The Scottish Government believes that independence would deliver the best deal for Scotland – providing control over all public spending decisions, as well as the suite of fiscal powers necessary to unlock Scotland’s full economic potential.

However, until such a time as the people of Scotland can choose a different constitutional arrangement, moving to full fiscal autonomy for the Scottish Government would create a fairer system that would protect public services and allow investment in our economy.

The Scottish Government outlined its views on full fiscal autonomy in its evidence to the 2014 Smith Commission, when Scotland’s devolved fiscal arrangements were last subject to substantial review.

Full fiscal autonomy would mean that all onshore and offshore taxes would be designed and set in Scotland, including tax rates, allowances, thresholds and the tax bases. For any reserved taxes, revenues would be assigned to the Scottish budget.

At the same time, the Scottish Parliament would also take responsibility for key elements of domestic expenditure, including currently reserved areas of welfare. The Scottish Government’s position reflects significant issues with current devolved fiscal arrangements, and particularly with the approach taken by the previous UK Government.

Even where the new UK Government is not willing to pursue full fiscal autonomy for Scotland, it has the opportunity to agree a set of substantial improvements to devolved fiscal arrangements - including through agreement to fiscal flexibilities that are commensurate to the level of risk the Scottish Government currently manages within its responsibilities. Such powers are essential to manage and smooth the funding volatility and uncertainty which affects our current finance arrangements.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Recruitment and retention of Wholetime and On Call firefighters is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Chief Fire Officer and Board.

Terms and Conditions and pay of all firefighters are negotiated on a UK wide basis under a well-established collective bargaining process. Through this process there is a new nationally agreed pay banding system which offers far more flexibility in the contracts SFRS can offer to Retained Firefighters which SFRS hope will allow people who may not previously have been able to provide the requisite commitment to contribute to protecting their communities whilst maintaining a better work/life balance.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Dealing with large outdoor fires can be physically demanding on crews and often lasts for prolonged periods. SFRS has well established welfare arrangements in place to ensure that crews receive regular relief and that the appropriate level of resources are maintained.

SFRS remains fully ready and able to respond to any instance of wildfire that occurs across Scotland.

SFRS remains ready and able to respond to any instance of wildfire that occurs across Scotland. I have received assurances from SFRS that they had the resources needed, along with working with partners, to deal with recent wildfires.

The budget for 2025-26 provides SFRS with an additional £18.8 million in support of front line services, which will bring the total budget to £412.2 million. Decisions on the allocation of the SFRS budget are a matter for the SFRS Board and Chief Officer.

The allocation of resources within the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) is an operational matter for the Chief Fire Officer and SFRS Board. There is a Public Sector Framework contract in place for the provision of suitable helicopter services (including for the use of firefighting). This framework was constructed on the basis of estimated levels of use by the various Public Bodies who utilise this contract (including NatureScot, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and SFRS).

Forestry and Land Scotland routinely work with SFRS during wildfire incidents, strategically placing available aircraft and / or helicopter support in the right locations at the right times during wildfire incidents across Scotland. The call-out process, as defined within the framework contract, is followed when helicopter support is required by SFRS and / or FLS.

The Chief Fire Officer has provided assurances to the Scottish Government that fire fighter safety is an absolute priority and that all equipment in place is safe. SFRS remains fully ready and able to respond to any instance of wildfire that occurs across Scotland.

Shipping safety is a matter reserved to the UK Government. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) is responsible for shipping regulations and safety, including Automatic Identification System (AIS) requirements. The Scottish Government expects the highest shipping safety standard to be applied on those vessels accessing Scotland’s waters and ports.

The Marine Directorate of the Scottish Government uses a range of tools and technologies to support the integrated management of Scotland’s seas, including the use of Vessel Monitoring Systems and Remote Electronic Monitoring on fishing vessels. Data generated from such technology can be used for fisheries management, environmental protection and marine planning purposes.

The Scottish Government’s Fisheries Management Strategy and its Delivery Plan (updated 2025) sets out our policy initiatives to further protect the environment. In 2025, we will be taking forward the outcomes of a consultation on requiring tracking and monitoring technology on all under 12 metre fishing vessels in Scottish waters.

The Scottish Government has not received any direct requests from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) for equipment to deal with wildfires.

The capital budget for SFRS in 2025-26 is £47 million, an increase of £4 million over the previous year to improve facilities for firefighters, and invest in the SFRS asset base across property, fleet, operational equipment and ICT.

This has enabled SFRS to invest in its wildfire strategy which includes provision of equipment such as leaf blowers, brush cutters, all-terrain vehicles, as well as training in subjects such as tactical burning, which is a first for the SFRS. As a result of this investment, additional resources and training, the SFRS are now better equipped and more prepared than ever for responding to wildfires.

SFRS remains fully ready and able to respond to any instance of wildfire that occurs across Scotland.

I have the utmost sympathy for the women who may have been adversely affected by diethylstilbestrol (otherwise known as DES or stilbestrol).

The regulations for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is currently reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA). Any review of diethylstilbestrol (otherwise known as DES or stilbestrol) would ultimately be a matter for them to consider.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.