We are committed to improving the mental health support provided to people across Scotland, not only through the NHS and statutory services, but through our investments in community and grassroots organisations. We are seeing progress, with record numbers of staff providing more varied mental health support and services to a larger number of people than ever before. We have also seen the national performance against the 18-week CAMHS standard met for the last year, with 91.5% of children and young people starting treatment within 18 weeks of referral.

However, I recognise there is more to do to further bring down waiting times. That is why the budget for 2026-27, if agreed by Parliament, will see spending on Mental Health exceed £1.5 billion. This includes investment to improve neurodevelopmental assessments and care for children and young people.

Whilst universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for their own decisions regarding pay and working conditions, the Scottish Government expects staff and trade unions to be consulted meaningfully and constructively to seek resolution to any disputes – in line with Fair Work principles. Implementation of Fair Work First must be the guiding criteria to promote fairer work practices for staff within the university sector.

Universities in receipt of government funding through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) are currently expected to meet two mandatory Fair Work First criteria (payment of at least the real Living Wage; and provision of appropriate channels for effective workers’ voice, such as trade union recognition), while being encouraged to meet all other non-mandatory Fair Work First criteria. From April 2027, colleges and universities will be expected to adopt all Fair Work First criteria and the SFC will look to include these as a condition of grant. Further details are set out in my answer to S6W-42976 on 13 January 2026: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers/question?ref=S6W-42976.

I also expect universities to take appropriate steps to support and promote staff wellbeing, and comply with relevant legal requirements, including the Health and Safety At Work Act 1974. The Health and Safety Executive is responsible for enforcing health and safety requirements at UK workplaces, including universities.

The recent budget invests over £2.4 billion in post-school education and skills and includes a significant real terms increase in our investment in Scotland’s college and university sectors, which both deliver Higher Education. This provides opportunity to people of all ages to fulfil their potential, while also ensuring that priority workforce needs are met.

The Framework for Sustainability and Success of Scotland’s Universities will explore options for securing a successful and sustainable future for Scotland’s world-leading university sector.

This collaborative project between Scottish Government and Universities Scotland will build upon the strength of the sector and ensure our universities are well positioned to respond to current and future challenges, including demographic shifts, international competition, technological advancements, and the changing needs of students and the economy.

Further to the answers which Alasdair Allan MSP provided to questions S6W-31744 and S6W-31743 on 5 and 6 December 2024, I can confirm that there has been no change to the estimated ranges given below.

The most recent review of the population of British mammals, published in 2018, estimated the Scottish population of grey squirrels to be between 249000 and 808000 individuals; and the Scottish population of red squirrels at between 181,000 and 444,000 individuals.

Regarding the locations of the remaining populations of grey squirrels they are broadly distributed within three main zones as follows:

• The South of Scotland
• The Central Belt, Ayrshire and north-eastwards to Angus
• Aberdeen City

The South of Scotland population stretches across much of Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders, although not continuously, as there appears to be a gap in the species’ distribution from approximately Moffat to Langholm. In the east, grey squirrels occur in a strip near the coast from the English Border up to Edinburgh and up the Tweed Valley north-westwards into South Lanarkshire, thereby linking the southern population with the “Central Belt” population.

The “Central Belt” population extends from South Ayrshire northwards to Glasgow, Lanarkshire and the Firth of Clyde, extending up to the south of Loch Lomond (including several of the islands) and the Cowal Peninsula and eastwards to include Falkirk, Edinburgh and the Lothians. Northwards grey squirrels extend up to Stirling and Perth, across Fife and Clackmannanshire and over much of lowland Perthshire and Angus up to just north of Montrose.

The isolated Aberdeen population is restricted almost entirely to the City of Aberdeen and is the subject of an ongoing eradication programme as part of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels project.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

Responses to the Citizen Space consultation on Support for Part-Time Study and Disabled Students were published on 9th January 2026 at https://consult.gov.scot/.

An analysis report of the consultation findings will be published in spring 2026.

Liam McArthur’s Assisted Dying for Terminally Ill Adults (Scotland) Bill is still to go through a further amending stage (Stage 3), before MSPs are asked to vote on whether or not to pass the Bill. The guidance that will constitute statutory guidance will depend on the final text of the Bill, should it be passed.

