Chamber and committees

The Children’s Service, My Rights, My Say is a Scottish Government funded national service which supports children between the age of 12 and 15 years to exercise their rights under the additional support for learning Act.

The free support service comprises of four parts – advice and information, advocacy support, legal representation and a service which independently seeks children’s views to inform decision making.

As a statutory service, it is available to children in every local authority. Therefore, the Additional Support for Learning Act does not also require local authorities to have advocacy services in place.

The Scottish Government provide annual funding to Energy Saving Trust to administer the Low Carbon Transport Loan on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Details of the number of individuals and businesses in the Highlands and Islands region (Including Argyll and Bute, Highland, Na h-Eileanan Siar, Orkney and Shetland Islands) paid the loan can be found in the following table.

Zero Waste Scotland published a report on the Indirect Costs of Litter in Scotland and costs are based on that research and attributable to the proportion, by volume, of DRS materials in the litter stream. This modelling is commercially sensitive and is not published and figures have not been reviewed since publication.

Any consumer that returns a scheme article is eligible for the deposit to be refunded.

This means that the deposit forms part of the consideration for a Deposit Return Scheme (DRS) article donated to charity.

It is for the donor to consider whether they wish to charge for the deposit or include as part of the donation.

We are engaging with industry and third sector organisations where there are questions on the flow of deposits. Scotland's DRS is based on similar deposit return schemes which operate in 44 other states or territories worldwide.

Since my appointment as Minister for Transport, I have visited Edinburgh Airport and met officials on one occasion in person with a further meeting held virtually. I have met virtually the CEO of AGS Airports, who own both Aberdeen and Glasgow Airports, for a meeting. I have visited Glasgow Airport on two occasions when flying for Ministerial engagements. I have not visited Aberdeen Airport during my time as Minister for Transport. I have not visited Prestwick Airport as Prestwick is not within my Ministerial portfolio.

Since the introduction of the 1+2 approach to language learning in 2013 until the current 2022-23 financial year, the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with a total of £36.8 million in additional funding to support them to implement this approach in schools.

In the same period we have offered grant funding of approximately £15 million to organisations undertaking activities which support the 1+2 approach or complement its broader aims.

The Crown does not grant immunity from prosecution but makes prosecutorial decisions based on criteria set out in the Scottish Prosecution Code. Decisions on prosecution are taken independently and are matters for professional prosecutors within the system for which the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are responsible. It is therefore not appropriate for any other minister, or for Scottish Government officials or special advisers to be consulted in relation to any prosecutorial decisions.

I have confirmed to Mr Marshall’s family that some aspects of the investigation fell short of what they were entitled to expect. The previous decision not to prosecute individual prison officers cannot be reversed. I have instructed Police Scotland to investigate possible corporate responsibility by the Scottish Prison Service.

The way in which custody death cases are handled by COPFS has been reviewed and transformed. I am confident that new structures and processes in place will ensure such cases are undertaken rigorously, respectfully and compassionately.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office operates open competitive funding schemes for applied health research projects and fellowships across the wide range of NHS and health challenges in Scotland. These schemes are open to consideration of applications addressing research directed into Cancer. Applications to these schemes are assessed through independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by independent expert committees.

Part 4, section 122 (4) of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2006, gives Scottish Ministers a power to approve a tenancy deposit scheme and obliges Ministers to review each scheme from time to time and gives them power, once they have done so, to ensure that any scheme is revised.

A review of the tenancy deposit schemes was undertaken at the end of 2018. The review examined whether the introduction of the tenancy deposit scheme (TDS) resolved the issues it was intended to and considered whether the TDS worked well for both tenants and landlords. It also assessed whether the current regulations were fair and fit for purpose. It was clear from the findings that the current regulations continued to provide a robust regulatory and operational framework.

Following the review a number of revisions to the operating procedures were made under The Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2019 and the scheme submitted revised procedures in October 2019 which were reapproved in November 2019.

The Scottish Government regularly monitors the operation of the schemes, but there are no current plans to undertake a full review of approved schemes at present.

Regular monitoring of the schemes highlighted the previously unforeseen issue of unclaimed deposits. As part of A New Deal for Tenants - draft strategy: consultation Ministers sought views on reinvesting unclaimed deposits in the private rented sector after a period of 5 years has elapsed and where all other reasonable efforts to reunite the tenant with their deposit has been exhausted.

We published the independent analysis of the consultation responses on 23 August and we are currently considering those views as we take forward this important work.

The Scottish Government is working with local government partners on the Additional Support for Learning Project Board to deliver the recommendations of the 2020 additional support for learning review by March 2026. As outlined in our updated action plan published in November 2022, we have committed to undertaking a policy mapping exercise to inform the development of a shared positive communications plan. The plan aims to ensure visibility and awareness of additional support for learning and children and young people’s successes and achievements. This work is currently on track.

Progress can be followed through the published minutes of the Project Board . A further progress update is due to be published in May 2024.