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In 2016, Scottish Government legislation came into force that increased the maximum sentence for weapons possession from four years to five years. The average length of custodial sentence for weapons possession in 2022-23 was 332 days; this compares with 218 days in 2007-08 and represents an increase of 52%.

The investigation of knife crime is an independent operational matter for Police Scotland. The prosecution of knife crime is an independent operational matter for COPFS. Sentencing in any given case is a matter for the independent court within the overall legal framework.

Scottish Ministers have long argued for a comprehensive Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) deal with the EU, and have therefore welcomed the commitment made at the UK - EU summit of 19 May 2025 that the UK Government and European Commission should work towards establishing a Common SPS Area by way of an SPS Agreement. It is vital that the details of the SPS Agreement to be developed should benefit all parts of the UK and reflect the interests of Scottish producers and consumers.

The UK Government has argued that there are some areas in which it will need to retain its own rules, rather than align with EU regulation. Scottish Government policy is to seek dynamic alignment with the EU where it benefits Scotland to do so – including on gene editing, where neither the EU nor Scotland currently recognise a legal distinction between gene editing and genetic modification, and Scots and EU law remain aligned. We are engaging proactively with the UK Government on the exceptions they are seeking to the SPS agreement which overlap with devolved competencies.

Where residents are notified that their home may contain RAAC, we expect their local authority to provide advice on the next steps they can take. It is the responsibility of local authorities to deal with these matters.

Clackmannanshire council assessed the status of RAAC in the blocks and its decision was to decant three of the blocks affected by RAAC.

I recognise that would have been a stressful time for residents. However, Clackmannanshire Council’s primary concern is the safety of all those affected.

Scottish Government officials were and have been in contact with the council as it takes forwards the support it was providing to residents. The Council have recently completed an options appraisal for the affected buildings which are currently subject to dangerous building notices. They are engaging with owners with the outcome of that options appraisal and on the next steps regarding remediation of their properties, which includes repairs or voluntary acquisitions. In the meantime, we expect the local authority to keep those affected up to date, provide them with advice and where possible, facilitate access to allow residents to collect personal belongings.

I convened the first meeting of the RAAC in Housing Leadership Group on 4 September 2025 which brings together senior leaders and officials of local authorities and registered social landlords that are affected by RAAC.

The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service. We have invested over £51 million to date on expanding access to thrombectomy. While we continue to face significant financial challenges, we are committed to further expanding the service, ensuring access is as equitable as possible.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde operate their service: Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm for patients arriving directly at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm for patients arriving at West of Scotland spoke hospitals.

Whilst the Scottish Government cannot currently provide a timeline for expanding the service, Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for service expansion.

We have provided funding for thrombectomy nurse posts in spoke sites with high rates of ischaemic stroke, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, and this will support maximising access to thrombectomy across Scotland

Procurement of a national artificial intelligence imaging tool is underway and, once implemented, this will help delivery of the service by improving detection of patients with strokes suitable for thrombectomy.

The Scottish Government has no plan to commission an independent review of records retention and data gaps that affect the identification of people exposed to the pregnancy medication, stilbestrol (DES). This is because there was no central system for recording which medicines were prescribed for individuals available at that time and individual paper medical records from this period are unlikely to be retrievable which would make any such exercise extremely challenging.

The Agri-Environment and Climate Scheme (AECS) was launched in 2015 to promote land management practices which protect and enhance Scotland’s natural heritage, improve water quality, manage flood risk and mitigate and adapt to climate change.

AECS has a strong uptake from farmers and crofters in Orkney. Since 2015 there has been 486 approved contracts from 288 businesses, valued at £24.48 million (figures as of August 2025).

This scheme is expected to continue until at least 2026 to deliver elements of Tiers 3 and 4 until new Elective and Complementary Support mechanisms are introduced.

Co-development and co-design with rural partners will be the foundational approach to the development of future support structures and delivery. We will work with farmers and crofters to make sure that our support is informed by their needs and experience. This will include specific consideration of our island farming and crofting systems to ensure funding is relevant and remains accessible to as many as possible. For example, a review of AECS is currently underway with stakeholders such as the National Farmers Union (Scotland) and the Scottish Crofting Federation inputting into this process.

Farmers and crofters can volunteer to help shape the policy and support that affects them by registering their interest here: Agricultural Reform Programme (ARP) - Volunteer to take part in research and design (Page 1 of 11)

The Scottish Government has established the sunbed safety group to review the existing sunbed regulations and procedures for enforcing those regulations.

As part of the group's work, the Scottish Government has worked with Young Scot, NHS Inform and education colleagues to produce information in an accessible format for younger adults. This includes a sunbed safety toolkit for pupil support teachers to discuss sun-safety with their students and published a new NHS inform page to promote awareness of sunbed and tanning safety which includes information about seeking medical advice for changes to your skin.

Thrombectomy services are run on a regional basis with a North, East and West of Scotland ‘hub’ providing thrombectomies in NHS Boards.

NHS Lothian (East of Scotland): Monday to Sunday 8am to 8pm for patients arriving directly at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary. Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm for patients arriving at East of Scotland spoke hospitals.

NHS Tayside (North of Scotland): Monday to Friday 8am to 7pm.

NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (West of Scotland): Monday to Friday 8am to 8pm for patients arriving directly at Queen Elizabeth University Hospital. Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm for patients arriving at West of Scotland spoke hospitals.

While this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, it has confirmed to the Scottish Government that the 2024 overflow data publication, published in March 2025, will not be updated.

Scottish Water has confirmed that it intends to publish annual overflow event data for the period January to December 2025 in March 2026. This publication will include annual overflow event data for the Event Duration Monitor (EDM) locations which are included within Scottish Water’s Near Real Time Overflow Map.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care has accepted an invitation for a meeting with stilbestrol campaigners and will consider what actions can and should be taken in relation to their concerns following this discussion.