Within an extremely challenging financial context, the Scottish Government has made difficult funding decisions. Local authorities have received all the funding they have requested for flood protection in 2024-25 and, as such, £26 million from the Flood Risk Management Programme is being repurposed this financial year to support local government pay and avoid impactful industrial action. Decisions on the status of future projects will therefore be made by individual local authorities. We have sought assurances from local authorities through COSLA that redirection of this portion of the funding will not impact on councils progressing with their flood protection schemes as planned.

Successive Scottish budgets have demonstrated Scotland’s commitment to addressing the climate change crisis, using all resources at our disposal to accelerate the just transition to a net zero, climate-resilient and biodiverse Scotland. The 2024-25 Budget committed £4.7 billion for activities with a positive impact on our climate change goals.

Use of ScotWind revenue is an action we would rather not take but must carefully consider given the fiscal challenges faced, given the limited options available under existing fiscal framework arrangements. We will seek to minimise usage of ScotWind in 2024-25 – just as we did in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government’s Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics primarily focus on prosecutions and convictions in criminal courts. However,­­ they also include some non-court disposals, including police-issued Antisocial Behaviour Fixed Penalty Notices (FPNs) and COPFS-issued FPNs. The former are not used for shoplifting offences and the latter are only very rarely used for them. The most recent data show no FPNs issued for shoplifting since 2018-19.

The UK Government’s decision to introduce means-testing of Winter Fuel Payments in England and Wales in 2024-25 significantly reduces the annual funding available to the Scottish Government, by an estimated £140 million to £160 million. It is with deep regret and only following careful consideration that the Scottish Government has decided it must replicate that decision in Scotland and Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will therefore be payable to people over state pension age in receipt of certain benefits. Those benefits are Pension Credit, Income-based Jobseeker’s Allowance, Income-related Employment and Support Allowance, Income Support, Universal Credit, Working Tax Credits and Child Tax Credits (where the award is not less than £26 in respect of the tax year 2024-2025).

Payments of Pension Age Winter Heating Payment in 2024-25 will be made by the Department of Work and Pensions on behalf of the Scottish Government.

ScotRail Trains Ltd. regularly engages with a range of business groups to understand their views. All weekend, later evening and between-peak tickets remain available at off peak rates and many products are available which offer further discounts to passengers depending on their circumstances at all times of the day.

The number of police recorded crimes of shoplifting are published in Table 1 of the Recorded Crime in Scotland bulletins. The latest data is shown in the following table.

The latest labour productivity statistics for Scotland are available at Labour productivity statistics: 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). This reports estimates of gross value added (GVA) per hour worked and per job filled for the whole economy and for industry sectors, including results for the public administration and defence, education, and health and social care sectors. Results from the statistics release for 2022 were reported within the Public sector: economic overview publication available at Public sector: economic overview - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

An update on the Government’s Public Service Reform (PSR) programme will be shared with the Finance and Public Administration Committee setting out the details of a wide range of activity, including work to drive efficiency and effectiveness. A key component of this is the Public Bodies Programme where work is progressing to gather comparable and consistent data across public bodies to interrogate efficiency and effectiveness. This data and our wider engagement will drive a culture of continuous improvement across all public bodies.

Any violence – including that against public sector staff - is a concern and should not be tolerated. The Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland, with over £4 million of funding over the last two years, supports partner organisations, including the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, to deliver priority activity to help tackle violence. This is supporting the delivery of programmes to help prevent violence across Scotland, such as in the Falkirk Council area – and supports the delivery of the Mentors in Violence Prevention school-based programme, which is now operational in eight schools in the area.

We also worked with partners, including COSLA, education authorities, teaching unions and parents and carers representatives, to publish the Relationships and Behaviour in Schools National Action Plan, which includes specific actions in support of reducing violence and significant disruptive behaviour in schools.

The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to doing all it can to reduce harm and deaths caused by drugs through our National Mission.

Whilst drug misuse deaths in Scotland have generally been increasing over the last two decades, the latest figures released for 2023 are the second lowest figure seen in 6 years.

Every life lost to drugs is a tragedy. And I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to all those affected.

Although the decrease in deaths back in 2022 was welcomed at the time, we did also made it clear at that time that it should not, in any way, be seen as a signal to be complacent.

On 4th September 2024 we published the third annual report National Mission on Drugs: annual report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)of the National Mission which summarises activity, progress and achievement in the 23-24 financial year.

Key achievements in 2023-24 include

• Our progress in receiving legal clearance and establishing the UK’s first Safer Drug Consumption Facility. We are now expecting the Glasgow facility to open in the Autumn.
• We are now in the process of establishing drug testing facilities in 3 sites across Scotland. License applications for three drug checking sites, based in Glasgow, Aberdeen and Dundee are currently being assessed by Home Office colleagues and we would hope, once these licenses have been granted, that the sites would be operational by the end of the year.
• Monitoring data from Public Health Scotland also indicates that we are on track to meet our commitment of 1,000 people receiving public funding for Residential Rehab, with data, published showing that in the financial year 2023-24 a total of 938 placements were approved.
• In 2023-24, for MAT standards National benchmarking report on the implementation of the medication assisted treatment (MAT) standards: Scotland 2023/24 revised 30 July 2024 - National benchmarking report on implementation of the medication assisted treatment (MAT) standards - Publications - Public Health Scotland 1–5, 90% have been assessed as fully implemented, and MAT standards 6-10 showed strong early stage progress.

Despite this progress we have seen increased harms with the increased prevalence of new synthetic substances, such as the synthetic opioids nitazenes. The increased toxicity and potency of such substances are of real concern. As such, we are working closely with Public Health Scotland to step up our response to this threat and continue to support the development of their Rapid Action Drug Alert and Response (RADAR) system.

The Scottish Government will continue to follow the evidence of what works and intensify the delivery of the National Mission over the next 2 years, working closely with our key partners to do that, as well as look at its sustainability beyond the end of this parliamentary term.

The Scottish Government remains absolutely committed to doing all it can to reduce harm and deaths caused by drugs through our National Mission and addressing the twin public health challenges on alcohol and drugs.

Long-term thinking has been embedded into the National Mission, as we are investing in a comprehensive range of services, from prevention and early intervention to treatment and long-term recovery support. For example, implementing the Medicated Assisted Treatment (MAT) standards across Scotland, ensures high-quality treatment options for those affected by addiction will be met for years to come.

In addition, capital investment in residential rehabilitation has increased the number of spaces for people, both now and in the future, and our work on tackling stigma aims to fundamentally break down barriers for those seeking support.

The Scottish Government is also developing a National Service Specification alongside guidance, which provide clarity on the types of treatment and recovery services available for drugs and alcohol and in the long term, improve joint working between public and third sector partners. We plan full public consultation on a draft specification with an aim to publish in 2025.

Within the National Mission strategy we are also adapting to new trends such as the change in global markets with the increased prevalence of new synthetic substances, such as the synthetic opioids nitazenes, which is of real concern.

To ensure that our future strategic plans are evidence-based, they will be informed by the National Mission evaluation, with the final publication expected in 2026. In accordance with democratic processes, any future strategic plans will also take into account the outcomes of the 2026 Scottish election.