Chamber and committees

Those are complex corporate decisions that are being arrived at. As we do in all such circumstances, we will offer the engagement of the Deputy First Minister and Scottish Enterprise to determine whether there are any steps that we can take to assist in relation to the legitimate points that Mr Johnson puts to me about the importance of retaining headquarters functions and the effectiveness of those organisations in Scotland. We will engage on that basis.

I frequently set out to Parliament the record of this Government, on which I am very proud to stand. We are giving young people and their families the best start in life by providing the most extensive early learning and childcare offer in the United Kingdom. On housing, we have delivered 47 per cent more affordable homes per head of population than have been delivered in England, and 73 per cent more than in Wales, where the Labour Party has been in power for even longer than we have been in power in Scotland.

On waiting times, we promised that an additional 64,000 NHS procedures would be delivered in a 12-month period, and 75,500 extra procedures were delivered in the period to January 2025. This Government is focused on eradicating child poverty, improving our public services, achieving net zero and boosting the economy. That is what this Government is about, and that is what we are delivering for the people of Scotland, day in and day out.

As the Supreme Court judgment narrates, there is a complex reconciliation of two pieces of legislation that the Scottish Government is obliged to work within. Those are the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010. I remind Russell Findlay that, on two occasions, the Scottish Government legislation that was passed in 2018, which was the subject of the legal challenge, was supported by decisions taken in courts in Scotland. That was not the case in the Supreme Court judgment, which I accept unreservedly.

As Mr Findlay knows, I am a believer in the rule of law. Therefore, the Government will take steps, as the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice set out to the Parliament on Tuesday, to make sure that all the regulatory changes that require to be made in the light of the Supreme Court’s decision are made. As we did in relation to the previous guidance, we will draw on the input of the Equality and Human Rights Commission, as the Government is obliged to do, given that the EHRC is the regulator of the Equality Act 2010.

The Scottish Government accepts the Supreme Court’s judgment. This Government is committed to protecting every woman’s rights, including through effective implementation of the public sector equality duty. We continue to take forward a phased programme of improvement to the operation of the public sector equality duty in Scotland and, in that work, will consider the impact of the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice will meet the Equality and Human Rights Commission later today and seek an update on the timing of its revised guidance, which is essential to fulfilling the statutory underpinnings of the approach that we take.

I give Pam Gosal the assurance that we will develop that guidance in a timely manner. As I said in my opening answer, there is a meeting today with the Equality and Human Rights Commission, whose advice we relied on for the previous guidance that we had in place and whose advice and guidance we will have to rely on in the future. The Government will report to Parliament about the progress that has been made in that respect. However, I recognise the need for us to put in place timely guidance to apply the judgment that the Supreme Court has arrived at.

I intend to ensure that the public sector equality duty is met and, as I have made clear to Parliament in all my answers on the subject, we will act within the law. Obviously, the Supreme Court gave legal clarity last week, and the Government must consider the details of that ruling to enable it to be applied in taking forward the public sector equality duty.

As I indicated in my earlier answer, I cannot go into details on the handling of a live planning appeal. All relevant information will be considered by ministers in coming to a determination on the issue. That determination will be arrived at as soon as it is practically possible to do so.

As the Government has already set out to the Parliament, we are considering the detail of the Supreme Court’s judgment and taking the necessary advice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission about the application of that advice. That will have a bearing on the judgments that are made in relation to public services and, as is well established in our politics and discourse, I will expect all public bodies, including the Scottish Prison Service, to operate on that basis and within the law.

I am very pleased to confirm to the Parliament that the pension age disability payment was launched on Tuesday. It will pay up to £441 a month extra to disabled people who are over state pension age. We estimate that it will help more than 170,000 disabled people and people living with a long-term health condition who need help looking after themselves or supervision to stay safe.

The launch of the payment ensures that disabled people of all age groups in Scotland are now able to receive support from a social security system that is based on dignity, fairness and respect. Those principles are at the heart of the legislation that this Government brought to Parliament, and I am pleased that we continue to apply them as we deliver the type of social security system that benefits and supports the individuals in Scotland who are most in need at the moment.

I recognise the importance of ensuring that the needs of every child are met in our education system. For some young people with additional support needs, that can be achieved in mainstream education. For others, that is not possible, and those judgments should be made on the assessed needs of every individual child. The Government works closely with our local authority partners in delivering on those objectives.

In the past financial year, more than £1 billion has been spent by local authorities on additional support for learning. However, in its latest budget settlement, the Government recognised the significance of the demand for services. As part of that settlement, we specifically agreed an additional £29 million of funding in the budget, which is to be allocated through local authorities in response to the legitimate issues that Pam Duncan-Glancy has put to me today.

I assure Pam Duncan-Glancy and those on whose behalf she speaks today of the importance that we attach to the issue. We are working with local authorities to ensure that the needs of every child are met, and that will continue to be our approach.