Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government’s Climate Change Plan makes clear that the Acorn Project is essential to meeting Scotland’s emissions targets, while our Green Industrial Strategy highlights the significant economic benefits CCUS can deliver for Scotland, particularly in the North East.

The UK Government pledged close to £22 billion for the HyNet and East Coast Cluster projects in 2024, last month the East Coast Cluster confirmed it has already awarded £1.5 billion to UK supply chain firms. This is the type of economic boost that Scotland should be experiencing, but the UK Government has yet to provide a timeline for the £200 million development support for the Acorn Project that was announced last year.

The failure by successive UK Governments to provide a full funding package for the Acorn project is risking emissions reductions and denying the North East the job creation and economic benefits that would be realised if Acorn were funded comparatively with the East Coast Cluster and HyNet Cluster projects.

Since the lodging of the members question, NatureScot have now received a licence application to permit the taking of gannets on Sula Sgeir.

In determining an application for a licence, NatureScot must consider whether the hunt is sustainable, in that it would not have an adverse effect on the conservation status of the species concerned.

NatureScot will assess the application in accordance with existing legal frameworks, including provisions of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (as amended) and the obligations set out in the Conservation (Natural Habitats, &c) Regulations 1994 (‘the Habitats Regulations’), which provide protection to the qualifying features of North Rona and Sula Sgeir Special Protection Area (SPA).

The assessment undertaken by NatureScot will be informed by the latest scientific evidence including an updated population viability analysis model.

Decisions on the location and configuration of fire stations are a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Board and Chief Officer. SFRS conducted a full public consultation on the 23 options for change contained in its Service Delivery Review (SDR) and the responses to the consultation have been independently analysed. The SFRS Board will take decisions before the end of June 2026 on which of the Service Delivery Review options should be taken forward for implementation over the next 5 years. These decisions will be based on the SFRS evidence for change along with the responses to the consultation.

We recognise there are workforce pressures across A&E and unscheduled care; however, these reflect wider whole system challenges, and our focus is on improving patient flow and reducing avoidable demand through the Operational Improvement Plan and early priorities this Parliament, including the expansion of community based alternatives to hospital care.

There have been substantial increases in the number of Emergency Medicine Consultants working for NHS Scotland, with the number increasing by 49% over the last decade, to stand at 313.4 Whole Time Equivalents as at 30 September 2025.

On 27 May, the Scottish Government announced that the first round of applications for the First Homes Fund will open by the end of June, providing first-time buyers with a £10,000 contribution towards a deposit on their first home at a property value of up to £300,000.

It will be the defining mission of this Scottish Government to support families with the cost of living and eradicate child poverty.

Our third Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, ‘Bringing Hope, Building Futures’ was published on 12 March and sets out a robust and enduring framework that will enable further progress against Scotland’s 2030 child poverty targets.

The Plan commits concrete action to drive continued progress. This includes investing £40 million in 2026-27 to deliver new support with transport and skills for families, increasing our Scottish Child Payment to £40 for families with a child under 1 during 2027-28, and investing to deliver a national breakfast club offer for primary school aged children with provision in all primary and special schools by August 2027.

Building on the actions we have taken to date, measures within the delivery plan are estimated to keep 100,000 children out of relative poverty this year.

We have committed to go even further to help people keep more money in their pockets and tackle child poverty. This includes introducing legal price caps on a range of essential food in big supermarkets, expanding support for childcare to all children from nine-months to the end of primary school, and introducing a £2 nationwide cap on bus fares to lower people’s travel costs.

Local authorities hold statutory responsibility for managing and maintaining their school estate, and we expect them to provide safe environments for all school users.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of schools with panic alarm or emergency alert systems centrally. Local authorities may hold this information.

Local authorities hold statutory responsibility for managing and maintaining their school estate, and have guidance and procedures in place to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of children and young people.

In June 2025 the Scottish Government published guidance on risk assessments for violent, aggressive and dangerous behaviour. This supports schools to manage situations where there is considered to be a foreseeable risk of harm occurring or a pattern of behaviour that causes, or is likely to cause harm to self or others. Evidence-based risk assessments support the understanding of the behaviour and inform planning of appropriate control measures and mitigations. Decisions on specific risk-mitigation measures are matters for individual schools.

As the recruitment and deployment of police officers are matters for the Chief Constable, it for her to determine the minimum establishment number of police officers. The Chief Constable has indicated that the current establishment model is based around 16,500 police officers.

The Scottish Government is investing a record funding of over £1.7 billion in policing in 2026-27, a total increase of £81.5 million compared to the 2025-26 budget. The Chief Constable has confirmed that this allows her to maintain the establishment figure of around 16,500 police officers.