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The Scottish Government has been taking forward the detailed work that is necessary as a consequence of the ruling. Since the judgment, we have:

• Engaged with Health Boards on the requirement to implement the Supreme Court judgment in line with their own legal advice. On 30 September, the Director of Health Workforce wrote to Health Boards to reinforce the importance of complying with the law, and the Supreme Court judgment implemented. Application of the law following the Supreme Court ruling remains a matter for Boards, in accordance with their own legal advice.
• Published revised Supporting Transgender Pupils in Schools Guidance, while recognising that the EHRC are also reviewing Technical Guidance for schools;
• Advanced joint work with Police Scotland, with a public consultation on the Stop and Search Code of Practice scheduled before the end of this year.
• There have been no changes to prisons guidance.

We have also:

• Updated our guidance for the Gender Representation on Public Boards (Scotland) Act 2018.
• Amended the public appointments recruitment process for public bodies subject to the Act, now collating and using biological sex at birth data to apply the Act.
• Moved to an interim Trans and Non-Binary Inclusion Policy, removing a line regarding facilities use, while we develop new policy and guidance in consultation with trade unions.
• Conducted an initial review of facilities across the SG estate with a more detailed review now underway to ensure our provision meets the needs of staff and legal requirements.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The SPS Policy for the Management of Transgender People in Custody protects the rights and welfare of transgender people living in Scotland’s prisons in a way which promotes the safety of all people in custody.

When placing a transgender person within our estate, we adopt an individualised approach to ensure the safety of everyone in our care by assessing and managing identified known risk.

There is a total of 21 transgender people in custody representing 0.3% of the total prison population. As a public body we must uphold our statutory obligation to ensure everyone in our care has their personal information protected. Given these small numbers, we are unable to provide any further disaggregation of this data due to potential risk of identification of individuals.

SPS also aim to publish prison numbers and relevant data on a quarterly basis, the last of which can be found

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS hold our serving staff and prospective staff to the highest of standards.

In accordance with relevant legislation, including UK GDPR and UK Employment Law, SPS already undertakes a broad range of suitability and vetting checks on those who apply to work for SPS. These include right to work in the UK, criminal conviction checks and a range of vetting procedures which are undertaken against SPS systems and information sources to assess suitability for employment.

SPS’s pre-employment checks exceed the minimum requirements under the UK Government Baseline Personnel Security Standards, which set the standards for employment within the UK Civil Service.

SPS continually assesses the suitability of its recruitment practices to identify and respond to emerging risks. Where necessary, steps are taken to mitigate these as part of our commitment to maintaining the safety and security of our prisons.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Whilst SPS do not require prison officer applicants to complete a specific English language proficiency test as part of its recruitment process; verbal, written and comprehension skills are tested thoroughly throughout this operational recruitment process.

All applicants must successfully undergo and pass a comprehensive period of testing which includes a situational judgement test, cognitive ability test, a group and written exercise (for Residential Officer applicants only), and then finally a values-based job interview.

All offers of employment will however be subject to successful completion of all pre-employment checks, which include enhanced disclosure and right to work in the UK checks.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with Commonwealth Games Scotland, considered multiple venues across Glasgow for Team Scotland House. The Corinthian was assessed as the best venue based on several factors, including proximity to travel routes, security and space requirements.

In its 2025-26 Budget, the Scottish Government maintained a competitive non-domestic rates package including the most generous small business rates relief in the UK.

Following the decision in the UK Budget to implement a retail-specific discounted business rate in England from April 2026, the Scottish Government has received representations from retail representative organisations including the Scottish Retail Consortium and others through correspondence and through the Non-Domestic Rates Consultative Group.

We expect Health Boards to plan for their workforce in conjunction with their responsibilities under the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019. The Act places duties on Health Boards to ensure that at all times suitably qualified and competent individuals are working in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, wellbeing and safety of patients, the provision of high-quality care and the wellbeing of staff.

On the 29 October I announced the establishment of the Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce. The Taskforce will complement the existing audit and inspection system in place in Scotland, and provide support and expertise on implementation of policy, service standards, and improvement activity across NHS Boards. It will be chaired by the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health.

The Scottish Government is also taking action as part of the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce (NMT) to drive lasting change to improve retention and attraction into these professions. The NMT recommended actions are designed to have a meaningful and lasting impact on workforce wellbeing. They aim to address key issues such as workload, professional development, and workplace culture to create a more supportive and sustainable environment for Nurses and Midwives to work.

The Scottish Government offers a competitive non-domestic rates regime to support businesses and communities worth an estimated £730 million in 2025-26, with nearly half of all non-domestic properties in Scotland paying no rates. This includes the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS), the most generous relief scheme of its kind in the UK, which reduces the rates bill for small businesses by nearly £250 million as at June 2025.

The Scottish Government recognises the report’s findings on increasing pressure on Shetland’s marine space from energy developments and will use it to inform our fisheries co-existence work.

We are committed to managing Scotland’s seas to ensure sustainable use of resources and to minimise impacts on existing users, including fishers.

Shetland’s fishing fleet and the wider Scottish sector are vital to our economy and communities, and we aim to secure a prosperous future for them while meeting net zero targets. To achieve this, we are updating the Sectoral Marine Plan for offshore wind, developing National Marine Plan 2, and commissioning work on cumulative impacts.

Fishing representatives are key stakeholders in these processes, and we will continue to engage with them through planning and consenting stages, alongside workstreams under the Scottish Offshore Wind Energy Council to support coexistence between offshore wind and fisheries.