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The Scottish Government shares concerns about the rise in popularity of high puff-count vapes, their accessibility to young people and the associated health risks they pose. The Environmental Protection (Single-use Vapes) (Scotland) Regulations 2024 set out that in order for a vape to be considered reusable, it must be both refillable and rechargeable. By refillable, this means that the vape must contain a single-use container which is separately available for purchase by an individual user and can be replaced by the user in the normal course of use, or a container that can be refilled by the user in the normal course of use. By rechargeable, it means that the vape must have both a battery that can be recharged, and a coil which is separately available for purchase by an individual user and can be replaced by the user within the normal course of use.

We share concerns regarding the growing market share of high puff-count vapes, however the definition of single-use within the Regulations sets out that a vape must be refillable and rechargeable. In addition to a rechargeable battery, it must have a replaceable coil in order to be considered rechargeable and a refillable or replaceable container to be refillable. It is otherwise single-use and its sale and supply will be banned in Scotland when the ban comes into force next year. We have worked closely with Trading Standards to ensure that there are no loopholes in the definition of a single-use vape in the Regulations that manufacturers can exploit. We will continue to work with Trading Standards to monitor developments in vape design to ensure that the ban is fit for purpose and properly enforced.

The Scottish Government has no plans to undertake a national hedgehog census in Scotland.

Hedgehogs are protected in Scotland under the Wildlife and Countryside (Scotland) Act 1981. Alongside this legal protection, steps are being taken to halt the decline of hedgehogs in our towns and cities including the promotion of green space and green networks.

It is important to recognise that hedgehogs exist in some parts of Scotland where they are a non-native species. In those areas, such as South Uist, work is being done to manage the population through methods such as trapping and translocation.

I raised this issue with the Principal of City of Glasgow College on 29 October 2024, who assured me the College remains committed to providing trade union education.

Officials have met with education leads in the local authorities expecting to be most affected to understand their assessment of the potential move of pupils to the state sector. We have also sought assurance from local authorities that they have the capacity to support pupils in the event of an independent school closing. I have met with the Scottish Council for Independent Schools and officials will continue to engage with them directly, following this policy change from the UK Government.

The usual timing of the annual implementation of changes to ferry fares has been consistent for many years and is defined in the Northern Isles Ferry Services (NIFS) contract as January and the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) contracts as the start of CHFS summer timetable.

Discussions regarding the 2025-26 budget remain ongoing, and as such we are unable to provide any details regarding the Place Based Investment Programme (PBIP) or other regeneration capital funding programmes for 2025-26.

The Government’s future legislative programmes will be announced in the relevant Programme for Government in the normal way.

The Scottish Government is committed to keep The Promise by 2030 and has recently set out further detail on activity underway in our Promise Implementation Plan Update 2024: Keeping The Promise to our children, young people and families: progress update 2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). This includes a continued commitment to introduce a Promise Bill by the end of this parliamentary session, dependent on wider pressures on the Parliamentary legislative calendar.

We are currently conducting a number of consultations which will inform the next steps on key areas and, where appropriate to inform The Promise Bill.

This includes the next stages of reform of the children’s hearing system; the future of foster care; the definition of care experience; and the support available to those moving on from care.

Ofqual regulates qualifications, examinations and assessments in England. Its findings relate to the SQA Level 1 Health and Safety in a Construction Environment qualification delivered in England which was withdrawn by SQA in April 2019.

SQA is an executive Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB), established under the Education (Scotland) Act 1996. As a NDPB, SQA is responsible for making its own operational decisions. I have asked the SQA to write to Mr Rennie setting out the measures taken and communications with stakeholders related to the undertaking.

The 2024-25 Scottish Budget delivers a competitive non-domestic rates regime including the lowest poundage in the UK for the sixth year in a row, and a package of reliefs worth an estimated £685 million. As at 1 June 2024, over 20,000 properties in the Clackmannanshire, Fife, Perth and Kinross, and Stirling council areas benefited from one or more non-domestic rates reliefs, worth almost £84 million.