Chamber and committees

To date, 9 school infrastructure projects have opened through the £2bn Learning Estate Investment Programme (LEIP). Furthermore, 16 projects are currently in construction.

The LEIP aims to deliver 47 projects by the end of 2027-28.

The Afghan medical students are eligible for support under paragraph 12B of the Student Support (Scotland) Regulations 2022, as amended by the Education (Fees and Student Support) (Miscellaneous Amendments) (Scotland) Regulations 2024. This provision enables the students to be considered as Scottish domiciled for the purposes of funding and entitles them to apply for tuition fees and living cost support in the same manner as other Scottish domiciled students.

The Scottish Government is working towards a launch date for the Changing Places Toilets fund and we will provide an update in due course.

The Scottish Government is committed to investing in Changing Places Toilets in order to increase the number of these facilities across the country, allowing people easier access to events and outdoor venues.

As you will be aware, the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government’s statement to Parliament on 3 September outlined the challenging financial situation faced by the Scottish Government following the UK Chancellor's July statement. She confirmed that spending controls are in place to make sure the entire Scottish Government budget is being managed prudently. These additional controls set out that any activity undertaken, or commitment made, that generates expenditure in 2024-25 must only proceed if it is truly essential and unavoidable. “Unavoidable” means if the Scottish Government would otherwise breach its legal obligations, or fail to provide essential support to emergency situations, or cause significant economic damage across Scotland. The scale of the savings required means that these exceptional measures are being applied across the whole Government, with all policy areas having to think about what this means for them.

This means that whilst the Scottish Government had set out the intention to make CPT funding available across financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26, unfortunately it is no longer possible to launch the fund in the current financial year. However, funding will be reprofiled into future years.

The UNCRC (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024 places legal duties on public authorities and provides legal protection for children’s rights that was not previously available in Scotland, and is not available in any other part of the UK.

The Scottish Government expects public authorities to ensure that they fulfil their duties within the Act, including under Article 23, to ensure all rights under UNCRC are respected, protected and fulfilled. We have supported public authorities with their approach to implementation through: non-statutory guidance; a children’s rights guide for senior leaders; an introduction to Children’s Rights e-learning and guidance on Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments. We have also provided funding to the Improvement Service and NHS Education Scotland to assist local authorities and health boards to fulfil their UNCRC duties. Statutory guidance will be published this month and a Children’s Rights Skills and Knowledge Framework will be available before the end of the year.

A range of work has been undertaken to prepare for the opening of the Changing Places Toilets fund. This has included scoping work, internal discussions and meetings with key stakeholders. We are working closely with PAMIS (Promoting a More Inclusive Society) and will continue to engage with wider interests, including the Scottish Parliament’s Cross Party Group on Changing Places Toilets, as we finalise the details of the fund.

Within the Green Industrial Strategy, published on 11 September 2024, we set out how the people of Scotland will see maximum benefits from Scotland’s energy transition, including identifying Scotland’s wind economy as one of the five opportunity areas.

Seabed leasing for offshore wind is administered by Crown Estate Scotland (CES), which sets the terms of lease. Leasing terms may vary between leasing rounds to ensure that such agreements remain fit for purpose and reflect the latest statutory requirements and policy positions.

As part of the ScotWind bidding round, applicants were required to submit a Supply Chain Development Statement (SCDS) to CES. The SCDS outlines the commitment and ambition for supply chain activity within Scotland, the UK and overseas, across four project phases – development, manufacturing and fabrication, installation, and operations & maintenance.

The Scottish Government and CES will continue to review the leasing requirements for future leasing rounds, informed by best practice to deliver the best outcomes for Scotland and in line with our social, economic and environmental principles, including the need for any legislative changes to support the updated leasing conditions.

Court operational matters, including the system and arrangements for jury service, fall within the remit of the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service.

Jury service is an important civic duty, and I am grateful to all those who undertake it.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to review the list of “persons excusable as of right” for jury duty as set out in Schedule 1 of the Law Reform (Miscellaneous Provisions) Scotland Act 1980.

It is the view of the Scottish Government that the pool of potential jurors should be as wide as possible, to ensure that an accused person is being judged by their peers from all walks of life. This also prevents the burden of jury service falling on a narrower section of society than can reasonably be helped.

However, it is recognised that there will always be people who have difficulty in serving as jurors. Therefore, in addition to those eligible to be excused as of right as set out in statute, individuals may also apply for excusal.

Clerks of Courts will be as sympathetic as they can to requests for excusal, and will consider, amongst other things; commitments at work, the cancellation of which would cause abnormal inconvenience - while at the same time balancing the need to have sufficient numbers of prospective jurors from which to ballot a jury.

The Hydrogen Action Plan, published in December 2022, set out a clear commitment to support renewable hydrogen production.