Chamber and committees

Work is currently underway to establish the governance arrangements necessary to ensure that Calmac would meet the definition of a Teckal compliant body in advance of the new Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract being put in place by 1 October 2025.

To support ongoing public and stakeholder engagement SEPA has published consultations relating to the Environmental Authorisations (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2025, and linked to the Scottish Government consultation. SEPA will use its webpages and social media to ensure authorisation holders and applicants understand how any changes impact them and any action they need to take.

Since January 2021 the Scottish Chamber Orchestra has undertaken the following number of engagements in Scotland and in the Highlands and Islands:

This Government is committed to continuing to help crofters and their families to live on and work their croft, contributing to the sustainability of our rural and island communities.

*Figures are broken down by the Rural Payments and Inspections Division by area not by local authority area.

NPF4 places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and makes clear our support for all forms of renewable, low-carbon and zero emission technologies. Potential impacts on communities and individual dwellings are important considerations in the decision-making process and all applications are subject to site-specific assessments.

Where new development proposals come forward, the planning system requires decision makers to weigh up all relevant policies, as well as relevant material considerations, in applying balanced planning judgement.

While Scottish Ministers can decide to amend the NPF or review it in full at any time, having an established and consistent policy framework enables confidence in the planning system and so we expect to exercise this power sparingly. We have no current plans to amend NPF4.

The preparation of NPF4 involved extensive engagement, including with rural interests. Legislation requires that within 10 years after publishing the framework, the Scottish Ministers are to either revise the framework, or publish an explanation of why they have decided not to revise it. When revising the framework, legislation requires that a participation statement must be published, setting out when consultation is likely to take place and with whom Ministers intend to consult, including such persons or bodies with a role in delivery of statutory outcomes. One such outcome is increasing the population of rural areas of Scotland.

We have no plans to review NPF4 at present, but any future review would meet the requirements to engage with relevant interests, including perspectives from rural areas, at the appropriate time. Regulations allowing for amendment of the NPF came into force in December 2025 and set out minimum requirements for engagement with stakeholders.

The Scottish Government has committed a further £700k to the National Performing Companies this financial year and will provide an additional £1m as part of the £34m increase to culture sector funding next financial year. This will take them to the highest level of funding since 2010-11. This will enable the National Performing Companies to maintain and develop their productions across Scotland.

Since April 2021 the Royal Scottish National Orchestra has undertaken the following number of productions in Scotland and in the Highlands and Islands region:

The Scottish Government is considering the scope of the review in light of the delayed implementation of some aspects of the Act.

The Scottish Government’s investment in rail covers a wide range of improvements and decarbonisation of rail services forms part of that, be it fleet replacement, investment in feeder stations, or electrification of railway lines and therefore is integrated into the rail budget figures to be found in the draft budget for 2025-26 in Chapter 8 – Transport