Chamber and committees

Developers’ Supply Chain Development Statement updates include ambitions to go beyond committed spend, which suggests an additional potential £10.5bn manufacturing expenditure in key areas such as foundations, turbine components and electrical infrastructure in Scotland as the supply chain matures.

We are working with developers and the supply chain to grow the economic value from our offshore wind sector, and to maximise investment, jobs and supply chain opportunities within Scotland. We are consistently clear: developers must help build the resilience of our domestic supply chain and deliver on their SCDS commitments.

Our strategic investment in offshore wind is supporting market certainty and helping to de-risk supply chain investment. To date our own investment of over £150 million is crowding in a further £70m from UK public finance institutions and leveraging up to £675 million in private investment.

Our enterprise agencies are also providing targeted support to our growing supply chain, connecting suppliers with developers, and enabling them to bid for – and crucially to win – work in offshore wind.

The Scottish Government is aware of recent decisions of the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber) in England concerning the application of PAS 9980 assessments and remediation obligations under the Building Safety Act 2022.

These decisions were made within the legal framework that applies in England and Wales and do not alter the legal framework for building safety in Scotland. Decisions on building assessment and remediation in Scotland continue to be taken in accordance with Scottish legislation, building standards and the evidence available for individual buildings.

The cases nevertheless highlight an important principle: a fire risk assessment is one source of professional evidence and does not, in itself, determine whether remedial works may ultimately be necessary. Decisions on remediation require consideration of the full range of evidence available, including the construction of the building, the nature and condition of materials present, fire safety measures and any additional information obtained through assessment and investigation.

That is why the Scottish Government's Single Building Assessment (SBA) takes a holistic approach to assessing cladding risk in buildings, and in doing so considering a broad range of factors. Where further investigation is identified as necessary to establish the nature and extent of any risk, this can form part of the evidence used in determining appropriate next steps.

We will continue to monitor developments in building safety policy, practice and case law across the UK and consider any relevant lessons that may support our objective of ensuring residents are safe and feel safe in their homes.

The latest data for the position to the end of March 2016 demonstrated that there were 16 Government funded SBAs completed and 1 developer led SBA completed.

The Scottish Government are seeking to accelerate progress in a number of ways.

Those in receipt of grant funding are required to initiate the SBA within a required time frame, and we will only provide final funding upon receipt of a completed SBA.

Since the SBA is a relatively new standard, we have run workshops with the industry on how the SBA works in practice and to identify any challenges in application. We have also engaged directly with factors to better understand barriers to commissioning assessments and to support a more consistent and timely approach across the private sector. This engagement is helping to identify practical solutions to issues affecting delivery and inform ongoing improvements to programme guidance and support.

We have commissioned Local Delivery Plans from Local Authorities and Registered Social Landlords whose buildings currently comprise over 75% of the programme. These plans provide greater visibility of assessment timelines and key milestones enabling us to monitor progress more closely, engage where delays arise and hold delivery partners to account for delivery.

The same data release demonstrated that 149 Government-funded SBAs and 21 developer-led SBAs were underway. As SBAs involve detailed assessment of complex buildings, they can take time to complete; however, the significant number currently underway demonstrates progress. Importantly, where an SBA identifies urgent life-safety concerns, action to mitigate risk can be taken immediately and does not depend on the assessment being fully completed.

The next data release, covering the position to the end of June, will be published on 15 September. For the first time, this will include information on the number of completed SBAs that have been submitted to the Scottish Government for review and compliance checking against the published SBA standard, providing a more complete picture of assessment progress.

Individual Clinical Trials run public recruitment campaigns if needed to meet their recruitment targets.

The NHS Research Scotland Infrastructure is available to support this activity through both the Scottish Research Register and Biobank Recruitment to clinical trials | NHS Research Scotland | NHS Research Scotland, and Topic-specific Research Networks Research Areas | NHS Research Scotland | NHS Research Scotland.

Since taking up the post of Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Tourism and Transport, I have met formally with the STUC and some of their affiliated trade unions.

I attended a meeting with GMB and Unite on 2 July and with GMB on 8 July in relation to economic development. On 22 July I met with Unite to discuss matters related to energy industries. I met with ASLEF, RMT, TSSA, Unite and STUC on 29 July in relation to rail. On the same day I also attended an introductory meeting with Rozanne Foyer, STUC General Secretary.

Additionally, trade unions are often represented on many other forums I engage with such as the recently established National Council for Economic Growth, which last met on 4 August 2026. My Ministerial colleagues also meet regularly with trade unions and the STUC, reflecting their important role as key social and economic partners.

The information provided in this answer is correct at the time of answering but may not reflect any urgent meetings or engagements involving trade union representatives that take place before publication. Information on ministerial engagements is routinely published on the Scottish Government website as part of the Ministerial Engagements publications.

The Scottish Government remains committed to introducing Road Traffic Diversionary Courses (RTDCs), including Speed Awareness Courses, as part of Scotland's Road Safety Framework to 2030. However, legislative changes by the UK Government are required before they can be introduced in Scotland. While no implementation date has been confirmed, we will continue to work with the UK Government to bring forward the necessary changes as soon as possible.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes statistics on the number of parents or carers actively in receipt of Scottish Child Payment. These statistics also include the number and value of payments by local authority and financial year since launch and are available at: Scottish Child Payment statistics to 31 March 2026.

The latest published statistics show that, as of 31 March 2026, 189,620 parents or carers in Scotland were receiving Scottish Child Payment.

The most recent Scottish Government take-up analysis, published on 14 October 2025, estimated that Scottish Child Payment had a take-up rate of 94% among those eligible in Scotland in the financial year 2024-2025. The publication also includes estimated take-up rates for each local authority area and is available at: Take-up rates of Scottish benefits: October 2025.

Scottish Government published statutory guidance on compensating for adverse effects from offshore wind in July 2026. The guidance sets out processes for accessing a wider range of compensatory measures, including a requirement to work through a compensation hierarchy. As set out, the guidance should be applied by offshore wind developers when preparing compensation proposals. This includes the developer of the Berwick Bank offshore wind farm.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that church buildings play as places of worship and as valued community assets. Responsibility for the maintenance and upkeep of Church of Scotland buildings rests with the Church of Scotland and its congregations.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Scotland's Places of Worship Fund announcement by Historic Environment Scotland (HES) on 18 August 2026. This new pilot scheme for 2026-27 will provide up to £1 million to help eligible listed places of worship across Scotland recover VAT costs associated with repair and conservation works.

The Fund has been developed in direct response to the closure of the UK-wide Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme and is expected to open for applications in autumn 2026.

The Scottish Government and HES have worked closely to explore options to ensure that Scotland's listed places of worship are not disproportionately affected by the withdrawal of the UK-wide scheme. This pilot scheme will help assess demand and gather evidence to inform consideration of future arrangements.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with faith and belief organisations, heritage bodies and other partners on issues affecting places of worship, including the sustainability and preservation of historic church buildings.

As this is an application which may come before Scottish Ministers for determination, it would not be appropriate to comment on the specific merits of the proposal.