Chamber and committees

Scottish Enterprise engaged with Highlands and Islands Enterprise prior to awarding the grant.

The Scottish Government has not funded the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) humanitarian response in Gaza. MSF is primarily funded by private donations, as opposed to government funding, as a way of prioritising operational neutrality.

However, Scottish Government funding through other organisations and UN-led pooled funds has directly responded to the pressing humanitarian needs of the civilian population in Gaza.

Since the outset of the current conflict, the Scottish Government has committed £2.3 million in humanitarian funding for Gaza and the wider Middle East. This includes £750k for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), £550k to the Disasters Emergency Committee Appeal, Mercy Corps and Scottish Catholic Aid Fund (SCIAF) and a £600K contribution to the multi-donor pooled fund led by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs(OCHA) for the Occupied Palestinian Territories. This funding has funded the provision of life-saving health services, food and nutrition assistance, emergency shelter, water and sanitation, protection services, education support and cash for families, ensuring aid reaches those most at risk.

The Scottish Government has also recently provided £400,000 to the Dundee-based global health charity Kids Operating Room to establish the Gaza HOPES Field Readiness Hub which will support a rapidly deployable hospital in Gaza for provision of essential surgical, maternity and paediatric services, and facilitate the future recovery of the decimated healthcare sector through ongoing training of medical staff.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly expressed its concern about the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Scottish Ministers have called for the unfettered access of humanitarian aid throughout the conflict and reiterated the importance of an immediate influx of humanitarian aid following the ceasefire agreement that commenced on 19 January 2025.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting digital learning within schools and recognises the importance of harnessing technology in ways that enhance learning and teaching, ensuring alignment with the wider ambitions of Scottish education.

Denmark has announced that it will ban mobile phones and other personal internet enabled devices at school, during both lesson and break times. It is important to distinguish between school-managed learning devices and personal devices such as mobile phones and tablets.

Personal devices and school-issued devices serve fundamentally different roles in educational settings. Mobile phones and other personal devices which are not managed by local authorities, may have unrestricted access to the internet and apps that are not chosen for educational value. Digital technology, in the form of school managed devices and carefully curated tools and services, is a key part of modern education and we are working to ensure it is used purposefully to enhance learning experiences. Teachers are using their professional judgement to determine when digital tools add value and when traditional methods are more appropriate.

As part of our work to develop a new digital strategy for education, we are engaging with partners to explore and define the essential components that enable digital technology to be used in ways that genuinely add value to learning, while protecting children’s wellbeing and safety. These include clarity of educational purpose, age-appropriate approaches, strong safeguarding measures, professional learning for staff, and meaningful engagement with parents and carers.

Learning how to use technology responsibly, within clear boundaries and with appropriate support, is also an important part of helping children and young people develop the skills they need to navigate the wider digital world.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) are an integral part of Scotland’s sewer networks, ensuring sewers don’t back up and flood homes, streets and sewage works during periods of heavy rainfall. However, CSOs will operate more often in light of increased rainfall due to climate change. Therefore, whilst continuing to invest in sewage networks, it will also be necessary to ensure that rainwater is not drained to sewer.

Scottish Water’s current Surface Water Policy requires alternative means for managing surface water for new developments out with the combined sewer network. Local Authorities also have a role to play through working in partnership with Scottish Water to support the development of surface water management plans, deliver blue-green infrastructure and tackle urban creep to limit the impact of climate change on the sewerage system.

As the Scottish Government’s national economic development body, Scottish Enterprise is responsible for its own funding decisions.

For all grants it provides, Scottish Enterprise is required to undertake rigorous due diligence on companies seeking funding to ensure compliance with Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) standards https://www.gov.scot/publications/commercial-due-diligence-guidance/pages/4/

Wave Energy Scotland (WES) is a subsidiary of Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE). As a non-departmental public body, HIE operates independently of the Scottish Government and is responsible for setting out arrangements between itself and its subsidiaries, including WES.

Transitional funding for WES will be provided in financial year 2026-2027, giving WES the opportunity to explore longer term funding solutions.

As the grant provided to Offshore Solutions Group was from Scottish Enterprise rather than Scottish Government, this is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I have asked their CEO, Adrian Gillespie, to respond to you directly.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43883 on 17 March 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.

Wet storage requirements for floating offshore wind are project-specific and vary depending on a wide-range of factors such as type of floating foundations, project location, infrastructure availability and deployment timelines. Each offshore wind developer will determine the specific construction and storage solutions it requires based on project needs and commercial considerations.