In 2023, the Scottish Government provided Public Health Scotland with funding to undertake a scoping exercise with a view to developing a respiratory audit programme. However, due to current fiscal challenges, it has not yet been possible to progress this work further.

We recognise the importance of having access to meaningful data in relation to respiratory services and we are carefully considering the best way that this can be achieved going forward.

The Scottish Government’s Respiratory Care Action Plan (RCAP) sets out our priorities from 2021 to 2026 for driving improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support of people living with respiratory conditions. A number of areas included in the RCAP are broad priorities requiring continuous work rather than finite commitments that can be completed.

We have undertaken action against every area of the Plan.

To give just some examples, significant steps have been taken on preventing respiratory disease with the launch of the Cleaner Air for Scotland Strategy, Warmer Homes Strategy and the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan that have their own specific recommendations and targets, and all of which embed respiratory prevention into wider Scottish Government policy.

In 2024, we published the Quality Prescribing Strategy for Respiratory: A Guide for Improvement 2024-2027 that sets out our ambitions for better access to respiratory care. This can be found here --https://www.gov.scot/publications/quality-prescribing-strategy-respiratory-guide-improvement-2024-2027

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery based at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital is developing national patient pathways for respiratory conditions including severe asthma, COPD and sleep apnoea. This work aligns closely with the commitments in the RCAP.

There is no funding solely allocated to the Respiratory Care Action Plan (RCAP) in 2025-2026. However, a number of the commitments in the Plan are being addressed by work that is part of other Scottish Government strategies– such as the Cleaner Air for Scotland Strategy, Warmer Homes Strategy, and the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan - or by additional funding we have provided to NHS Boards on a broader basis to make improvements that apply regardless of condition. This means it is difficult to break down funding we provide to various areas and organisations that is spent on delivering commitments listed in the RCAP.

For example, we are investing a record £21.7bn in our NHS in Scotland in 2025-2026, this includes £200m to reduce waiting times, which will deliver additional MRI, CT, ultrasound and endoscopy procedures and supports the delivery of the RCAP commitment to improve and simplify access to appropriate diagnostic tests.

The Scottish and UK Governments are working jointly, along with trade unions, to fund a tailored skills intervention for workers facing redundancy at the Grangemouth Refinery. This is designed to support the transition of the impacted workforce through the job market into in-demand industries. Forth Valley College (FVC) are the delivery provider.

Given the urgent nature of the work, both governments meet weekly to discuss this intervention. Our priority focus is ensuring that all eligible members of the workforce have access to training aligned to their redundancy. However, it is critical that this intervention retains skilled workers in the Scottish economy and we will continue working with partners to understand how it can support workers to play a central role as future low carbon projects are phased in at Grangemouth.

Ensuring that workers and communities currently reliant on oil and gas are protected and indeed, stand to benefit from the transition to net zero is central to the rationale underlying our wider Just Transition policy.

The Grangemouth Just Transition plan will be an iterative document that is subject to ongoing monitoring and evaluation and this will inform wider policy development around the transition to net zero at a local level.

We will continue to work with stakeholders across Scotland’s energy system, doing all we can within our power to identify priority areas for action.

Private sector investment in energy and infrastructure projects will be critical to realise a just transition at Grangemouth. That is why our final Just Transition Plan will seek to instruct and mobilise wider support from investors and developers, centred around the clear opportunities present at Grangemouth.

The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of Project Willow and its recommendations which set out a transformative future for parts of the Grangemouth cluster, if the public and private sectors work together.

To support this, Scottish Enterprise and the UK Office for Investment have established an “Investor Taskforce” to identify and attract investors with an interest in progressing the Project Willow proposals. I would encourage any interested investor to engage with Scottish Enterprise in the first instance to explore how any opportunity could be progressed.

The Scottish Government recognises the critical challenges and opportunities in transitioning towards a circular economy within the textiles and mattress sectors.

As set out in the Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030, we are considering textiles and mattresses as priority products and have committed to publishing a Product Stewardship plan by 2026. We will continue to engage with stakeholders across these sectors to develop policies and actions that will tackle the environmental impact of priority products throughout their lifespan, including disposal options.

Furthermore, from 31 December this year, we will end the practice of landfilling biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) in Scotland from 31 December 2025.

We are presently running a Call for Evidence (CfE) on the potential extension of the BMW ban. This CfE seeks to support consideration of extending the landfill ban to include non-municipal biodegradable wastes by:

• filling information gaps on the types of waste that could fall under an extended ban, as well as their characteristics and environmental impacts;
• filling information gaps on the feasibility of alternative (non-landfill) treatment options for wastes that could fall under an extended ban;
• supporting consideration of any barriers to diverting wastes from landfill;
• To understand if there are wastes for which landfill remains the best option and;
• considering other policies, their timings and interactions with an extended ban that could support the diversion of waste from landfill.

The CfE is being run as part of a wider consultation on potential changes to waste management services in Scotland which also includes a consultation on whether textile collections should be a mandatory requirement for local authorities in Scotland.

The consultation launched on 25 March 2025 and will close on 17 June 2025. You can access and respond to this consultation here: Changes to waste management services - Scottish Government consultations - Citizen Space.

It is our aim to publish final outputs from the evaluation of the early adopter community (EAC) work in the second half of 2026.

As outlined in our previous answer, due to the significant financial challenges facing the Scottish Government as a result of budget choices made at Westminster, Ministers have had to make tough decisions for the current parliamentary session to protect our existing investment in childcare. This includes almost £1 billion a year for local authorities to deliver our current offer of 1140 hours of high quality, funded early learning and childcare. We are working with local authorities to maximise uptake of our existing offer for eligible 2 year olds to ensure that as many children as possible benefit from the offer and investing up to £16 million over 2024-25 and 2025-26 in the six council areas participating in the EAC work.

I can announce today that Scottish Ministers have decided that a direct award should be made to CalMac Ferries Limited. The due diligence work has concluded there is no financial, operational or legal impediment to proceeding with a Teckal-compliant direct award of CHFS3.

This is a unique opportunity to change the emphasis from a commercially driven arrangement to a public-focused service wholly directed at meeting the important and particular needs of the communities it serves. Discussions will continue with staff, island residents, businesses and communities and trade unions on the arrangements so that the new contract reflects local needs and interests. Transport Scotland is now working closely with CalMac Ferries Ltd on the necessary arrangements for commencement of the new contract on 1 October 2025. I will ensure that Parliament is kept updated about progress on those new arrangements.

Taken together with our ongoing investment in new vessels and infrastructure, this will improve the overall resilience and capacity of these services, particularly for the future, as set out in the recently published Islands Connectivity Plan.