Chamber and committees

No representations have been received suggesting that a new statutory framework to co-ordinate protections and responsibilities relating to war memorials in Scotland is required. However, Ministers are considering their position on the protection afforded to war memorials from damage by the criminal law and, in that context, would welcome representations from members on potential improvements to existing arrangements for the protection of, and responsibilities relating to, war memorials in Scotland.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), adopted by the Scottish Ministers in February 2023, sets out national planning policy and a long term spatial strategy for Scotland. It was subject to extensive consultation, including with rural stakeholders, and impact assessment and Parliamentary scrutiny.

The last Scottish Parliament’s Local Government, Housing and Planning Committee conducted annual reviews of NPF4 to assess its impact in practice.

The Scottish Government, in partnership with the National Planning Improvement Champion, monitors performance of planning policy and the planning system through close engagement with key stakeholders, including planning authority colleagues.

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.

We are keen to develop potential rural planning reforms, informed over the early period of this new Parliament by stakeholder engagement and consultation. This will build on the findings of previous engagement on issues relevant to how planning policy and the planning system impact on rural areas, for example, through the development of the National Planning Framework and on permitted development rights.

The Scottish Government is considering plans to deliver the commitment to temporarily reduce the power of attorney registration fees within this parliamentary term, and will engage with relevant stakeholders to do so.

Planning and training for tackling fires are operational matters for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) to consider. SFRS continually reviews its operational response concerning emerging technology, including battery storage, to keep communities safe and has the ability to deploy a range of resources that can be utilised by highly skilled crews to successfully bring incidents to a safe conclusion.

More Homes Scotland will launch in 2027-28 and become fully functional in 2028-29.

As set out in the previous Cabinet Secretary’s 25 March update to Parliament found here: More Homes Scotland update - Cab Sec Housing to LGHP - 25 March 2026, More Homes Scotland will:

• make greater use of land assembly and preparation powers to support viability and help accelerate pace of delivery;
• provide enhanced support for housing planning and development delivery;
• introduce greater opportunities for standardisation and adopt simplified commissioning options; and
• promote flexible funding approaches to drive economic growth opportunities, including through joint working with Scottish National Investment Bank.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00062 on 2 June 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.

Ministers recognise the importance of Scotland’s war memorials and the significant personal, cultural and community value they hold, as well as the deeply felt impact that damage to them can cause. Following the Constitution, Europe, External Affairs and Culture Committee’s scrutiny of the Desecration of War Memorials (Scotland) Bill in the last parliamentary session, Ministers are taking full account of the Committee’s findings and recommendations, including its invitation to engage on the merits of a statutory aggravation.