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Health marketing campaigns are one intervention used by the Scottish Government to support the population of Scotland to live healthy and active lives. They typically support wider programmes of activity or run alongside other interventions.

Where possible, marketing campaigns are evaluated using bespoke quantitative research, as well as where appropriate and available, indicators of direct response to a campaign such as visits to a particular website or web pages, calls to a helpline, vaccine uptake, cancer referrals, etc – during the campaign period.

Quantitative research typically provides campaign related metrics such as awareness, recognition, message take-out, engagement and action taken in response. Knowledge, attitudes and claimed behaviour among the target audience are often also measured and sometimes tracked pre to post campaign or over the longer term.

QALY (quality-adjusted life years) is a metric that is typically used in the evaluation of wider programmes of work or longer term interventions, where felt to be appropriate.

All Scottish Government media planning and buying is proposed by media agencies appointed in call-off arrangements from the Media Planning, Buying and Associated Services Frameworks. The Providers of the Framework services have all been successful as a result of competition which evaluates Quality and Price, therefore offering the Most Economically Advantageous Tender(s) within the market place.

Media agencies take an evidence-based approach to developing a media strategy to deliver campaign objectives reflecting audience media consumption. All media plans and schedules procured in the call-off arrangements from media agencies are robustly assessed by Scottish Government marketing teams, across a range of different criteria including audience reach and frequency by channel; effectiveness of the media mix in delivering against SMART marketing objectives and policy outcomes; along-side quality and price.

As detailed in the answer to question S6W-30730 on 20 November 2024, individual campaign requirements were assessed on a case by case basis further to the implementation of emergency spending controls, and decisions on whether or not to proceed with planned activity were taken in line with Scottish Government priorities, the desired policy aims and outcomes, and budget impact. 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.

As part of the process to assess essential marketing expenditure for 2024-25, the use of paid-for-media activity is considered where it is required to help achieve specific policy outcomes. This can include a requirement to reach specific audiences or to ensure audiences are presented with messages a number of times to achieve the desired impact.

Marketing activity and campaigns that are without expenditure, such as no-cost approaches that have no external production, service or media costs, continue to support delivery of policy outcomes as part of the communications mix.

Since the announcement of the freeze on marketing expenditure, the following public health campaigns have subsequently been assessed and approved to run in 2024-25 in line with the process set out in the answer to question S6W-30726 on 20 November 2024, and the desired health outcomes and aims that need to be achieved for each.

• Early Cancer Detection – Detect Cancer Earlier

• Dementia Stigma

• Appropriate Use of NHS Services - Right Care Right Place

• Adult Mental Health

• Organ Donation & Tissue

• Winter Vaccines (delivered by Public Health Scotland)

• The Importance of Home Recovery - Home First

• Sexual Assault Referral Centres

• Abortion Safe Access Zones

All activity is developed and evaluated against SMART objectives to help deliver policy outcomes, which includes actions that contribute to improving or saving lives. Where there is substantial spend on paid-for media, quantitative evaluation is carried out by an independent research agency to assess campaign performance. Return on investment is considered to assess the number of people in a target audience who can be reached, and how frequently, via a particular media channel to ensure campaigns are delivered cost-effectively.

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.

Following the implementation of emergency spending controls (which included the public sector marketing expenditure freeze), a process was put in place across all policy areas to rigorously assess which essential marketing expenditure should still proceed in 2024-25 and what activity can be halted or postponed. This assessment process is aligned with the 4 key priorities of the Scottish Government and with individual policy outcomes. All Scottish Government marketing expenditure with an essential need for 2024-25 is subject to the First Minister’s approval.

For clarity, the Scottish Government has not suspended public health marketing campaigns and remains committed to the importance that campaigns have in communicating public health priorities. It should be noted, however, that marketing is just one of a number of interventions that can affect health outcomes.

The freeze on public sector marketing expenditure was part of a wider exercise to introduce the necessary emergency spending controls to achieve a balanced budget. Cabinet Secretaries were given a directive to freeze all marketing expenditure with immediate effect, with any spend deemed essential then requiring to be assessed accordingly in line with individual policy priorities and outcomes, and approved by the First Minister before proceeding. Many campaigns have gone ahead.

Further details on this process are set out in the answer to question S6W-30726 on 20 November 2024, alongside the now approved public health campaigns listed in the answer to question S6W-30729 on 20 November 2024. 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.

The usual timing of the annual implementation of changes to ferry fares has been consistent for many years and is defined in the Northern Isles Ferry Services (NIFS) contract as January and the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) contracts as the start of CHFS summer timetable.

Annual outturn against budget is provided in the Scottish Government’s Consolidated Accounts. Results on a portfolio basis are reported within the Summary of Total Outturn section, and more detailed portfolio information is included within the relevant Consolidated Portfolio Outturn Statement.

In 2023-24, the Scottish Government reported an overall underspend of £277 million, representing 0.5% of the total budget. The underspend in 2022-23 was £509 million, 1% of that year’s total budget.

The underspends do not represent a loss of spending power to the Scottish Government. Under the current devolution settlement, the Scottish Government must manage spending within fixed limits. It is not allowed to overspend its budget and has limited powers to carry forward funding through the Scotland Reserve. As a consequence, the Scottish Government has consistently adopted a position of controlling public expenditure to ensure we live within the budget limits that apply, whilst remaining able to carry forward any fiscal underspends for use in a future year within the current Scotland Reserve Limits.

The Scottish Government’s Consolidated Accounts are published annually and are available on the Scottish Government’s website.

2023-24:

scottish-government-consolidated-accounts-year-ended-31-march-2024.pdf (www.gov.scot)

2022-23:

The Scottish Government Consolidated Accounts for the year ended 31 March 2023 (www.gov.scot)

This Scottish Government has made no assessment. As per the terms of the Clyde & Hebrides Ferry Services contract CalMac are required to consider and address capacity issues. As part of this they record and publish carrying statistics.