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Social Security Scotland is committed to delivering services with dignity, fairness and respect for all people, including veterans and service members. This includes activities to advance its equality outcome to improve the service and experiences of diverse clients, including veterans. Progress will be formally reported in the organisation’s Mainstreaming Equality Report in 2027.

The Scottish Government is supportive of innovations developed in Scotland being commercialised in Scotland.

Through Scottish Enterprise we have established the Medical Device Manufacturing Centre(MDMC) which is a pan-Scotland collaboration with five universities (Heriot-Watt, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee and Robert Gordon). This provides Scottish medical device developers and manufacturers with free advice, technical expertise, and facilities essential for companies that are seeking to translate medical device concepts to commercial products. Technology specialists assist companies with the translation of medical device concepts into small-batch prototypes by offering technical expertise, state-of-the-art equipment and access to health informatics and NHS collaboration. Additionally, the MDMC provides support for clinical trial design.

As well as commercialisation, the Scottish Government also wants to see patients in Scotland benefit from Scottish innovations. The Scottish Government fund three NHS Regional Innovation Hubs to facilitate the development of new technologies, products and services. They enhance the NHS's capacity and capability to engage in innovative activities across the triple helix of industry, academia, third sector and the NHS to develop and scale innovative solutions that address the evolving needs of our healthcare system.

The Scottish Government is working with Forth Valley College, UK Government, Skills Development Scotland and Petroineos to track workers affected by the closure of the Grangemouth refinery as part of our jointly funded Refinery Skills Intervention which is currently ongoing. Ministers have persistently requested this information from Petroineos but this has not been received despite the business previous commitments to do so.

Our initial evidence shows that workers are being supported into new employment in in-demand industries, including roles with Scottish Power, Forth Ports and Syngenta. However, we do not have exact figures despite asking PetroIneos to share any data on destinations they may have.

The Scottish Government is continuing to do all it can to support workers at the Grangemouth refinery through the funding of training, tailored specifically to their future career needs.

The ownership status of assets is an operational matter for Scottish Water. Scottish Water have advised that they are carrying out investigations to establish the ownership status of Glasgow Harbour Tunnel and will write to you directly with a response once they have concluded their investigations.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to investigate a new rail link connecting Edinburgh airport to the current Edinburgh to Glasgow rail line.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review, published in 2022, did consider this but did not identify this as a priority for investment given the current opportunities that exist for air passengers travelling by rail from Glasgow and the west, to interchange with the Edinburgh Tram service to the airport.

The Government remains committed to supporting sustainable and integrated transport solutions that strengthen Scotland’s connectivity and economic resilience.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is engaging Historic Environment Scotland regarding the future of HMP Barlinnie and whether any part of the buildings at the prison would be considered for listed building status. This is an important part of SPS’ considerations around the future direction of the site and sale.

Glasgow Prestwick Airport operates on a commercial basis and at arm's length from Scottish Ministers. The airport's management have been working hard to develop new commercial opportunities, which is evidenced by the launch of scheduled freight services between GPA and China earlier this summer.

These new services provide fast, direct access to the growing Chinese market for premium Scottish food and beverage products.

My officials are in regular contact with GPA and have received trading updates which show considerable growth in GPA's revenues as a result of GPA's success in securing new freight services.

Kaldor’s growth laws align with the Scottish Government’s economic and industrial strategies through emphasis on sectoral growth as a driver for overall economic progress. The National Strategy for Economic Transformation outlines a ten-year plan to build a fair, green and growing economy, focusing on entrepreneurship, new markets, productivity, skills and equitable opportunities. The Green Industrial Strategy, published in 2024, identifies wind, carbon capture, professional and financial services, hydrogen, and clean industries as priority sectors, with targeted investment in these areas to maximise benefits from the global move to net zero.

Furthermore, the 2025 Programme for Government sets out investment in priority sectors such as renewable energy and advanced manufacturing.

Scottish Government analysts have access to the Office for National Statistics Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR). The IDBR is a database of all businesses registered for Value-Added-Tax (VAT) and/or Pay-As-You-Earn (PAYE) income tax. The IDBR includes address information, turnover and employment data for businesses operating in Scotland.

We cannot share information from the IDBR on individual businesses. All data on the IDBR are treated as restricted commercial and are protected by specific legislation. The disclosure of data relating to individual undertakings without consent is prohibited under the Statistics of Trade Act 1947.

The IDBR can only be used for valid statistical research purposes and the confidentiality of the data has to be preserved in outputs and publications. This includes, for example, the Scottish Government Business in Scotland publication, the latest edition of which can be found at: Businesses in Scotland: 2024 - gov.scot.

We are aware that SEPA pay negotiations with Unison, continue with regular, engagement and dialogue.

SEPA’s initial informal offer was for a split pay offer of 2% for 9 months and 3% for 3 months for 2025-26. With further years to be determined once the Scottish Government pay award was known. SEPA agreed with Unison to wait for the Scottish Government pay offer before making any formal offer.

SEPA have informed Unison they wished to implement an interim payment from 1 April 2025 to alleviate any financial hardship whilst pay negotiations continue, Unison rejected this suggestion.

The 2025-26 Public Sector Pay Policy sets out the framework for pay increases for staff pay remits and applies to public sector employers including SEPA. Public sector employers are expected to explore fair and sustainable pay levels in dialogue with trade unions considering associated funding options and living within available budget.