The Green Jobs Fund supported businesses and their supply chains to help them better transition to a low carbon economy. The support provided by the fund, all of which was capital, aimed to create green employment through investment in equipment, premises, and research and development.

Since its creation, the Green Jobs Fund has provided £38.7 million in grant funding to support 122 projects. Figures provided by the recipients of these awards estimated that these projects will support up to 7354 jobs over the life of the individual projects.

The Green Jobs Fund was discontinued in financial year 2023-24. It formed a relatively small part of the Scottish Government’s broader investment in the transition to net zero. This includes many institutions, funding packages and investment vehicles which provide advice, support, and financial assistance for businesses at the forefront to building Scotland’s green economy.

The Green Industrial Strategy provides further strategic direction on how such investment supports the development, growth and scale-up of existing and new businesses seeking to take advantage of the global opportunities of the transition.

Figures provided by the recipients of the Green Jobs Fund awards estimated that the projects will support up to 7354 jobs over the life of the individual projects.

The Minister for Equalities and I are pleased to announce that Scotland’s first National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy for young disabled people – a joint strategy with COSLA - has now been published.

The strategy has been developed in partnership with young disabled people, parents, carers, the professionals who support them and the National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy Strategic Working Group. It calls for a co-ordinated, collaborative approach that integrates the efforts of all relevant sectors and partners. The strategy, which is also available in accessible formats, can be found here National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy for Young Disabled People - gov.scot.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) conducted a review of the emergency departments of the three main receiving hospitals in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2024, and published a report on findings from the review on 27 March 2025.

Eleven recommendations from this report are of national, strategic relevance and the Scottish Government will work collaboratively with stakeholders, at pace, to implement improvements to the challenging environments recognised by HIS inspectors.

I wrote to the Chair and Chief Executive of HIS on 2 June to respond formally to each national recommendation. A copy of this letter has been published on the Scottish Government website today, Monday 30 June, which can be found here https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-greater-glasgow-and-clyde-emergency-department-review-response/.

The Scottish Government recognise that lowering the production cost of green hydrogen is a key factor in the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland. We are supportive of innovation and technological advances that could support this aim.

The Scottish Government is committed to helping the Scottish hydrogen sector develop and grow to realise an ambition of generating 5GW of green and low-carbon hydrogen by 2030 and 25GW by 2045. Working with our Enterprise Agencies, we are actively engaging with developers to support and encourage hydrogen production projects across Scotland. Given the nascent nature of the sector, and the pace of the developing global hydrogen economy, future production capacity levels are subject to many factors and are challenging to forecast.

Four out of six key measures provided for within the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022, have been implemented and two have been paused, as outlined to the Criminal Justice Committee. The decisions to pause the implementation of a licensing system for those wishing to use fireworks and restricting the days on which fireworks can be supplied and used, are being kept under review. The Scottish Government is keeping abreast of developments being made by the UK Government including the consideration of the Private Members’ Fireworks Bill seeking to restrict and limit the use and sale of fireworks.

I most recently met with Minister Madders, Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets alongside the Deputy First Minister of Wales, on 26 February 2025 to discuss what more can be done on firework regulations as part of our on-going discussions to address the dangerous misuse of fireworks.

Protecting children from harm is a key priority for the Scottish Government. I welcome the findings of Baroness Casey’s Audit. We are working at pace with partners including Police Scotland to assess its findings and recommendations to understand how they might apply in Scotland.

Police Scotland has advised that there are no current investigations in Scotland involving offences against children which would mirror the investigations described in Baroness Casey’s audit as being perpetrated by “grooming gangs”. However, there is absolutely no place for complacency. That is why Police Scotland are carrying out their deep dive into previous investigations of the type referred to in the Baroness Casey audit. This is expected to be completed in a matter of weeks.

It should also be noted, that as a single force, with one vulnerability database feeding local and national child protection procedures, and a National Intelligence database, Police Scotland is well placed to address the information and intelligence sharing challenges highlighted in Baroness Casey’s Audit. Police Scotland will work closely with the UK National Police Chiefs’ Council leads in Child Protection to ensure mutual sharing of best practice and learning on this issue.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry currently taking place is one of the widest ranging ever undertaken in Scotland, and includes an extensive review of child protection policy and practice in Scotland. Baroness Casey’s report specifically highlights the vulnerability of children in care to sexual exploitation and is likely to be a further source of evidence for the Scottish Inquiry to draw on.

Baroness Casey’s audit will also be considered by the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group, members of which include Police Scotland and Professor Alexis Jay, as it considers opportunities to improve our response to child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has regular discussions with UK Government counterparts to identify opportunities for improved collaboration. We are committed to working in partnership with UK Ministers to tackle child abuse and exploitation.

Since 2020-21, 50 grants worth a total of £44.57m have been allocated to projects to support and develop green hydrogen production, as detailed in the following table.