Chamber and committees

The question of compliance of planning legislation with Article 6 of the ECHR was considered by the House of Lords in the case of Alconbury v Secretary of State for the Environment, Transport and the Regions. In the Court’s 2001 decision it was found that the nature of the decision making process and the right to challenge decisions in the courts was sufficient to provide an Article 6 compliant procedure.

We are actively considering the feasibility of a national data collection including considering the most meaningful and reliable metrics. Accurately capturing this information consistently at a national level presents complex technical and operational challenges impacted both by definitional variation as well as variation across systems in terms of physical layout, operational practice and existing recording mechanisms.

We are aware from engagement with stakeholders that the prevalence of patients receiving care in non-standard areas is too high. This is clearly not acceptable which is why our key priority remains addressing the underlying causes of high acute hospital occupancy which results in bed blocking and can lead to the provision of care in non-standard areas. We are focusing on improving patient flow so people are admitted, treated, and discharged safely and on time. As part of our first 100 days commitments, we will deliver a plan on Improving Flow in Hospitals which will set out improvement in end-to-end patient flow, ensuring people receive the right care, in the right place, at the right time.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-33626 on 3 February 2025. 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.

Housing stock by tenure estimates are published on an annual basis. The latest data published is up to 2024 and can be found in the Stock by Tenure Excel tables which are linked to here: Housing Statistics 2025: Key Trends Summary - gov.scot. Please note the relevant caveats for 2020 data, as estimates were affected by reduced data collection during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Data for 2025 will be released later this year and an announcement on the exact publication date will be found on the Official statistics: forthcoming publications calendar when finalised.

Local authorities and National Park Authorities (“access authorities”) take the lead role in managing access to the countryside. Cases of irresponsible behaviour by those purporting to exercise access rights may be raised with the access authority. They may be able to assist, for example by putting up signage informing access takers of their responsibilities, installation of other infrastructure such as litter bins or toilets, or promoting suitable routes around or across a property, for example away from livestock or farmyards or around a field margin.

If a problem persists, the matter may be raised with the local access forum. Consisting of land manager and recreation interests, local access forums have been established by all access authorities for the purpose of assisting with problems or disputes. Where there are persistent breaches of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code, an interdict against that person may be sought through the legal system. If a person’s behaviour is criminal, it should be reported to Police Scotland.

Registers of Scotland is a non-Ministerial Public Body answerable to the Scottish Parliament.

In May 2014, Ministers invited the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland to take forward completion of the Land Register by 2024. With activity in the property market, targeted use of Keeper Induced Registration, a discounted Voluntary Registration fee and innovative use of data from the General Register of Sasines, the position, as of May 2026, is

The Scottish Government’s Play Park Renewal programme provided £60 million to Local Authority partners between September 2021 and March 2026. The funding was to accelerate the Local Authorities’ plans and improve play opportunities for children across Scotland. By March 2026 the programme had supported the renewal of 1,960 play parks, including 54 across Dumfries and Galloway. There are no plans to extend this programme in the current parliament.

The funding allocation for Dumfries and Galloway was:

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 undertook an internal review of the 2025 scheme which focused on lessons learned from the operation of the scheme and was shared with the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee (https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/rural-affairs-and-islands-committee/correspondence/2026/future-farming-investment-scheme-23-march.pdf).

Stakeholder engagement is ongoing which has provided some very useful feedback while refinements are made to the scheme for 2026. It has been made clear that FFIS represented welcome investment in the sector and details of any changes to the scheme will be outlined once the stakeholder engagement has been completed.

We are adopting a public health approach to online harm as an overarching approach to protecting children and young people from the risk of a spectrum of harm linked to the online world.

We understand the spectrum of harm can range from, among others, loss of concentration and wasted childhood time at one end, through disruption to education and the absorption of harmful often sexualised, misogynistic or violent content in the centre, to online bullying, incitement to self-harm and grooming at the extreme end. A public health approach allows us to respond appropriately to each of these risks and to adapt as the technology advances.

Ministers confirmation that we will introduce legislation to create phone free learning environments is an early policy and legal response to the spectrum of harms.

Ministers discussed this approach with members of our Online Safety Taskforce on 23 June and developments will be considered as this work progresses.

Another will be the development of a Public Health campaign which will develop the advice we have already published on our Parent Club website that recommends no screen time for babies and infants under 2 years, apart from communication (face time) with known adults. This is in line with World Health Organisation guidelines. The guidance also recommends that children aged 2-4 years should have no more than one hour of screen time per day.

To support our Screen use guidance we have also updated the Baby Box booklet to include information on the importance of early child development, speech, language and communication development, information supporting parental confidence to play and screen use advice. New information has been added to Parent Club providing guidance on managing screen use and also providing advice on how parents can also reduce their screen time.

Building on the comprehensive content currently included on Parent Club we will engage directly with parents and children and young people on what advice they need or want to support their positive digital behaviours. We will also undertake a review of research on the impact of digital media (including screen time and screen use i.e. content) on children and young people’s wellbeing to further inform the Scottish Governments position on children and young people’s positive digital behaviour.

In relation to school education, the Scottish Government provides grant funding to the Development Education Centres to deliver the Global Citizenship in Scotland programme. This provides professional learning for educators to build the skills and confidence they need to deliver Learning for Sustainability and Global Citizenship Education. In 2026-27, this funding totals £330,000. We also provide grant funding to Keep Scotland Beautiful to deliver the Climate Action Schools programme, which includes delivery of Eco-Schools Scotland. Global Citizenship is one of the optional topics learners can choose as part of their Eco-Schools work. In 2026-27, this funding totals £425,000.

In addition, the government’s curriculum agency, Education Scotland, continues to promote the work of Global Citizenship Education organisations through its educator networks, professional learning opportunities and via the Education Scotland website.