Chamber and committees

I explained to Parliament on 18 and 25 February and in my letter to the Presiding Officer on 24 February 2026, in respect of the case known as Operation Branchform, that I did not provide briefings on the case to the First Minister. I provided limited factual information to the government on two occasions, first, on his appearance in court on petition in March 2025 and then again on the service of the indictment in January 2026.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Data on ELC placements may be held by local Councils. It is the responsibility of each Local Authority to plan for, and manage, ELC placements in line with their statutory duties in relation to funded ELC delivery, including having regard to the statutory guidance on cross-boundary placements.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.

The Scottish Government does not hold any information on third-party liability claims for vehicle damage caused by potholes that were submitted to local authorities.

Total Energies Gas and Power Limited has confirmed that it does not have direct links to Russia. Their parent company TotalEnergies (TE) had project investments within Russia and has confirmed that it would not be investing new capital in Russia and remained aligned with current EU policies towards Moscow.

TotalEnergies has previously condemned Russia's military aggression against Ukraine. On March 22, 2022, TotalEnergies established principles of action to manage its activities related to Russia. TotalEnergies has informed the Scottish Government that it operates legally within the framework of the energy policy and sanctions policy defined by the authorities of the European Union and its member states. TotalEnergies has said that it operates in accordance with EU decisions in relation to the security of supply, and it does not supply Russian LNG to the UK.

In 2024, Scottish Government awarded the National Framework for Supply of Natural Gas to Total Energies Gas and Power Limited, a subsidiary of TotalEnergies. The framework was put in place following a full tender exercise following procurement rules.

I am pleased that we will invest £4 million in 2026-27 to support Local Transport Authorities to build business cases for local bus improvements through franchising, using powers created in the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019.

Work to develop appropriate governance arrangements and the detail of administering the fund is at an early stage. This will be considered with key stakeholders, including COSLA and Local Transport Authorities.

Progress on the delivery of affordable homes is published through quarterly official statistics –Housing Statistics for Scotland Quarterly Update. Homes delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme include homes for social rent, affordable rent, and affordable home ownership. They also include off the shelf purchases and rehabilitations as well as new builds.

UK Government decisions in reserved areas of offshore energy policy are driving an accelerated decline in North Sea oil and gas and opening up a gap with the renewables industry – a gap into which jobs and livelihoods are being lost. That is why we are calling for an immediate end to the Energy Profits Levy and a sensible future fiscal regime in the North Sea. This is essential to ensure a just transition from oil and gas to renewables that protects jobs and skills and delivers a pipeline of future investment.

These matters continue to be raised by Scottish Ministers with UK Government counterparts at every opportunity. The First Minister raised them with the Prime Minister on 5 December and again on 16 February. The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy and myself both wrote in advance of the Spring Forecast. The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy has also written again following the Forecast and in light of volatility in global oil and gas prices.

As set out in the response to S6W-43401 on 12 February 2026, the Scottish Government does not collect national data on the total number of devices issued by local authorities to learners. Local authorities manage delivery directly and continue to make progress in improving digital access for learners, supported by record Scottish Government investment.

The First Minister announced that the Scottish Government has allocated £14.25 million to a second round of the Future Farming Investment Scheme for the 2026-27 financial year. This builds on the £21.4m delivered through the first round of FFIS. The Scottish Government will take into account industry feedback from the 2025 round and work with stakeholders to ensure any appropriate changes are made. Details of any changes will be outlined once stakeholder engagement has been completed.

Section 81 of the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 requires the Scottish Ministers to conduct a rural and island communities impact assessment of the provisions of the Act no later than 6 November 2026.

A report of the findings will be laid before the Scottish Parliament and published with a statement of the action, if any, the Scottish Ministers intend to take as a result of the impact assessment by that date.