W-39402 on 8 August 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government will consider further action to improve the food environment, including in out of home settings, under the Population Health Framework.

The £2 million investment in 2025-26 through the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership (SEHP) to support local authorities to return more privately owned empty homes to use is a new investment. It is part of a two-year fairer funding pilot, with a further investment of £1.3 million in 2026-27.

The £2 million is funding:

• additional empty homes officers across Scotland (£750,000),
• innovative local and national projects (£700,000) such as the Dundee project referenced in the answer to question S6W-39184 on 7 August 2025,
• SEHP core functions, such as its advice line and support for local authority empty homes officers, as well as enhanced support to deliver the additional work above in conjunction with local authorities (£550,000).

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) provide a Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service in criminal court cases. When COPFS first consider a new criminal case, they refer to VIA any victims who should receive extra support. This includes victims of domestic abuse. If the victim wishes VIA support, VIA will proactively notify the victim of court hearing dates and bail decisions, including bail conditions of the accused person.

When the court is deciding whether to grant bail, the prosecutor and the defence are given the opportunity to make submissions to the court on the question of bail. In doing so, the prosecutor can make the court aware of any safety concerns which they consider arise based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case. This is particularly relevant under the new bail test, which came into effect on 14 May 2025, and which centres public safety, including safety of the complainer from a risk of harm, in bail decision making.

Where held, COPFS will consider the views of the victim with regard to bail and bail conditions, in forming their overall submission on bail. This may include information obtained from the victim by the police in the initial police report, information from specialist support services or information from VIA engagement with the victim directly.

Domestic abuse involves very complex dynamics where it can be important that information about concerns that may lead to a partner or ex-partner being placed on remand or subject to stringent bail conditions is not attributed to information provided by the victim. This may make victims reluctant and fearful to engage in a case.

It is for this important reason that the prosecutor, who acts independently in the public interest, is best placed to provide victim safety information to the court, including the seeking of further conditions of bail.

Ultimately, the question of bail and bail conditions is a matter for the independent court informed by the information they are provided with.

The Scottish Public Finance Manual requires public bodies to regularly review their assets. Any assets which are deemed to be surplus should be disposed of as soon as possible and within 3 years, whilst residential property should be disposed of within 6 months of becoming vacant. Depending on each circumstance, disposals can be carried out via:

• sale on the open market to achieve the best possible price
• sale below market value if wider community benefits can be achieved
• transferred to another Scottish Public Body via the trawl process. This process aims to optimise the use of public assets, generate value, and support community or economic development.

These standard principles also apply to historic buildings which includes buildings that are listed, a scheduled ancient monument or if the building is in a conservation area.

The Scottish Government has undertaken a range of stakeholder engagement prior to the development of a long term conditions framework consultation, including meeting with fifteen clinicians representing seven policy areas (stroke, respiratory, cardiology, chronic pain, neurology, diabetes and long COVID) between August and September 2024. These engagements captured a mixed response, with some raising concern that moving to an integrated approach risks losing focus and progress for policy work in these areas. However, the potential transition to an integrated approach was also seen as more equitable, with value in conditions working together. All clinical leads were able to identify opportunities within their specialty for beneficial joins to be made across conditions.

Additionally, in September 2024 the approach set out in the consultation was presented to the Scottish Government Professional Advisory Group, which involves clinicians working across a wider range of specialties including primary care and allied health professionals, to discuss the proposed changes in approach to long term conditions. This meeting involved discussion of opportunities to simplify, make efficiencies and provide effective interventions while taking a whole person approach, starting with the person rather than the condition.

We will continue to engage with the clinical community and lived experience groups as the Framework develops. The public consultation on long term conditions closed on 20 July, and analysis is ongoing.

The Scottish Government committed, in the Framework for Tax 2021, to reducing the combined poundage rate for the largest properties to match the equivalent rate in England over the course of the Parliament.

Since the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates made this recommendation, we have made demonstrable progress on that recommendation through the introduction of the Intermediate Property Rate since 1 April 2020; and on 1 April 2023, we increased the rateable value threshold at which the Higher Property Rate applies from £95,000 to £100,000. In combination this ensures that over 95% of properties are liable for a lower property rate than anywhere else in the UK.

Tax policy decisions are made annually at budget in line with prevailing economic decisions and Government priorities.

We acknowledge the recent research findings, which highlight the disproportionate health impacts experienced by women in relation to the covid pandemic. Addressing these inequalities is a core ambition of the Scottish Government.

In August 2021, Scotland was the first country in the UK to publish a Women's Health Plan (https://www.gov.scot/publications/womens-health-plan/documents/). Developed with women and girls, the Plan articulates the commitment that all women and girls enjoy the best possible health, throughout their lives. The next phase of the Plan is currently under development.

Improving health outcomes for women and girls requires the consideration of their specific health needs to address avoidable inequalities. The Women’s Health Plan is a key element within a wider, ongoing programme of work to improve the health and wellbeing of women and girls across Scotland.

Women are also prioritised as one of the at-risk groups within the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund, which has received £81 million in investment since 2021. A further £15 million has been committed for 2026-27 as part of the Scottish Government’s Fairer Funding Pilot, demonstrating our ongoing dedication to supporting those facing the greatest challenges.

On 17 June 2025, the Scottish Government and COSLA co-published a ten-year Scotland's Population Health Framework (PHF) (https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-population-health-framework/), setting out a refreshed cross-government and cross-sector approach to improve Scotland’s population health and reduce inequalities, with a focus on prevention.

While the PHF was developed with a population-wide perspective, it is deliberately designed to enable targeted implementation of its 30 actions. This ensures that priority groups including those with protected characteristics receive tailored support to address their specific needs including women and girls.

While shops, and other rateable non-domestic properties, will have been liable for a higher property tax under the combined poundage plus Large Business Supplement (up to 31 March 2020) or Higher Property Rate (from 1 April 2020 onwards) over the last decade, the Scottish Government continues to offer a competitive non-domestic rates regime and the 2025-26 Budget delivered the lowest Basic Property Rate in the UK for the seventh year in a row.

Over 95% of shops in Scotland are liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rates, and this is estimated to have saved them £11.5m over the same timeframe compared with what they would have been liable for under English rates (note that this is a gross estimate and has not been adjusted for any reliefs).

In addition, the Small Business Bonus Scheme remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK. The retail sector continues to be one of the main beneficiaries of the scheme, with shops claiming relief worth £84m in 2024-25 alone.

The figures above have been calculated using property class. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property and does not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

The Scottish Government has committed to refresh the Additional Support for Learning Statutory Code of Practice Guidance as part of the delivery of the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan. We have been working collaboratively with a range of education partners and policy areas, including those with a focus on transitions, to ensure it continues to fully support schools and local authorities to fulfil their duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004.

A public consultation will be undertaken in the Autumn of 2025, providing an opportunity for wider stakeholders with an interest in the Code of Practice to share their views.