The Scottish Ministerial Code outlines a code of conduct for members of the Scottish Government (the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries and Law Officers) and junior Scottish Ministers, including on the use of personal social media accounts. No other Scottish Government guidance has been issued to Ministers in this regard.

Further information

The Scottish Ministerial Code outlines a code of conduct for members of the Scottish Government (the First Minister, Cabinet Secretaries and Law Officers) and junior Scottish Ministers.

Section 10 concerns Ministers And The Presentation Of Policy. There is reference here to the use of social media, which states:

10.10 Ministers may retain personal social media accounts (e.g. Facebook, Twitter), provided that any activity on their account is not at variance with their obligations to Parliament or their duty to observe the principle of collective Ministerial responsibility. It is Ministers’ personal responsibility to ensure that social media activity in their name does not breach these requirements or bring the Government into disrepute.

10.11 If Ministers wish to use social media for official policy communications, they should use an appropriate Government account.

The Scottish Ministerial Code can be found online at https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-ministerial-code-2018-edition

The Scottish Government supports the development of carbon capture, utilisation, and storage (CCUS) as a common whole-system decarbonisation infrastructure with the flexibility to adapt over time to play a central role across the decarbonisation strategies of key sectors such as heat, industry and power. A proven technology, there are more than 50 CCUS facilities worldwide, with an estimated combined capture capacity of 96 million tonnes of CO2 per annum.

The Committee on Climate Change describes CCUS as a “necessity, not an option” to achieve net-zero emissions; indeed, the swift development of CCUS as a cornerstone of our energy transition is vital to achieving Scotland’s net zero emissions reduction targets.

Scotland is the most cost-effective place to begin CCUS in the UK, with existing oil and gas infrastructure available to repurpose for CO2 transport and storage. The development of CCUS could offer a range of transition opportunities for Scottish oil and gas firms and domestic supply chain companies.

We are already supporting efforts to deploy CCUS in Scotland, including through our Emerging Energy Technologies Fund, which will provide £80m over the next five years to support the development of CCUS and negative-emissions technologies. We have also provided funding and policy support to the Acorn CCS project in Aberdeenshire, considered the most advanced CCS project in the UK.

NHS Scotland works in partnership with Integrated Authorities, Local Authorities, the third sector and other service providers to deliver care, services and support to people with eating disorders and their families funded from the overall resources they receive from the Scottish Government. The total anticipated spend, including by NHS Scotland on mental health, in 2021/22 is estimated to be in excess of £1.2 billion.

The Scottish Government’s £262.2 million programme budget for mental health and autism in 2021/22 is more than double when compared to the previous year and funds implementation of key priorities and commitments which span different types of need, including many which will contribute directly and indirectly to the treatment of eating disorders.

For example, through NHS Lothian, we continue to fund a national peer support service for those with an eating disorder and their parents and carers at nearly £38,000 this year. Implementation of other commitments to improve care and access to both psychological therapies and children and young people’s mental health services will also have a positive impact on eating disorder services. The Government’s response to the National Review of Eating Disorder Services will also be considered in due course.

There has been an unprecedented increase in the number of General Dental Practitioners (GDPs) under this Government. As at March 2021 the number of GDPs in Scotland was 3,039 compared to 2,186 in 2007, an increase of 39%. This means that there are 55.7 dentists per 100,000 of the population providing NHS care and treatment in 2021, compared to 42.3 in 2007.

We recognise the unique and significant pressures that COVID-19 has placed on businesses over the past year, including the independent brewing sector. That is why we have commissioned an independent Gateway Review to assess the impact of the pandemic on the go-live date for Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme (DRS).

We have no current plans to adopt a ‘stepped’ approach in which certain producers would initially be exempt from obligations under DRS. This would be likely to cause significant consumer confusion and jeopardise the behavioural change that DRS requires.

The cost for training a student in dentistry is comprised of a number of components, including costs for university training, clinical outreach, and vocational training. The university costs for Scottish-domiciled undergraduates are approximately £32,641 for Year 1 (pre-clinical) students and £42,989 for students in Years 2-5 (clinical). For students in Year 5 there are also additional clinical outreach costs of approximately £31,467. The costs for the one-year vocational training that dentists must undertake after graduation is approximately £61,201 per dentist.

Social Security is integral to my Social Justice, Housing and Local Government portfolio . It’s importance is reflected in the fact there is both a Cabinet Secretary and a Minister with responsibilities for it.

Answer: As detailed in the SNP manifesto, the new administration is committed to publishing a refreshed Energy Strategy to map out Scotland’s energy transition.

The Scottish Government’s Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan, published in July 2020, sets out how domestic passenger services in Scotland will be decarbonised by 2035.

Public control of ScotRail will facilitate the integration of rolling stock and train service plans with infrastructure works and thus improve the efficient whole system delivery of the Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan.

Weddings, civil partnerships and funerals are recognised as life events within Scottish Government guidance. Weddings, civil partnerships and funerals are of particular importance to people and society and are protected under the European Convention on Human Rights.

Wedding receptions and funeral wakes mark the social and personal importance of these protected life events. Additionally, there are very practical reasons why funerals cannot be postponed for any length of time. Therefore, these events have been given particular exemptions within the Levels Table compared to the general guidance on other life events.

There are no specific exemptions at this time for birthday parties amongst adults, or gatherings to mark a wedding anniversary or other life event, which remain subject to the general restrictions on people gathering.

Therefore, other events such as birthday parties for adults, wedding anniversary celebrations and celebrations after a religious life event should only take place in line with the general rules for meeting others indoors and outdoors.

The full guidance on protection levels and what individuals can and cannot do at each level can be viewed here: Coronavirus (COVID-19) protection levels: what you can do - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)