Chamber and committees

I recognise that domestic abuse can have significant physical, social, and emotional impacts on children. While one child experiencing domestic abuse is one too many, it is positive that children are reaching out to Childline to seek support. I welcome the NSPCC Christmas campaign to highlight to children and young people that there is a dedicated service, Childline, to provide support over the festive period and beyond.

Through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning and Empowering Communities third sector funds, the Scottish Government provides £726,600 in funding, across 5 organisations to deliver outcomes supporting child protection. This includes £312,900 in funding to the NSPCC, allocating £207,900 specifically to its Childline services.

We are also investing £19 million a year in specialist services and projects through the Delivering Equally Safe (DES) Fund to support 83 projects to undertake work with children and young people who have experienced violence and abuse.

Our National Guidance for Child Protection in Scotland 2021, updated 2023, includes detailed advice on domestic abuse considerations in safety planning.

Through our Equally Safe Delivery Plan, we are also progressing work to strengthen the links between domestic abuse and Child Protection systems, and to ensure that staff are trained and confident to identify and deal sensitively with the issue.

A number of forums exist which provide an opportunity for stakeholders to discuss disabled student and graduate outcomes.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) have regular contact with the College Development Network’s Equality Diversity and Inclusion network, which brings together equality leads from Scotland’s colleges. SFC are also developing a relationship with the Scottish Equality Forum, a network which brings together equality leads from across Scotland’s universities and college to provide support to each other on addressing inequality in the sector.

Additionally, through the development of the proposed Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, 3 Bill Advisory Panels were established early last year to co-develop proposals. This includes stakeholder and practitioner panels and a lived experience panel. Those panels provide a forum for wider discussion of the challenges and barriers faced by autistic and neurodivergent people, including their experiences of education.

And in September 2024, the Scottish Government published its Student Mental Health Action Plan which sets out, for the first time, a mainstreamed approach to student mental health. The Scottish Government will work in partnership with NHS Boards, CoSLA, Public Health Scotland and community based providers to join up support that is already available, embedding support for students into the wider communities in which they live and study.

Scottish Ministers and Transport Scotland officials meet regularly with David MacBrayne Ltd & CalMac Ferries Ltd. This includes Ministerial meetings with the Board and Senior Management Team as well as Transport Scotland participation in a range of DML led working groups.

The Cabinet Secretary for Transport last met the DML Board Chair (Erik Østergaard) in person on, 17 September 2024, and remotely on, 16 November 2023.

Accessibility obligations for taxi and private hire car drivers and Local Licencing Authorities are reserved to the UK Government under the Equality Act 2010.

The taxi licensing system is devolved under the Civic Government Act 1982 and is implemented by (local authority) licensing authorities. They are responsible for enforcing the duties placed on drivers to carry a disabled person’s assistance dog at no additional charge, unless the driver has a medical exemption certificate.

Transport Scotland will shortly survey licensing authorities to better understand the provision of accessible taxis and disability equality training requirements in each licencing area.

The following table provides the details of all expenditure that has been paid to contest concluded civil cases relating to prosecutions arising from the administration of Rangers FC. Figures correct as of 27 October 2024.

Provisions to introduce a licensing scheme for certain wildlife traps and provisions relating to glue traps have not yet been implemented. We will be commencing these provisions over the coming months, with stakeholders given sufficient time to make any necessary changes.

Provisions relating to the licensing of muirburn and the Muirburn Code are expected to be brought in ahead of the next muirburn season in autumn 2025.

Petroineos first approached the Scottish Government in early 2024 to seek support for Project Willow. The Scottish Government has supported this with £799,000 of funding and has successfully leveraged the UK Government to do the same.

The Project Willow cross site study is examining the enablers and blockers to deploying low carbon technologies at Grangemouth that will support our commitment to secure a long term and sustainable future for the industrial cluster. Petroineos has contracted Ernst & Young Parthenon (Ernst & Young) to undertake this study which commenced in August and is due to report early in the New Year.

The Scottish Government, UK Government, Scottish Enterprise, Petroineos and INEOS have a joint governance function for the study and Unite the Union engage via regular standing committee meetings.

The programme of work has undertaken extensive stakeholder engagement including businesses, sector specialists, the local community, and the public sector.

Consideration was given to over 80 technologies at different levels of readiness before developing a shorter list of viable alternatives - including sustainable aviation fuel, e-fuels, and low carbon hydrogen - which are now being scrutinised through the following lenses: technical; economic; commercial; regulatory; climate/environmental; community; and skills. Feedstock availability and scalability are two of several key criteria being considered by Ernst & Young.

The Scottish Government will provide an update to Parliament on the findings of Project Willow upon its conclusion.

To support the development of, ‘A Trading Nation: Realising Scotland's Hydrogen Potential - A Plan for Exports’, Scottish Government officials engaged extensively with stakeholders, including key policy leads within the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 (‘the Continuity Act’) provides Scottish Ministers with a power to help meet the Scottish Government’s commitment to align with future developments in EU law, where it is appropriate and meaningful to do so. This is important to maintain and advance regulatory standards in Scotland.