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Details of the sources of evidence used by, and related advice provided to, the Scottish Government’s Executive Team during an internal review of its hybrid working policy have been available on the Scottish Government website since July 2025 at: Scottish Government hybrid working policy evidence and findings: FOI release - gov.scot. In particular, the sources of evidence considered are set out at annex 6 and advice in annexes 1 to 5 of that publication.

Achieving 24/7 access to thrombectomy across Scotland is a complex piece of work, requiring co-ordination of resources across all NHS Boards. While the Scottish Government cannot currently provide a target date for establishing a 24/7 thrombectomy service, NHS National Services Directorate have established a Task and Finish Group with the goal of producing a list of options for the timely expansion of thrombectomy services across Scotland.

The group met most recently on 4 December 2025, and is making positive progress towards delivering recommendations for expanding the thrombectomy service.

The Scottish Government received a funding bid from the Scottish Museum of Empire, Slavery, Colonialism and Migration to enable them to continue developing revenue projects and capacities regarding recommendation 1 from the Empire Slavery and Scotland’s Museum Steering Group. The Scottish Government has allocated up to £600,000 to the Scottish Museum of Empire, Slavery, Colonialism and Migration in its draft budget for 2026-27.

The budget invests over £2.4bn in post school education and skills and reinforces our steadfast commitment to free education. It includes a significant real terms increase in our investment in Scotland’s College and University sectors so that people of all ages have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, while also ensuring that priority workforce needs are met.

The Scottish Government has committed to introduce a new approach to national skills planning, and strengthen regional skills planning.

Alongside setting up these new arrangements, we recognise the importance of tackling current skills needs in priority areas. We are providing targeted support across a range of sectors, including offshore wind, social care and engineering.

For example, we are providing funding to the college sector in 2025-26 to deliver an Offshore Wind Skills Programme, helping to create region-specific training hubs for offshore wind skills. We are investing almost £12 million over three years to deliver a targeted Offshore Wind Skills Programme. This new funding will enable us to deliver the most critical priorities in our action plan, while keeping the programme scalable as future funding decisions are taken.

We are also investing up to £2 million in 2025-26 to develop engineering skills in the Glasgow City Region through a programme led by Clyde Maritime Cluster with Skills Development Scotland. This is supporting industry-led action to increase the supply of engineering and advanced manufacturing workers and reduce levels of economic inactivity.

Operational decisions such as curriculum delivery are the responsibility of individual colleges.

A review of local authorities’ statutory waste and recycling duties is currently in progress and due to conclude by the end of 2026.

The Scottish Government’s Circular Economy & Waste Route Map sets out an ambitious plan to deliver the priorities to 2030 that will help us progress to a circular economy and more sustainable resource use. A priority action in the Route Map is to co-design a new statutory Code of Practice for household recycling to set standards for waste collection services across Scotland, increase recycling rates and cut emissions.

The statutory Code of Practice is currently being co-designed with local authorities, businesses and other waste sector stakeholders to promote greater consistency in services and account for Scotland’s diverse communities and geography. It will also be informed by the findings of recent consultations on textile collections and rural food waste, actions also set out in the Route Map.

The draft Code of Practice will be published for consultation by the end of 2026.

For Scotland’s colleges, the 2026-27 budget delivers a combined increase of £70m in resource and capital funding, equivalent to 10% uplift on last year’s budget, taking our total investment in core college funding to £764m. This enables colleges to continue to deliver high quality education and skills to learners across Scotland. Since its inception in July 2023, the Tripartite Alignment Group has been working collaboratively to identify and implement workable flexibilities to further help ease colleges’ financial pressures while ensuring accountability for public funds.

The budget invests over £2.4bn in post school education and skills and reinforces our steadfast commitment to free education. It includes a significant real terms increase in our investment in Scotland’s College and University sectors so that people of all ages have the opportunity to fulfil their potential, while also ensuring that priority workforce needs are met.

The Scottish Government is working to identify a shortlist of sectors for focused skills planning. Beginning in February, my officials will engage employers, colleges, universities, and regional partners to help refine this work. We will also share further details with the Education, Children and Young People Committee, including our emerging findings. Our intention is to formally publish this work in the Spring.

The absence of an Accountable Officer at any national body is clearly a concern for Scottish Government. However the circumstances surrounding the absence of the Accountable Office for an extended period at Historic Environment Scotland were particularly challenging.

In my letter to the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee Convenor on 17 December following publication of Audit Scotland’s Section 22 Report about Historic Environment Scotland, I set out in more detail the circumstances around the extended absence of the Accountable Officer.

Scottish Government officials continue to attend HES Board meetings and are working closely with the organisation to support the new Chair and the HES Board .

Historic Environment Scotland are also commissioning a review into their organisation and culture led by an experienced external investigator. I welcome the commissioning of this review and am confident that this will enable the organisation to respond fully and positively to the areas of concern in the Auditor General’s Section 22 report to Parliament .

Once that review is concluded, the Scottish Government will work with the HES Chair and Board to ensure all necessary actions are taken and lessons learned.

The Scottish Government did not receive any direct correspondence from Audit Scotland regarding the reported governance failures at Historic Environment Scotland.

Stephen Boyle, Auditor General for Scotland wrote on 27 October 2025 to the Public Audit Committee to inform them that he intended to publish a report under Section 22 of the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 on the 2024-25 audit of Historic Environment Scotland. The letter is published on the Parliament website: The 2024/25 audit of Historic Environment Scotland Section 22 report | Scottish Parliament Website

The Historic Environment Scotland Section 22 report from Audit Scotland was published alongside the Historic Environment Scotland Annual report 2024-2025 and laid before Parliament on 16 December 2025 at 09:30. The 2024/25 audit of Historic Environment Scotland | Audit Scotland

Further correspondence from Audit Scotland on the Section 22 report may have been received directly by Historic Environment Scotland.