The Scottish Government published detailed commentary on 16 October 2025 analysing non-governmental amendments to the Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill, which would allow certain terminally ill adults to request medical assistance in ending their lives. The commentary, prepared by the Chief Operating Officer of the NHS Scotland Directorate, aims to foster an informed Parliamentary debate during stage two scrutiny. While maintaining a neutral stance on the Private Member's Bill introduced by Liam McArthur MSP in March 2024, the Scottish Government emphasises its responsibility to assess the technical, legal, and deliverability implications of the proposed amendments. This assessment ensures that the legislation would be practicable if passed at stage three.

Scottish Government has published an analysis of consultation responses to its consultation on proposed updates to guidance within Section 3.3 (Flooding and Groundwater) of the Building Standards Technical Handbooks, with a particular focus on property flood resilience (PFR) for new buildings.

The Scottish Government has published analysis of 401 responses to its consultation on Community Benefits from Net Zero Energy Developments. The consultation examined extending Good Practice Principles beyond onshore wind to offshore developments and other net zero technologies including solar, hydrogen and battery storage. Key findings include widespread support for making community benefits mandatory rather than voluntary, with 73% of respondents favouring continued benchmark funding levels. Most respondents supported standardised principles with technology-specific variations, particularly for funding levels. The analysis recommends early developer engagement, community-led decision-making and enhanced governance frameworks, with particular focus on impacts for rural, island and coastal communities.

The Scottish Government has published a report on the findings of a consultation held as part of an environmental assessment of agricultural tenancies, small landholdings and land management tenancy proposals.  The proposals outlined in the report will now form part of the government’s work in producing the new Land Reform Bill.

The Scottish Government has published an analysis of responses to its consultation on the proposed Wellbeing and Sustainable Development Bill. The Bill seeks to support improved decision-making and the implementation of the National Performance Framework to ensure that all policies and delivery focuses on enhancing the quality of life for people living in Scotland, both now and in the future. The consultation closed on 14 February 2024, and received 180 responses.

The Scottish Government has published responses to its consultation on expanding permitted development rights (PDR) for new homes, revealing strong opposition to the proposed changes. Out of 908 respondents, 96% opposed the PDR for converting ground floors to residential use and 94% opposed conversions above retail premises. These objections primarily stem from concerns that such changes could lead to increased noise complaints affecting music venues and hospitality businesses. Additionally, most respondents rejected proposals to increase limits on rural building conversions and opposed new PDR for replacement or new-build rural homes.

The Scottish Government has published the Scotland’s Climate Change Plan 2026–40, setting out policies and proposals to meet national carbon budgets and progress towards net zero by 2045. The Plan highlights the urgent threat posed by climate change, with increasing extreme weather events in Scotland and globally, and warns that delaying action will result in higher economic and social costs, citing evidence that unchecked warming could reduce UK GDP by up to 8% by 2070. It presents climate action as an opportunity to build a resilient, innovative, and fair economy, noting that Scotland has already halved its emissions since 1990 while achieving significant economic growth and rapid expansion of green jobs. Acknowledging the challenges of the next phase of transition, the government commits to collaborative action across all sectors and levels of governance, working with the UK Government, local authorities, and communities to deliver a just transition.

The Scottish Government has published its summary of responses received under its consultation on potential amendments to the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Regulations 2018. The draft regulations analysed under this consultation address technical provisions relating to water, waste, and industrial activities and seek to amend technical provisions for radioactive substances activities. The consultation ran for 15 weeks, closing on 30 March 2024, and received 50 responses.

The Scottish Government has published feedback on the views received in its consultation on policy proposals in relation to water, wastewater and drainage services. The Scottish Government has noted that the consultation responses are now available to view online and that a consultation analysis report has been published.

The Scottish Government has published its final Biodiversity Strategy to 2045, outlining a comprehensive plan to address biodiversity loss and climate change. The Strategy, accompanied by a the Biodiversity Delivery Plan 2024–2030, sets an ambition for Scotland to become Nature Positive by 2030 and to fully restore and regenerate biodiversity across the country by 2045. Aligned with the Global Biodiversity Framework agreed at COP15, the Strategy details specific outcomes for land, freshwater, and marine and coastal environments. These outcomes are underpinned by several key objectives to guide action, including accelerating restoration efforts, protecting nature on land and at sea, promoting nature-positive practices in farming, fishing and forestry, and investing in nature, among other aspects. It emphasises a collaborative, whole-of-government approach, involving partnerships with farmers, land managers, marine industries, and international stakeholders to address the nature emergency.

The Scottish Government has published a final review of community rights to buy following a four-phase process of evidence gathering, analysis, public consultation, and policy development. The review assesses four rights introduced since 2003 and proposes reforms to increase their use, address stakeholder concerns, and ensure fair and sustainable outcomes. It recommends simplifying the framework by merging certain compulsory rights while retaining separate provisions for non-compulsory and crofting rights, alongside standardising terminology and improving clarity. It also proposes lowering eligibility thresholds for community bodies, considering adjustments to ballot requirements, and maintaining petition thresholds to balance accessibility with demonstrable support. For late applications, it retains key safeguards while streamlining processes and clarifying requirements, and confirms that landowners may withdraw assets from sale. The review further supports the continued use of third-party purchasers with additional safeguards, explores increased transparency around option agreements, maintains existing appeal timescales, and proposes extending registration periods to reduce administrative burden. It also introduces practical improvements, including enhanced guidance, a public register of compliant community bodies, and simplified procedures to improve accessibility and consistency.

The Scottish Government has published a ministerial statement by Net Zero and Energy Cabinet Secretary, Màiri McAllan regarding the greenhouse gas emissions statistics for 2022. In 2022, Scottish emissions decreased by 50.0% since 1990. This represents a 0.1% reduction from 2021, marking the halfway point to net zero emissions. However, these statistics indicate that Scotland did not meet its 2022 target of a 53.8% reduction in emissions.