The Scottish Government continues to maintain a neutral position on the Bill. The Government will of course comply with the law and therefore if the Bill is passed and the resulting Act requires statutory guidance to be issued on a matter the Government will do so. Decisions around the content of any statutory guidance which the resulting Act permits or requires to be issued will only be made as part of implementation if the Bill passes, as it will need to be in accordance with the final text of the Act and informed by stakeholders’ views.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of the maritime sector to the people and economy of Scotland, including the value of short sea shipping routes.

Ports in Scotland are independent commercial bodies. Ministers have no involvement in the day to day running or commercial decisions of a port. It is the responsibility of individual ports to identify potential new routes and any necessary infrastructure improvements; including the business case and funding to support this and an assessment of any consents that may be required. The Scottish Government is open to discussing with port operators and other stakeholders what, if any, support it may be able to offer for the movement of freight.

Freight Facilities Grants of over £25 million have been made to Scottish ports since 1997. This has enabled ports to purchase shore based handling equipment, has allowed piers and berths to be built or refurbished and enabled rail lines to be built into ports.

The Scottish Government is absolutely clear on the value of cultural cinema, and we are continuing to engage with Screen Scotland and others to ensure that cultural cinema is protected for Scotland's audiences today and in the long term.

I am pleased that Screen Scotland, our dedicated public agency for screen, has supported cultural cinema – including the Edinburgh Filmhouse and the Aberdeen Belmont after the collapse of their previous parent company, CMI – with funding as well as expert advice and support.

The budget for 2026-27 includes £12m funding for Screen Scotland. We have also funded, and continue to fund, Creative Scotland to support their regularly funded organisations, which include a number of cultural cinemas.

Additionally, the budget provisionally allocates up to £500,000 to support cultural cinemas in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen. These cinemas have made representations to the Scottish Government in relation to the need for support to allow them to continue, or restart, their vital work as cultural cinemas.

The Level 4 Workbook as initially published contained a range of options for spend against my portfolio. Officials therefore updated the published workbook without Ministerial approval, and I instructed the workbooks to be reinstated as originally published.

As noted in my response to Mr. Marra’s PQ, reference S6W-43092 on 27 January 2026, the Scottish Government is absolutely clear on the value of cultural cinema, and we are continuing to engage with Screen Scotland and others to ensure that cultural cinema is protected for Scotland's audiences today and in the long term. For that reason, the budget for 2026-27 provisionally allocates up to £500,000 to support cultural cinemas in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen.

We have had representations over a number of years from Screen Scotland, the Aberdeen Belmont, the Edinburgh Filmhouse, and the Glasgow Film Theatre, in relation to the need for support to allow their work as cultural cinemas to restart, continue, and operate sustainably into the future.

Discussions will take place with all of these organisations to ensure that the proposed funding is disbursed fairly, to best ensure the protection and growth of cultural cinema in Scotland.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government has received a range of feedback from planning authorities on the clarity and consistency of the evidence report gate check process for Local Development Plans. Planning authorities have raised concerns which have been shared directly with Planning Officials and me, about perceived contradictions and a lack of clarity in the various sources of guidance. Planning authorities are unclear what constitutes sufficient evidence which causes uncertainty and makes evidence report preparation more resource intensive and time-consuming than expected. These issues were highlighted both through ongoing engagement with Heads of Planning Scotland (HOPS) and in discussions with individual councils.

I took part in the gate check summit on 8 December, during which planning authorities reiterated these concerns and noted that aspects of guidance produced by PARD and the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA) appeared unclear or inconsistent. This feedback has informed subsequent work to produce updated and clearer guidance for authorities, and I continue to engage with Planning Officials on this matter.

From the DPEA perspective, having a small, dedicated team of reporters contributes to consistency in assessments. DPEA has also adapted the format of gate check reports and letters to improve clarity and focus on key issues. Pre-submission meetings have been offered to all authorities which allow those working on evidence reports to seek guidance on matters of uncertainty. Additionally, follow-up meetings have been held with authorities after the return of evidence reports to support understanding and next steps.