Ministers and Scottish Government officials regularly engage with third sector organisations to support our commitment to person-centred, effective, and safe care for people living with long-term conditions. We remain committed to ongoing dialogue with these organisations and greatly value their insight and expertise. Their contributions play a vital role in shaping policy and improving services across Scotland.

Details of the last meeting held between myself or the relevant portfolio Minister and these organisations are set out in the following table:

We are responding to investor interest which has identified data centre sites that utilise our renewable energy sources while exploring opportunities to recycle waste heat from these facilities into the wider community. While data centres are very large consumers of energy, Scotland’s abundant renewable energy generating capacity presents an opportunity for the country to become a leader in green data centres. Local authorities will assess any planning application for data centres in the first instance. As a matter of law, all planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Application of planning judgement to the circumstances of an individual situation remains essential to all decision making, informed by principles of proportionality and reasonableness. Should Scottish Ministers be asked to make a final decision, then similar processes would be observed.

The Scottish Government is investing £200 million to reduce waiting times, improve hospital flow, and minimise delayed discharges. This includes £85 million in 2025–26 to support unscheduled care improvements, such as expanding frailty services, Discharge without Delay, and Hospital at Home. Funding has been allocated based on boards’ needs and priorities, including frailty provision and performance.

All NHS boards now have access to frailty services, with tailored models being developed to meet local needs. Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) are providing practical improvement support to local systems to increase capacity and improve front door frailty pathways - an update on progress will be provided in the autumn. While not every board has a dedicated frailty unit in place, work is ongoing to develop or enhance these where appropriate, tailored to local needs and infrastructure.

While current A&E performance is below the levels we all wish to see, we are working closely with boards to manage pressures. These measures are already delivering early results—improving outcomes, reducing delays, and helping shift care from hospital to home.

The MyCare.Scot app is part of a programme of digital transformation for health and social care services. To support this transformation the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all staff are equipped with the right digital and data skills they require to effectively deliver digital services.

Support for staff to develop and maintain their digital and data skills is already underway as part of the wider Scottish Government and COSLA’s cross sector Digital Capabilities suite of resources and activities that are available on the Digitally Enabled Workforce TURAS site at https://learn.nes.nhs.scot/53956.

NHS Lanarkshire are currently working on training and support to staff for the launch of the MyCare.Scot app. Feedback from the evaluation of the launch in December 2025 will be a part of understanding any additional support needed for staff prior to MyCare.scot being made available to everyone across Scotland from April 2026.

The ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste (BMW) is a crucial part of delivering Scotland’s net zero ambitions and in line with Committee for Climate Change advice. It will come into force on 31 December this year.

Significant efforts and investment have been made by local authorities and commercial waste operators to prepare for the ban. The overwhelming majority of local authorities have ban compliant solutions in place and there has been a significant expansion of energy from waste facilities in Scotland in recent years.

However, due to a temporary shortfall of energy from waste capacity in Scotland, some parts of the waste sector have identified challenges in fully complying with the upcoming ban.

Taking account of these challenges, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency has today published a Regulatory Position Statement outlining its approach to enforcing the ban.

The Scottish Government strongly welcomes efforts to boost the production and use of Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF). SAF is one of the most promising ways of reducing aviation emissions and is therefore important in supporting the Scottish Government’s commitment to achieve net zero by 2045.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital role that Additional Support Needs (ASN) staff play in ensuring that all learners can access and succeed in college education.

In light of financial pressures across the sector, we are working with colleges and the SFC to ensure that strategic workforce planning includes consideration of ASN provision, so that reductions in staffing do not disproportionately affect the most vulnerable learners.

Colleges are required to demonstrate how they support students with additional needs. They are required to submit a Self-Evaluation Action Plan (SEAP) annually to the SFC to demonstrate how inclusive practices and support for ASN learners are embedded and improved. Institutions are encouraged to co-produce the SEAP with student associations to ensure it reflects student priorities.

We continue to provide targeted funding to support inclusive education, including the Disabled Students Premium and other resources aimed at improving accessibility and support for learners with ASN. Colleges receiving Disabled Students Premium funding must demonstrate how it is used to:

• Improve accessibility.
• Enhance support services.
• Maintain inclusive learning environments.

This is part of the Main Teaching Grant and is monitored through funding allocation reviews.

We are supporting colleges to embed inclusive practices through staff training, digital accessibility initiatives, and cross-sector collaboration. This includes promoting professional development for ASN staff and ensuring that colleges have the capacity to meet diverse learner needs.

The Scottish Government values and supports all those who work in Further and Higher Education. Despite the challenging financial climate our last budget allowed the SFC to provide a 2.6 per cent increase in teaching funding for 2025-26 and an increase of almost 5 per cent in capital maintenance to help colleges to invest in the learning experience of students.

The Scottish Government has not held any discussions with the operator on the subject of crew accommodation standards on MV Helliar and MV Hildasay.

The Scottish Government is investing more than three quarters of a billion pounds in our 24 colleges to support apprenticeships and a wide range of skills and qualifications. The most recent Scottish Funding Council (SFC) allocations provide increases of 2.6% to teaching funding and almost 5% in capital maintenance. This will help colleges’ future investment in students' learning experiences and in meeting Scotland’s skills.

Coupled with this, the SFC College Transformation Framework offers bespoke funding option arrangements between colleges and the SFC, enabling colleges to plan their future long-term curriculum more effectively.

Through its Outcomes Framework and Assurance Model (OF&AM), SFC engages with colleges to ensure they are engaging with employers to respond to industry and sector needs. Modern Apprenticeships are one form of provision that colleges provide to meet those needs.

The Scottish Government is providing £185 million this year to support 25,500 new Modern Apprenticeships, 5,000 new Foundation Apprenticeships and over 1,200 new Graduate Apprenticeships. This is in addition to the funding for 37,000 apprentices already in training.

It is our ambition to grow our apprenticeship offer and to increase opportunities for people to ‘earn as they learn’, in response to demand. The Tertiary Education (Scotland) Bill supports this ambition by simplifying the funding landscape and better aligning support for apprenticeships and work-based learning.

While apprenticeships remain a vital part of Scotland’s skills landscape, they are one of many high-quality pathways available. Our investment in colleges and universities supports a broad spectrum of learning routes, including work-based learning, so people can access the skills and qualification that best suit their ambitions and Scotland’s economic needs.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all college students—regardless of their background or circumstances—have the opportunity to succeed in their studies. We recognise the concerns raised in Audit Scotland’s Scotland’s Colleges 2025 report, particularly regarding the higher non-completion rates among students from more deprived communities, care-experienced students, and disabled students.

We are taking a number of steps to address the issue which include additional funding to colleges to support students facing barriers to learning, including those from deprived backgrounds and those with disabilities. This includes the Disabled Students Premium and funding for student support services.

We have expanded the Care-Experienced Bursary and are working with colleges to ensure that care-experienced students receive tailored support throughout their learner journey.

We are working with stakeholders to embed inclusive practices across the college sector, including mental health and wellbeing support, accessibility improvements, and staff training.

We are enhancing the use of data to better understand the factors contributing to non-completion to inform targeted interventions at both institutional and national levels. The SFC has introduced refined performance indicators, including a new measure of non-completion that distinguishes between early withdrawals and students who remain enrolled but do not complete their course. This will allow for more nuanced analysis of student outcomes and help identify where interventions are most needed.

We are committed to working collaboratively with colleges, students, and sector partners to reduce inequalities and improve retention and outcomes for all learners.