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On 14 February 2025, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) published the final report of its market study into the UK infant and follow-on formula market. CMA set out 11 recommendations to the Scottish, Welsh and UK Governments and Northern Ireland Executive.

Today, I can confirm the four nations have published a joint : to CMA’s recommendations. This response complements the range of measures taking place in Scotland to support new parents and carers on their infant feeding journeys, including our five year plan: for infant feeding and breastfeeding, country wide accreditation of the UNICEF Baby Friendly Initiative and our continued commitment to protect all parents from inappropriate marketing of infant formula. Scotland can play an important and leading role in addressing Infant Food Insecurity given our Government’s core mission to eradicate child poverty.

Whilst there are important measures to welcome, I have also reiterated to the UK Government the need to do more to address challenges which necessitate a strong four-nations response. This is particularly relevant for how and where retailers are located geographically, and where baby food and infant formula prices are further inflated in different parts of the UK. This has a particularly acute impact on rural and island communities in Scotland who already face higher prices for groceries, and I am considering how we may take rapid action to both assess and address how we might mitigate this for families.

Getting the right nutrition at the start is crucial for a baby’s healthy growth and development. While we remain fully committed to supporting breastfeeding, which brings significant benefits for mothers and babies, we recognise that some families cannot, or choose not to, breastfeed. For families that do not exclusively breastfeed, infant formula is an essential item. The CMA makes a strong case that action is needed to give parents and carers confidence to choose lower priced products and encourage manufacturers and retailers to compete more on price.

There are already regulations that require all infant formula and follow-on formula manufacturers to comply with robust nutritional and compositional standards, alongside rules on how formula milk products are labelled, presented and advertised to protect parents and carers from inappropriate claims or promotions. This means all infant formula sold on the UK market is safe, when used appropriately, and meets the nutritional needs of babies, regardless of the price or brand.

In this joint UK response to the CMA’s recommendations, the four nations set out a strong package of measures. This package seeks to support parents and carers to make better-informed decisions if they need, or choose, to use infant formula and place downward pressure on the price. It focuses on ensuring comprehensive and accessible information in healthcare and retail settings, and places emphasis on encouraging retailers to voluntarily implement measures to better enable product comparison and stimulate competition between brands. In Scotland we will consider existing enforcement processes and update and clarify guidance to strengthen adherence, where needed.

The UK Government has also committed to reviewing existing infant formula legislation to ensure retailers can accept food bank vouchers, gift cards and loyalty points as part or full payment for infant formula. The Scottish Government and Food Standards Scotland will work closely with the UK Department of Health and Social Care and the other Devolved Governments on guidance clarifying what is permissible under the existing legislation in Scotland. This is due to publish shortly.

We will continue working with the UK Government and Devolved Governments. However, we will keep this package of measures under review to consider whether further action can be taken in Scotland in line with our mission to end child poverty.

Improving access to primary care is a key priority for this Government. We recognise the vital role that GPs, community nurses, pharmacists, dentists and other members of the primary care team play as the foundation of healthcare in our communities.

We are committed to strengthening the whole primary care system, building on our ongoing commitment through the Service Renewal Framework to shift more care into community settings and make services more accessible for patients.

As part of this, we will develop options for new and innovative ways to improve access to primary care, including local walk-in models which will provide more flexibility for patients. It is our intention to develop proposals for a model would see these services open Monday-Sunday. We will develop these proposals first as a pilot model which will complement current core general practice and provide a range of same-day assessment and small-scale diagnostics. To do this we will work in collaboration with NHS Boards and primary care delivery partners to ensure they strengthen, rather than duplicate, existing primary care services.

The Scottish Government will set out further details as these plans develop.

Following discussions with a number of stakeholders and experts over recent weeks, I have decided to delay implementation of the muirburn provisions until the start of the next muirburn season in Autumn 2026.

This decision will provide us with the time and opportunity to carefully consider the upcoming changes to muirburn and how these changes can be brought forward in a way which does not adversely affect our ability to prevent and respond to wildfires. Wildfires as I saw this summer, are very damaging to our precious peatland carbon stores and further discussions on this issue will take place with key stakeholders and at the Wildfire Summit on 14 October 2025.

The Scottish Government recognises and values the crucial role of Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) in delivering preventative care, early intervention, and rehabilitation across Scotland. To support AHPs in balancing the demands of system pressures with service delivery, the Government invests in workforce development, provides access to professional guidance and resources, and promotes collaborative, multidisciplinary working. AHPs are also supported in maintaining their own wellbeing to sustain high-quality care.

Despite voting to stay in the EU, Scotland was forced to leave with the UK. That means putting in place trade barriers for both exports and imports that create costs for businesses and consumers. Checks on imports from the EU stem from Brexit and, as Parliament will be aware, that interacts with devolved responsibilities.

Scottish Ministers agreed to adopt the post-Brexit Border Target Operating Model (BTOM) in August 2023. This outlined how checks on goods would begin in phases and be assessed on a sliding scale of risk. While physical and identity checks on most imports from the EU began on 30 April 2024, no definitive start date was announced for Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) checks on imports from Ireland arriving into Great Britain (GB) via west coast ports.

In May 2025, the UK Government announced a Common Understanding with the EU with a view to negotiating a ‘Common Sanitary and Phytosanitary Area’. It could, if agreed, exempt many imports of live animals and other goods from EU countries from SPS checks at the border – something the Scottish Government has long advocated for. As a result of this negotiation, Ministers from all four nations have agreed to pause the further implementation of the BTOM at this time.

This pause applies to two categories of goods. Firstly, on the introduction of new import controls on EU and EEA live animal imports. So, at present, there will be no introduction of inspections on EU live animals at the GB border, and a continuation of inspections at destination. Existing BCP checks on goods from the EU will remain in place and controls on rest of the world goods, including transit movements, will continue.

Secondly, there will also be a pause on the introduction of new checks on certain plant and animal goods arriving from Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland (termed ). For these goods there will be continued
pre-notification and certification (where required) but further documentary, identity and physical inspections at the border will not be introduced at the moment.

The UK Government to outline this policy change on
18 August 2025 to ensure traders are aware that the current inspection regime will remain in place until a new SPS agreement is negotiated and implemented with the EU.

As part of this recent engagement, the UK Government committed to engaging collaboratively with Devolved Governments during the SPS negotiations with the EU. We will also continue to engage with the UK Government to formulate and introduce anti-avoidance measures to tackle illicit trade and balance Scotland’s trade and biosecurity interests.