A decision on the consultation will be made in due course and after the peer review of the research paper on the role and functions of the Law Officers has concluded. The peer review is expected to conclude next month.

The Scottish Government recognises the heightened risk of social isolation in rural areas. To support the delivery of our Social Isolation and Loneliness Delivery Plan, we are providing £3.8m over three years to 53 community projects across Scotland through the Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund that is providing opportunities for people to connect. At end of year one projects reached 11,293 individuals with a focus on priority groups most at risk of social isolation and loneliness. We continue to support the National Rural Mental Health Forum to build the confidence of rural organisations to deliver mental health support to their members and networks. We also provide funding to Befriending Networks, who support befriending services across Scotland, and currently have 118 Scottish members; of which approximately 1 in 4 members are independent community organisations operating in rural areas.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of transparency and is committed to continuing to share information on progress with the implementation of recommendations made in the Independent Review of Complaints Handling, Investigations and Misconduct Issues in Relation to Policing.

Since the Review was published in November 2020 the Scottish Government has undertaken extensive work alongside policing partners to implement recommendations. To-date 59 out of 72 non-legislative recommendations have been delivered and five reports setting out progress have been published on the Scottish Government website. Additionally, the Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act 2025 discharges or paves the way via regulations for the majority of the legislative recommendations to be discharged.

A further update to report on the recommendations will be provided to Parliament before the end of the parliamentary term and subsequently published on the Scottish Government website.

There has been no investment specifically related to Stranraer waterfront in the current Parliamentary term through Regeneration programmes.

Regeneration has supported a number of projects in Stranraer, including funding for Stranraer Development Trust, within the current parliamentary term.

Following the development of the Stranraer community’s Local Place Plan, the regeneration funding announced in the Scottish Budget will support the delivery of regeneration of the town centre with funding of up to £710k.

The Scottish Government has the utmost sympathy to the women who were prescribed diethylstilbestrol (DES) and the impact it had on them and their families.

However, Scottish Ministers have no plans to establish a working group on this issue as the regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

There are a range of approaches in place which support the prevention of harm to vulnerable young people by those who work with them.

If an organisation has employees or volunteers doing a regulated role, it has a legal duty to report harmful behaviour to Disclosure Scotland. This duty applies whether the person is a member of the PVG scheme or not.

There are also a range or regulatory organisations whose function are to maintain professional standards. For example, the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

We are committed to tackling the underlying issues which influence ideologies and seek to protect the rights of all young people. For example, in schools we have undertaken work, aligned to the implementation of the Equality Act to prevent discrimination; through challenging racism, misogyny, and bullying and through approaches such as LGBT Inclusive Education and Supporting Transgender Young people in Schools Guidance which makes clear the responsibility of schools to support young people who are considering or who have changed their gender identity in order to ensure that they do not experience discrimination within schools and can reach their full potential.

The decision to offer home dialysis to patients is primarily a matter for NHS Boards. Last year, we agreed a national policy to reimburse patients for the additional electricity costs of home dialysis so that patients are not exposed to the impact of high energy prices. It also removes the financial disincentive to making a choice for home dialysis over in-centre treatments, allowing personal choice in where and how to receive treatment.

The SQA is actively addressing issues in respect of unauthorised use of AI in assessment by providing centres and candidates with guidance on appropriate use of AI in assessment: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in assessments - SQA.

While any reports of malpractice are concerning, the number of occurrences identified from National Qualifications candidates are relatively low when compared to the numbers of candidates taking these qualifications. We will continue to monitor any issues as they evolve and work with partners to respond as appropriate.

Education Scotland have also produced guidance on the appropriate use of AI in schools: Teaching and Learning with Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Resources | Education Scotland

The Scottish Government is actively working with local government and teachers’ representatives to develop a set of AI guidelines to support learning and teaching.

The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government does not collect this data.