The Fund has not been open to new applications following the original bidding process in 2021 which received 242 applications. The Equality and Human Rights Fund invests in a range of civil society organisations that deliver work focussed on tackling inequality and discrimination, furthering equality, and advancing the realisation of human rights in Scotland. Organisations were awarded funding based on assessment of their applications and how their proposed project would deliver against the intended outcomes i.e.

• People have greater awareness and understanding of their human rights, and how to access them
• People with protected characteristics have increased access to remedy where their rights have not been upheld
• People with protected characteristics have increased participation in public life
• People with protected characteristics have increased influence in decisions that affect them
• The Scottish Government has better access to data and depth of information about the experiences of people with protected characteristics
• Actors in civil society increasingly use Scotland’s domestic and international equality and human rights framework to influence and effect change
• The experience of people with protected characteristics is increasingly used to inform the policy and practice of public bodies
• Public services increasingly embed equality and human rights in their strategic planning and their day-to-day functions

Organisations whose applications were unsuccessful were advised to contact Inspiring Scotland, the Fund Manager, to receive individual feedback on their applications.

The same 48 organisations have been funded from the Fund’s inception until the end of FY 2025-26, with the sole exception of The Scottish Older People’s Assembly. It is intended that funding will be provided to The Scottish Older People’s Assembly in 2026-27 following a period of reorganisation of its Trustees’ governance arrangements.

The statutory review of qualified one-way costs shifting (QOCS), as provided for under the Civil Litigation (Expenses and Group Proceedings) (Scotland) Act 2018, falls under the portfolio of the Minister for Victims and Community Safety, who has responsibility for civil law policy.

Operational responsibility sits with the Directorate for Justice – Civil Law and Legal System Division within the Scottish Government. Oversight arrangements include internal governance through the Justice Directorate’s policy teams and senior officials to ensure the review is completed in line with statutory requirements.

Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will support at least 880,000 pensioners with their heating bills this winter.

As of 14 December 2025, more than 568,000 Pension Age Winter Heating Payments had been made.

A release of Official Statistics on Pension Age Winter Heating Payment will be published on 19 May 2026 which will include payments made each month.

Further details are available on Social Security Scotland’s website at: Winter Benefits management information release to 14 December 2025.

The expectation is that the mothers in threatened extreme preterm labour, or those whose babies are identified antenatally as requiring specialist care (for example neonatal surgery), will be transferred antenatally and will birth in the maternity unit alongside the NICU. The Perinatal Network has been leading some work, and recently published guidance on identification and obstetric transfer in these circumstances.

Where babies have to be moved our specialist neonatal transport service ScotSTAR has 20+ years of experience of moving babies in specialised ambulances with incubators and neonatal staff.

ScotSTAR and the wider Scottish Ambulance Service are working to ensure that capacity is aligned to the future demands related to the new model of neonatal care and will be feeding into the Task and Finish group around the resources required to do so.

In addition, the Scottish Government contracted healthcare planning support from RSM UK to undertake the detailed modelling and capacity planning work, to inform local implementation plans. The approach to this work has included data collection and modelling alongside engagement with both operational and strategic stakeholders, to validate data, generate and test planning assumptions.

Activity and capacity data was collected from each of the eight units included within the model scope, as well as Public Health Scotland (PHS) and, Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) / Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). The report was published in May 2024.

The RSM report, published on 29 May 2024, New Model of Neonatal Care – RSM UK Consulting - Report, included data collection and modelling alongside engagement with both operational and strategic stakeholders, to validate data, generate and test planning assumptions.

Activity and capacity data was collected from each of the eight units included within the model scope, as well as Public Health Scotland (PHS) and, Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) / Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). The report has undergone a detailed review by the Perinatal Sub Group (PSG) and has benefited from discussion with the three elected Regional Planners and Chief Executives.

The report to date has been well received and supports the findings of the options appraisal report.

We reaffirmed our commitment to deliver change in this area during the passage of the Housing (Scotland) Bill and are giving detailed consideration to the consultation feedback to ensure that we get the fundamentals of this work right.

We recognise that enhancing the accessibility, adaptability and usability of Scotland’s homes is essential to enable people to live well and stay in their homes for as long as they wish and, during Stage 3 of the Bill in the autumn of 2025, we committed to instituting change within two years.

To help ensure that (a) changes to Part 1 of the Housing for Varying Needs design guide and (b) the introduction of an all-tenure Scottish Accessible Homes Standard are meaningful and proportionate, we will work closely with the building sector and other stakeholders as work progresses. Crucially, this will include those with lived experience.

Scottish Government remain engaged with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) following the insolvency of NRS Healthcare, however ultimately decision making around procurement is the responsibility of local services.

Through this engagement we know that HSCPs are taking immediate steps to mitigate any disruption and ensure continuity of service delivery, this includes continuing to work with the equipment providers included in their contractual framework and by entering new contractual arrangements with other suppliers.

The National Equipment and Adaptations Network provides HSCPs with a platform to discuss mitigations and share lessons learned at a national level.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

The first year of YPFF delivery was from July 2021 and there is complete expenditure data up to March 2025. The fund is demand-led and the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring sufficient funding to NHS Boards to support all valid YPFF claims. Actual spend may differ from profiled spend as demand requirements change over time. Budgets for Young Patients Family Fund are as set out in the following table along with the outturn expenditure for each financial year.