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The Scottish Government is committed to working with our international partners to secure a global transition to a net zero and resilient future in a way that is fair and just for all.

COPs are an important opportunity for international partners to come together, share lessons and agree action. Scotland will continue to play our part at COPs, making the case for greater inclusion of devolved governments and ensuring climate justice is at the heart of international climate action.

No decision on SG attendance has yet been made in relation to COP29. A decision regarding ministerial attendance will be taken in due course.

a) NHS Boards are informed of their individual baseline funding on the day of the Scottish Budget announcement. In the last five years, this has been:

2020-21 – 6 February 2020

2021-22 – 28 January 2021

2022-23 – 9 December 2021

2023-24 – 15 December 2022

2024-25 – 19 December 2023

b) Baseline funding is further supplemented by Scottish Government directorate funding allocations throughout each financial year, to arrive at the NHS Board revenue resource limits (RRL). NHS Boards draw cash from the Scottish Government throughout the year as required, based on the value of their RRL.

In year changes can happen depending on in year consequentials received from UK decision making. This uncertainty on funding makes it difficult to have long term financial planning for the Scottish Government, boards and our other partners including community and voluntary sector organisations.

Engaging with people is an important way to ensure that the Scottish Government get a range of views when developing policies and we continue to engage with stakeholders and third sector organisations to progress the work on PLGF- based testing implementation. As part of this commitment, Officials have recently met with Action against Pre-eclampsia (APEC) who champion PLGF implementation.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care wrote to NHS Boards on 22 May, World Pre-Eclampsia day, to re-emphasize the importance of PLGF-based testing and to request an update on implementation plans within boards.

The findings from the Heriot-Watt study present a disturbing picture of racial and sexual abuse that food delivery drivers have experienced in the course of their work.

The Scottish Government is clear that there is no place for harassment or abuse in the workplace, and everyone deserves to be respected and to feel safe in their working environment no matter their job or industry. All employers have a duty of care to protect the health, safety and welfare of their workers.

While the legal powers governing Health and Safety and Employment are reserved, this government will continue to promote its Fair Work policy, to make workplaces fairer and more inclusive but also safer and healthier environments for all workers. We encourage all employers to have in place robust workplace policies for handling issues such as bullying or harassment.

We are developing, and will publish by summer, a delivery plan for the refreshed Equally Safe Strategy to enable its aims and vision to be progressed in a practical way. This strategy seeks to prevent and address all forms of violence against women and girls, including in the workplace, specifically violence, abuse, and exploitation directed at them because of their gender. This behaviour is predominantly carried out by men and stems from deep-rooted gender inequality.

The Veterans Mental Health Advisory Group was established to progress the Veterans Mental Health & Wellbeing Action Plan. Tackling stigma is a key objective.

A Veterans Voice group serves to ensure the views of veterans inform the development and implementation of proposals emerging from the Advisory Group. This lived experience group will play a vital role in ensuring we remove barriers that prevent veterans from accessing mental health support.

Additionally, the Scottish Government has worked in partnership with See Me Veterans | End Mental Health Stigma and Discrimination (seemescotland.org) providing £50,000 to tackle stigma and promote the importance of veterans seeking help for mental health issues.

The operation of e-gates at the UK Border is the responsibility of the UK Government. There is no role for the Scottish Government in the operational or policy matters relating to the UK Border.

The Scottish Government has established the Graduate Apprenticeship Enhancement Group. It held its first meeting in April and met again in May. Membership includes Universities Scotland, Colleges Scotland, representatives from universities and colleges, Scottish Funding Council, Skills Development Scotland, Student Awards Agency for Scotland and members of the Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board. Former and current Graduate Apprentices will also be invited to join the group. The Group is developing the workstreams which will support its work.

I recognise the need to provide stability and encourage investment in the community pharmacy network and my officials are in discussions with Community Pharmacy Scotland to reach a financial settlement for 2024-25 which both meets our policy objectives and the needs of the network.

The Scottish Government continues to provide annual grant funding to Veterans Scotland who have developed Veterans Assist. This online resource signposts and connects the veterans community and their families with the organisations and services best placed to provide the information, advice and support they need from across Scotland. This includes information on the various Armed Forces and veterans Champions, including in Health Boards and Local Authorities, as well as information on healthcare, housing, employability, finances and more.

In relation to healthcare, and to better support veterans and their families access and engage with primary healthcare providers, the General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans Recognition Scheme opened to General Practices across Scotland in November 2023. By providing easily accessible training materials, the scheme aims to raise awareness among General Practice teams of some of the health challenges that veterans and Armed Forces families face as a result of military service. The training is currently being further developed for use by staff in secondary care.

The Scottish Government also continues to provide funding support to Housing Options Scotland, which specialises in providing free, independent, and bespoke cross-tenure housing information, advice, and advocacy services to disabled people, older people and, through its Military Matters project, members of the Armed Forces and veterans community.

In addition, the Scottish Government is also looking at making kitemarking a requirement for all organisations that receive grant funding through the Scottish Veterans Fund from this financial year onwards, so that recipients can demonstrate their commitment to being welcoming and inclusive to our LGBTQI+ veterans. The Scottish Government, in March 2023, also launched a campaign working with the business community to help employers understand the benefits that veterans bring to the civilian workforce, which in turn supports changing perceptions, tackling stigma and increasing employment opportunities for veterans.

The General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans Recognition Scheme opened to General Practices across Scotland in November 2023. The scheme aims to raise awareness among General Practice teams of some of the health challenges that veterans and Armed Forces families face as a result of military service. The training itself is easily accessible through NHS Scotland’s Digital learning platform and is currently being further developed for use by staff in secondary care.

During 2020, the Scottish Government, in partnership with local authorities, MOD and Veterans Scotland, promoted and distributed Armed Forces and Veterans awareness training to all local authorities in Scotland via the network of Armed Forces and Veterans Champions. The training package also provided sources of further information and support for the veterans and Armed Forces community.

While training is currently available, it is for individual practices and local authorities themselves to determine the mandatory training requirements of their staff.