Chamber and committees

The Care Inspectorate operates independently of, and at arm’s length from, Scottish Government. However, Scottish Ministers consider the effectiveness of inspection arrangements on an ongoing basis, including as part of the annual approval of the Care Inspectorate’s inspection plan.

The Scottish Government also works with the Care Inspectorate to consider whether changes to the regulatory framework or inspection arrangements are required to support the effective exercise of its functions.

In September 2025, a new Quality Improvement Framework for the early learning and childcare sectors was introduced by the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland, which includes childminding-specific quality indicators. Further changes made in recent years include making Care Standard Questionnaires for Childminding services available to the public, revising guidance for inspectors and enhancing information-sharing between regulators.

We are not aware of any patients who have been unable to access services for the treatment of energy-limiting conditions as a result of referrals being suspended during the integration of long COVID services with services for other energy-limiting conditions.

NHS Boards are responsible for the planning and operational delivery of services for their local populations and are therefore best placed to provide information on referral arrangements and service changes within their areas.

We expect NHS Boards to ensure that any service changes are managed in a way that minimises disruption to patient care and maintains access to appropriate assessment, treatment and support.

The diagnosis and management of asthma is a matter for clinicians.

The Programme for Government in 2025 announced an extension to the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) for multi-year projects beginning in 2026-27, which was launched earlier this year. The NRF is currently closed for new applications while we consider next steps in how to take the NRF programme forward.

This is an operational matter for the Care Inspectorate, who are best placed to provide this information.

The Care Inspectorate is the independent regulator of care services in Scotland. The registration, inspection and enforcement of childminding services are operational matters for them.

Registered childminders are required to operate within the conditions of their registration, including any limits on the number and ages of children they may care for at any one time. The Care Inspectorate monitors compliance through a range of regulatory activity, including inspections, intelligence gathering, self-evaluation information, notifications from providers, and information received from parents, members of the public and partner agencies.

Where concerns are identified that a childminding service may be caring for more children than it is registered to accommodate, the Care Inspectorate has powers to investigate and, where appropriate, take regulatory or enforcement action.

Decisions on the identification, investigation and enforcement of registration requirements are matters for the Care Inspectorate as an independent regulator exercising its statutory functions and are not directed by the Scottish Government.

Reporting timetables are a matter for the independent chairs of the inquiry.

The Care Inspectorate operates independently of, and at arm’s length from, Scottish Ministers. However, the Scottish Government monitors the Care Inspectorate’s inspection activity and performance through established sponsorship arrangements and provides funding to support delivery of its statutory functions. Decisions about the frequency and targeting of childminding inspections are operational matters for the Care Inspectorate and are informed by previous inspection findings, complaints, notifications and other intelligence about individual services.

The Care Inspectorate keeps its scrutiny and assurance arrangements under review to ensure that regulatory resources are targeted where risks are greatest and that children continue to receive safe, high-quality care. The Scottish Government remains engaged with the Care Inspectorate on these arrangements and its capacity to deliver both risk-based and planned inspection activity.

Last month, Falkirk Council informed Ministers of its final decision to confirm the Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme without modifications under the Flood Risk Scotland Act (2009). The Scottish Government continues to work closely with Falkirk Council as the scheme is progressed.

A joint Scottish Government and Falkirk Council Taskforce undertook work to agree how best to prioritise delivery of residential phases within the scheme. Scottish Government provided £1.6 million to Falkirk Council earlier this year to support detailed design of these phases over the next 18 to 24 months. This builds on the almost £23 million invested by Scottish Government since 2016-17 to support flood protection in Grangemouth.

Responsibility for the development and delivery of individual flood protection schemes remains with the local authority.

A full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) was drafted alongside development of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025. This considered the potential impacts of the overarching proposals for community engagement obligations on businesses and landowners. This BRIA can be found by following this link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/land-reform-scotland-bill-business-regulatory-impact-assessment-bria/

The purpose of the consultation is to explore how these requirements will work in practice ahead of these coming into force. The consultation also includes questions on how the cost to landowners can be reduced, for example through reducing duplication, and the responses to these questions will be considered within the consultation analysis.

The current consultation is the first on implementation of the community engagement proposals, and it will be followed by further consultation on draft regulations in winter 2027. Appropriate impact assessments will be carried out to support regulations that bring these proposals into force.

As set out in the consultation on community engagement obligations, landowners will be expected to comply with the Deer Management Code of Practice. This will include updates made to the Code following changes to deer legislation made through the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026.