Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government provided record funding of £15.7 billion in the Local Government Settlement for 2026-27, including a quarter of a billion pounds of unrestricted General Revenue Grant and full flexibility on council tax.

In 2026-27, Fife Council will receive £998.3 million to fund local services which equates to an extra £49.7 million or an additional 5.2% compared to 2025-26.

However, it is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on education, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

There has been clear growth in the offshore wind sector over the past decade, with increasing employment opportunities across a broad range of roles driven by continued investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, and skills development.

The latest edition of Scotland’s Marine Economy Statistics (published December 2025) provides an estimate of 4,400 people directly employed by the Scottish offshore wind sector in 2023, in comparison to 3,900 people in 2022 (published November 2024).

These figures do not include the jobs created in the supply chain as a direct result of ScotWind, however the Draft Updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy Social and Economic Impact Assessment (2025) estimated cumulative potential employment impacts for ScotWind, INTOG and Test & Demonstration sites. It reported an estimated maximum number of FTEs generated or supported nationally as 18,000 (direct employment only in a low installed capacity scenario) up to 41,000 (direct and upstream supply chain employment impacts in a high installed capacity scenario).

These estimates are further supported by the Offshore Wind Industry Council Skills Intelligence Model, which reports that at its peak, the offshore sector in Scotland could support up to 49,000 jobs in 2031.

No projects in Scotland were terminated by the Scottish Government as a result of the transition from the Places for Everyone programme to the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF).

A total of 128 project proposals were received and considered for the Strategic Research Programme 2022-27 and 123 projects were accepted. See the following table:

Transport Scotland has had no involvement in the decision-making process regarding the proposed Neilston to Uplawmoor link. Responsibility for determining whether individual active travel projects are progressed or otherwise through the Scottish Government Active Travel funding available rests with the relevant local authority in the first instance.

I met with the Fire Brigades Union (FBU) on 20 August, to discuss a range of matters of importance to the FBU.

There has been clear growth in the offshore wind sector over the past decade, with increasing employment opportunities across a broad range of roles driven by continued investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, and skills development.

The latest edition of Scotland’s Marine Economy Statistics (published December 2025) provides an estimate of 4,400 people directly employed by the Scottish offshore wind sector in 2023, in comparison to 3,900 people in 2022 (published November 2024). These figures capture only direct employment and do not reflect the sector's significant wider economic and social impacts, including the supply chain growth and induced employment opportunities that are expected to be derived from ScotWind projects.

The Draft Updated Sectoral Marine Plan for Offshore Wind Energy Social and Economic Impact Assessment (2025) estimated cumulative potential employment impacts for ScotWind, INTOG and Test & Demonstration sites. It reported an estimated maximum number of FTEs generated or supported nationally as 18,000 (direct employment only in a low installed capacity scenario) up to 41,000 (direct and upstream supply chain employment impacts in a high installed capacity scenario).

These estimates are further supported by the Offshore Wind Industry Council Skills Intelligence Model, which reports that at its peak, the offshore sector in Scotland could support up to 49,000 jobs in 2031.

By setting out clear standards of behaviour for users of the National Concessionary Travel Schemes, the Code of Conduct will support the safety of passengers and staff across Scotland's bus network. Working closely with stakeholders, plans are currently being finalised for the launch of the Code, and the underpinning processes that will support the suspension of access to free travel if it is breached. Subject to completion of this work, the Code is expected to be published later in 2026.

The requested information is shown in the following table.

Prescription Cost Analysis – Aspirin and Paracetamol

The requested information is shown in the following table.

Table 1: Prescription Cost Analysis Totals