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In June 2023 the Scottish Government introduced new Building Guidance on the installation of charge points in new buildings and developments to help further increase the provision of electric vehicle charging. These regulations mandate the provision of electric vehicle charging in new domestic dwellings to support the transition to electric vehicles.

For households that require on-street solutions Section 59 of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 prohibits placing anything on the public road that could cause an obstruction without the written consent of the local authority. Under Section 109 of the New Roads and Street Works Act 1991, a local authority has the power to regulate the installation and use of equipment in or under public roads, including electric vehicle charging infrastructure. It is under this Act that permission may be granted by local authorities for the installation of on-street charging solutions.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the transition to electric vehicles and is supporting the Scottish Collaboration of Transport Specialists (SCOTS), a network representing transport officers from Scotland’s local authorities and Regional Transport Partnerships, to develop guidance on cross-pavement charging which addresses legal and safety issues and supports all local authorities to enable cross-pavement charging.

Regulations for hydrogen transport through pipelines and storage are reserved to the UK Government. As such, Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with UK Government counterparts on these matters as they relate to Scotland's hydrogen interests.

The UK Government has recently published a consultation on the economic regulatory framework for 100% hydrogen pipelines. This was published on the 15th of July and will run until the 9th of September and invites stakeholder's views on the suitability of the regulatory framework set out under the Gas Act 1986 for the needs of the hydrogen economy. The Scottish Government is currently considering the framework proposed and is formulating our response to be submitted in due course.

The Scottish Government continues to work with the UK Government to ensure the geographical variations across the UK, particularly in Scotland, are considered in any changes to hydrogen regulations, as well to ensure the UK Government develops a fit for purpose regulatory regime that enables us to achieve our shared hydrogen ambitions.

The Scottish Government published its Health and Social Care Service Renewal Framework (SRF) on 17 June 2025. This Framework provides a high-level guide for change, to ensure the sustainability, efficiency, quality, and accessibility of health and social care services in Scotland. Within the SRF, we set out our commitment to publish the Long-Term Conditions Framework and its aim and outcomes will be closely linked to the principles of the SRF.

Whilst this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, I welcome Police Scotland’s commitment to supporting officers after critical incidents.

Scotland’s police officers and staff do a challenging job and I also welcome the Chief Constable’s commitment to workforce wellbeing. I am pleased that in addition to the provision of Trauma Risk Incident Management assessments and Occupational Health counselling, Police Scotland has invested £17 million to enhance welfare provision. This included a new 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and direct access to occupational health services, where officers suffering psychological or physical trauma can be supported.

The dates of Scottish Screening Committee (SSC) meetings since January 2023 are listed below and hyperlinked to the published minutes where available.

18 April 2023 Scottish Screening Committee minutes

The SSC last met on 6 March 2024. The minutes for this meeting are due to be published shortly.

At this time there is no agreed pay award for Scottish Government.

Following a period of negotiation the Scottish Government made a formal pay offer to the recognised trade unions (PCS, Prospect, and FDA) on 14 July 2025. The offer was rejected by PCS and Prospect. FDA indicated they could not recommend acceptance to their members. We will continue to explore next steps with the trade unions to find a solution.

The Scottish Government does not hold the requested information.

Trading Standards Scotland reports any suspected criminality directly to the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal Service.

Vaccination is globally recognised as being second only to clean water in terms of its transformative impact. The Scottish Government is working with NHS Health Boards and Public Health Scotland through the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme (SVIP) to improve public confidence in vaccination.

Scotland's 5-year Vaccination and Immunisation Framework and Delivery Plan, published in November 2024, includes goals to increase uptake and reduce inequalities in vaccination. To do this, SVIP will continue to build on existing practice to build confidence through a range of actions, including: making vaccination, and information about vaccines, more easily accessible; improving the patient experience; working with different communities to understand and respond to any concerns or questions; and supporting the workforce to have confident conversations about vaccines with patients and members of the public.

SVIP continues to build on and develop partnerships with community, third sector and religious organisations to co-produce and disseminate factual information for those who have questions about vaccination.

The Scottish Government is also aware of the harms false health information can cause and is looking at what approaches can be taken based on the latest evidence.

The Scottish Government is currently undertaking a programme of Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus local area visits to Scottish territorial NHS Boards which provides an opportunity to explore the levels of psychological support available for people living with HIV.

Throughout visits we have observed areas of excellent practice in relation to psychological support for people living with HIV, including some Boards bringing clinical psychology pathways into routine HIV care to ensure holistic HIV management and digital solutions for those who live in more rural areas where peer support may be more challenging. We continue to work with NHS Boards and encourage sharing best practices to address any gaps identified throughout these visits.

The Scottish Government has allocated a budget of around £1.7m per year to support delivery of the Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan 2023-26. This funding includes a range of projects focused on HIV testing and prevention including Terrence Higgins Trust HIV Self-Test service, three Emergency Department opt-out testing pilots and a workforce education project led by Waverley Care to reduce stigma in health and social care settings.

In addition to this, we are also proving funding for the roll out of blood borne virus opt-out testing in Emergency Departments starting with those NHS Boards with the highest prevalence.