Chamber and committees

The areas described formed part of the "Market Development - Business & Economy" assessment criterion, which accounted for 20% of the overall assessment score. No separate weightings were applied to skilled manufacturing employment, apprenticeships or supply chains within that criterion as ScotZEB3 is a grant subsidy scheme and was designed to comply with UK Subsidy Control legislation – meaning it cannot require or favour domestic manufacturers or suppliers as a condition of funding.

The Scottish Government does not routinely assess the adequacy of community-based support services for people with learning disabilities by local authority area.

Responsibility for understanding local population needs and for planning, commissioning and delivering community-based health and social care support rests with local authorities and Integration Authorities through Health and Social Care Partnerships.

Getting It Right for Everyone (GIRFE) is currently being embedded across health and social care services in Scotland. Aligned with our approach to public service reform, it supports a shift away from fragmented, service-led systems towards support that is personalised, coordinated, rights-based and focused on the outcomes that matter to people.

The Scottish Government provides funding to enhance support and services for people with learning disabilities. This includes £1.2 million this year for national organisations such as the Scottish Commission for People with Learning Disabilities (SCLD), Promoting an More Inclusive Society (PAMIS) and Down’s Syndrome Scotland.

We have also provided £1.6 million from October 2025 to March 2028 through the Learning Disability Support Fund (LDSF) to support 9 charities who will empower people with learning disabilities to reach their full potential and help build a more inclusive society.

While the Scottish Government recognises the important role that survivor-led organisations can play in informing responses to child sexual exploitation, decisions regarding police training and stakeholder engagement are operational matters for Police Scotland. Individuals and organisations wishing to raise concerns about policing matters can do so through Police Scotland's established engagement and complaints processes, which sit alongside independent police scrutiny and oversight arrangements through the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), Police Investigations and Review Commissioner (PIRC) and His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary in Scotland (HMICS).

All matters considered and the reasons for the decision dated 10 March 2023 to grant s36 consent for Kilmarnock South BESS are contained in the decision letter, and it would not be appropriate to add to its terms.

The decision letter is available to view online at the Energy Consents Unit portal: https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationDetails.aspx?cr=ECU00003435.

The Scottish Government remain fully committed to delivering real change for women and children survivors of violence against women and girls in Scotland, including funding the specialist services that support them. Violence against women and girls can have a significant impact on children and young people’s lives, including their health, education, wellbeing and future life chances.

Our multi-year investment in the Delivering Equally Safe Fund stands at almost £46m over 2026-2028 and funds vital specialist support services across every local authority in Scotland. From the almost £23m we have allocated for 2026-27, over £5.6 million is going to projects that support survivors in our most rural and island communities. We set out our intention to develop a new multi-year fund to ensure vital violence against women and girls services are sustainable and can respond flexibly to need in the recently published Programme for Government.

We are also investing £12m between 2025-27 for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence, through the Victim Centred Approach Fund.

Running since 2020, the Survivors of Childhood Abuse Support Fund has supported organisations working with adult survivors of childhood abuse. The Fund currently supports 21 organisations, many of which are survivor-led with several based in rural communities, providing essential local services to survivors across Scotland.

The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan provides a rural uplift of up to £1,500 for both renewable heat and energy efficiency grants. A combined maximum uplift of £3,000 is therefore available. The uplift is available to properties located in very remote rural and remote rural areas (Scottish Urban Rural Classification categories 8 and 7), and in accessible rural areas (category 6) where properties are off the gas grid.

The Scottish Veterans Commissioner’s report, Veterans and the Law, was considered by the Justice Board in 2026 and that consideration formed the basis for the information provided to the SVC for her annual report. The Commissioner’s 2026 annual report is being considered as we develop a refreshed approach to veterans' policy delivery through a new Action Plan for Scotland, which will bring together the various strands of work relating to veterans and their families. Responsibility for delivering the Scottish Veterans Commissioner’s actions is shared across a range of policy areas and delivery partners, all of whom will have an important role in shaping and delivering the new Veterans Action Plan.

A new UK Veterans Strategy was published at the end of 2025. The Scottish Government is currently developing a refreshed approach to veterans' policy delivery through a new Action Plan for Scotland, which will bring together the various strands of work relating to veterans and their families. This will include consideration of the recommendations made by the Scottish Veterans Commissioner, as well as alignment with the outcomes set out in the UK Veterans Strategy.

Employment outcomes for veterans, and where appropriate their spouses and partners, will be considered as part of the development of the Action Plan. Any agreed actions, alongside measurable outcomes and timescales for delivery, will be set out within that framework.

Scottish Government officials are due to meet with the Scottish Veterans Commissioner, Skills Development Scotland and Veterans Scotland on 19 November 2026 to discuss the strategic direction of work in relation to employment for veterans and their spouses and partners.

The original recommendations, which were made in 2020, were accepted by the Scottish Government at that time and engaged several Ministerial Portfolios covering for example education, skills and employment. As such, the recommendations have received attention across government, and continue to do so.

The Scottish Government does not maintain a database of offshore energy workers’ certifications.

The Scottish Government is working with the energy sector to plan for a multi-skilled workforce. This includes enabling our skilled offshore workers to carry their experience and expertise into different roles as our energy sector evolves. Examples of our support include the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund (TTF), industry-led Energy Skills passport and Offshore Wind Cross Skilling programme.

The Scottish Government does not hold any information on the reasons behind why young people who are eligible for aftercare services were not receiving them on 31 July 2025, or how many were contacted between 1 August 2025 and 31 July 2026. Any information held would be with the responsible local authority for the young person.

The Scottish Government collates data on the number of young people in aftercare. These statistics are published in the annual Children’s Social Work Statistics for Looked After Children.

We are aware our data collection on care leavers could be improved and we are considering how to improve the data collection we receive on aftercare. We know that having a better understanding of the reasons behind a young person not receiving aftercare will help us to ensure we are removing barriers to receiving aftercare, where they exist.

The Scottish Government is pleased to see an increasing number of care leavers receiving aftercare, but we know there is further work to do to improve consistency of implementation, and support wider knowledge around eligibility and entitlements. In collaboration with key stakeholders, we are already drafting national guidance to support the workforce in the delivery of aftercare to young people. We will produce an information resource on entitlements and support for young people, in collaboration with care experienced young people, to help them understand and exercise their rights and entitlements.