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There are no plans to privatise or to change the financing arrangements for Scottish Water. Scottish Water is performing well as a publicly owned corporation; evidence of its performance is clearly demonstrated by the fact that Scottish Water is matching the levels of service provided by the companies in England and Wales whilst ensuring that the average household charge remains lower.

In my statement to Parliament on 30 May 2023, I announced that the Public Health (Restriction of Promotions) Bill will not be introduced. We instead plan to consult on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt where they are sold to the public this autumn.

My statement is available at Meeting of the Parliament: 30/05/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18098 on 5 June 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

In my statement to Parliament on 30 May 2023, I announced that the Public Health (Restriction of Promotions) Bill will not be introduced. We instead plan to consult on the detail of proposed regulations to restrict promotions of food and drink high in fat, sugar or salt where they are sold to the public this autumn.

My statement is available on the Scottish Parliament website .

The New Deal includes collaborative work on a Fiscal Framework for Local Government, alongside a new Partnership Agreement. Following the First Minister’s introductory meeting with COSLA President, Councillor Morrison, on 31 March, work on the Partnership Agreement has progressed at pace. The Scottish Government has also undertaken intensive collaborative work on a Fiscal Framework for local government and will continue to work with COSLA over the coming months to agree further substantial aspects of a Fiscal Framework alongside the Partnership Agreement.

The Scottish Government has noted the report of the independent review of the Victim Notification Scheme (VNS) as published on 12 May, including the recommendation that victims be automatically referred to a new Victim Contact Team (itself subject to a separate recommendation in the report) to be offered enrolment on the VNS, given information on the process, and their rights and entitlements.

As the report makes clear, a number of organisations have a role to play in delivering the current scheme (including the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Prison Service and the Parole Board for Scotland).

Therefore, the Scottish Government intends to consider the report’s recommendations (including the automatic referral recommendation) in collaboration with stakeholders in the current months to fully explore their implications. This approach is particularly important for recommendations that are likely to have a direct impact on victims. We intend to take forward these discussions in the coming months as a matter of priority, and to publish a formal response to the report in due course.

Research was commissioned through ClimateXChange on the subject of “Electricity system stability & security of supply in Scotland”, with a contract awarded on 13 October 2022. Analysis and drafting of the report are in progress, with completion expected in the coming months. Once complete, the exact timing for publication will then be confirmed.

The independent review of the VNS was commissioned by the then Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Veterans in March 2022, in line with a Victims Taskforce recommendation. The Scottish Government’s commissioning of the review reflects its commitment to ensuring that the justice system is person-centred and trauma-informed.

The review’s report was published on 12 May this year. It made 22 recommendations, including a recommendation on key data. This recommendation involves identification of key data for the VNS in order to determine how efficient and effective the scheme is, and for related purposes.

The Scottish Government intends to consider the report’s recommendations (including the recommendation on key data) in collaboration with stakeholders in the current months to fully explore their implications. We intend to take forward these discussions in the coming months as a matter of priority, and to publish a formal response to the report in due course.

The Scottish Government itself has a role to play in delivering the VNS for victims of people in the forensic mental health system who are subject to a Compulsion Order and Restriction Order (“the CORO VNS”). This means that it holds information on this aspect of this scheme. However, taking into account the small number of COROs imposed each year, the numbers of registered victims on this scheme are very small. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not publish data on the CORO VNS because this could risk identifying a victim.

Work to develop the prospectus is drawing on a range of officials across the organisation who will contribute to varying extents as part of their wider responsibilities in supporting the Scottish Government. The exact number of officials contributing as part of their wider responsibilities cannot be set out as the Scottish Government has no need to record this information.

I share the urgency communities and businesses place in maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route, and remain absolutely committed to ensuring continuity of access to Argyll and Bute so that the region remains open for business.

A detailed programme and procurement strategy to deliver the improvements to the Old Military Road as quickly as possible is currently being developed and it is expected that the improvements will be carried out on a phased basis starting later this year. The cost estimate will be updated as part of this work.