Chamber and committees

Weapons should never be in our schools and violence towards pupils or staff is unacceptable.

The Scottish Government’s national guidance on preventing and managing exclusion provides clear advice for schools on the response to incidents involving weapons. Police Scotland are responsible for responding to crime in Scotland, wherever committed.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01172 on 10 July 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Just Transition Fund does not have a single set of programme-wide KPIs. Instead, each funded project has its own agreed targets and milestones, which are monitored through quarterly, annual and final reporting.

The Fund's overarching outcomes are:

• Jobs, skills and economic opportunities;
• Communities and places;
• People and equity; and
• Environment, biodiversity and adaptation.

The Scottish Government expects the Fund to continue contributing to all four outcomes during the remainder of the current parliamentary session. £83.5 million has been allocated to 28 projects since 2022, with a further £17 million due to be allocated this year. A fresh evaluation of the impact of the Fund will be undertaken this year to get a more comprehensive picture of impact.

Just one project supported by the Just Transition Fund, the ETZ Supply Chain Challenge Fund, has generated 267 jobs and leveraged £17 million in private investment in four years, with further benefits expected as projects continue to be delivered.

Funding for the Scottish Land Fund in 2027-28 will be determined through the annual budget process.

The Scottish Government has set out clear objectives for the Just Transition Fund – to support the North East and Moray in transitioning to a net zero economy and mitigate the economic and social challenges associated with reducing dependence on carbon-intensive industries. These objectives are reflected in the criteria for the Fund this year which are; jobs, skills and economic opportunities; communities and place; people and equity; environment, biodiversity and adaptation.

The Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund has invested more than £83.5 million since 2022, supporting 28 projects across the North East and Moray.

Information on all recipients of Just Transition Fund awards, including project descriptions and funding allocations, is publicly available through a Scottish Government Freedom of Information release published in July 2025: [gov.scot]. This provides a comprehensive list of projects supported through the Fund.

The most recent funding round reopened on 2 March 2026, with up to £17 million available to support green jobs, innovation, supply chain diversification and community-led projects. Details of future funding opportunities will continue to be published on the Scottish Government website in the usual way.

Approximately £9.7 million from the first round of the Just Transition Fund was allocated to skills interventions aimed at supporting workforce transferability and the transition, including the Energy Skills Passport and Energy Transition Skills Hub.

The Passport is an industry led project and for the most recent data on uptake we recommend contacting Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and Renewable UK (RUK) directly. The latest information available to Scottish Government regarding uptake, which covers the period from launch in January 2025 to March 2026, is that over 650 user profiles have been set up on the Passport’s digital system. The Hub represents a major investment in Scotland’s green energy workforce, aiming to support 1,000 people into energy transition roles over its first five years.

The Just Transition Fund is complemented by the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund (TTF). The Scottish and UK Governments have each committed £3 million to the TTF for 2026/27, which aims to support over 1,000 oil and gas workers with careers advice and funding for training to access opportunities in sustainable energy and other growth sectors.

Employment law and the Employment Tribunal system are both reserved and administered by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunal Service (HMCTS). The Scottish Government has not made representations to the UK Government regarding scheduling matters, waiting times, the impact of waiting times, or the time taken for employment tribunal claims in the reserved tribunals to conclude.

The Scottish Government does not centrally hold information on these matters. Information regarding these subjects may be held by HMCTS, who can be contacted at [email protected].

The Scottish Government is committed to honouring the historic deal made with the BMA to invest £531 million over three years in primary care. The funding will help boost staff numbers and capacity, support day-to-day operations and make it easier for people to access GP services. GP practices have already received their first increased monthly payments.

As I set out in my statement to Parliament on 2 June, we will launch our consultation on a legislative approach to restrictions on mobile phones in schools within the first 100 days of this government.

In line with Scottish Government consultation guidelines, the consultation will run for a minimum of 12 weeks. The Scottish Government will publish an analysis of responses thereafter.