Chamber and committees

In 2025, the Scottish Government consulted on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), calling for evidence of SLAPPs in Scotland and including a draft Model Law prepared by interested stakeholders.

The majority view expressed by respondents was that SLAPPs exist in Scotland and need to be tackled. The preferred approach to legislative reform was to resemble the Model Law consulted on.

The Scottish Government agreed and further work is being carried out on aspects of the Model Law, including how it would operate in practice. The Scottish Government is committed to bringing forward reform to identify and prevent SLAPPS in this Parliamentary term.

Scotland’s agricultural sector is at the heart of our economy and our rural communities, and is key for accessing local food. We will continue to support active farming and sustainable food production in Scotland through direct payments. Scottish Ministers have committed to a period of certainty until 2030, delivering direct support to provide the industry with reassurance and boost confidence in long-term investment. Scotland’s Vision for Agriculture sets a clear direction for a future farming system that, amongst other things, supports high-quality activity in food production.

The Small Producers Pilot Fund strengthens local food and drink production, improves energy efficiency, and sustains rural jobs through continuing to test funding options to support small producers. The SPPF is providing up to £1m resource and up to £1.5m capital this year, including to explore solutions to challenges surrounding abattoirs and small producers’ access to private kill services, so that communities can access meat produced locally.

The £6 million Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland is making vital capital funding available to food and drink processing businesses across Scotland to support projects which can increase production, improve supply chain efficiency and deliver economic benefits within the food and drink sector. This includes two significant investment projects in the South of Scotland, with Wolds Produce Ltd and Rowan Glen both receiving awards from the scheme at the maximum value of £400,000.

The Scottish Government has established the Public Sector Food Procurement Taskforce, to help increase the use of locally produced food and drink across Scotland's public sector, including schools, hospitals and workplaces. It's part of our commitment to supporting Scotland's food and drink sector and strengthening local food supply chains. The Taskforce will provide recommendations to Ministers by the end of March 2027. This work supports the ambitions of our Local Food Strategy, “Local Food for Everyone: Our Journey”.

The Scottish Government continues to work with enterprise agencies, including South of Scotland Enterprise, to support businesses in the region, including in the food and drink sector.

The Scottish Government is committed to bringing forward reform to identify and prevent SLAPPS in this Parliamentary term. The legislative programme will be agreed by Ministers and announced to Parliament in due course in the usual way.

After careful consideration, the Scottish Government decided to stop work on the potential Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, originally proposed in the last session of Parliament.

Engagement with stakeholders, including those with lived experience, highlighted that action was needed now.

This will be through policy reform, service improvement and targeted investment and not primary legislation.

This reassessment of our approach will allow us to take immediate action to improve lives now, rather than wait for primary legislation.

In 2025, the Scottish Government consulted on strategic lawsuits against public participation (SLAPPs), including a draft Model Law prepared by interested stakeholders. The majority view expressed by respondents was that SLAPPs need to be tackled and that reform should resemble the Model Law consulted on. The Scottish Government agreed and further work is being carried out on aspects of the Model Law, including how it would operate in practice. The Scottish Government is committed to bringing forward reform to identify and prevent SLAPPS in this Parliamentary term.

NHS Boards are responsible for the governance and oversight of services, including arrangements for mortality review, the investigation of significant adverse events, and the escalation of patient safety concerns. National surveillance arrangements, including reporting through MBRRACE-UK, support the monitoring and review of perinatal and neonatal deaths.

The Scottish Government published the Maternity and Neonatal (Perinatal) Adverse Event Review process for Scotland in 2021, which sets out clearly our expectations for reviews of adverse events in maternity and neonatal services.

All NHS Boards are expected to follow this process in full in maternity and neonatal services, and we monitor this through our ongoing activity with NHS Boards. We expect Boards to routinely monitor the themes from their adverse events and take appropriate action, and Healthcare Improvement Scotland are scrutinising Boards processes in relation to adverse events as part of their Maternity Inspections.

The Maternity and Neonatal Task Force will assess whether any changes to existing Scottish guidance, procedures or review arrangements are required in light of the inquiry's recommendations for neonatal care and will work with relevant organisations, including NHS Boards to ensure that any lessons applicable to Scotland are fully considered.

As I said in answer to S7O-00367 on 8 October 2026, it is important that arrangements for seized vehicles should support our efforts to tackle the antisocial and criminal use of vehicles including e-bikes.

I understand that Police Scotland has disposed of seized electronic transporters through an accredited recycling process, where some vehicles were auctioned and the proceeds returned to Police. I have been informed by Police Scotland that steps have been taken to stop such sales of seized electronic transporters, and to instead dispose of these items so that they cannot re-enter circulation.

All answers to oral Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Official Report: search what was said in Parliament | Scottish Parliament Website

Local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes, supported by funding from the Scottish Government. This includes the design, construction and monitoring of specific schemes. As such, decisions regarding the specification and sourcing of materials, and the assessment of any risks associated with material substitutions during construction, are matters for the local authority and its contractor.

The Scottish Government considers that the current planning and licensing framework provides a proportionate and balanced approach to the regulation of short-term lets. We remain confident that local authorities can operate these separate but complementary regimes effectively, balancing the interests of hosts, guests, businesses and local communities, and that the framework is appropriate for application across the whole of Scotland, including rural areas. I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40116 on 9 September 2025 provided to Miles Briggs MSP.

Further information can also be found in the answer to S7W-03704 on 22 October 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

Creative Scotland’s Multi-Year Funding programme builds on a long-established model of regular funding for cultural organisations and was introduced to provide greater long-term certainty to a large and diverse portfolio of organisations. Support for Scotland's non-national museums and galleries operates through a different funding model, with Scottish Government support provided through an annual budget settlement to Museum Galleries Scotland, alongside funding from a range of other sources, including local authorities.

The Scottish Government launched the Museum Futures programme in July 2025 in response to the pressures facing Scotland’s museum sector, providing an additional £4 million per annum to help the sector innovate and embed sustainability. Crucially, the programme is also helping to build the evidence base on sector needs and funding requirements to better inform future budget decisions and ensure Scottish Government funding for the sector is invested where it will have the maximum impact for the long-term sustainability of the sector.