Chamber and committees

The courts, tribunals and judiciary are independent of the government. This is necessary in order to preserve the independence of the judiciary and to protect it from political interference. Decisions on the livestreaming or other broadcasting of court or tribunal proceedings are ultimately a matter for the judiciary, supported by the relevant administrative body. Scottish Tribunals are administered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS). As such, the Scottish Government has not produced guidance regarding livestreaming of tribunal proceedings.

Certain tribunals including the Employment Tribunal in Scotland, the Immigration and Asylum Tribunal, and the Social Entitlement Chamber are reserved and SCTS and the Scottish Government has no remit over these.

The Scottish Government has not had any discussions with the Scottish Funding Council, or individual universities, regarding the Office for Students’ ruling concerning the University of Sussex in March 2025.

The Scottish Government expects institutions to comply with relevant legal requirements already in place, and carefully consider existing Equality and Human Rights Commission guidance on freedom of expression for higher education providers in Scotland. In 2020 the Scottish Funding Council entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Equalities & Human Rights Commission to support colleges and universities in meeting Public Sector Equality Duty requirements.

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce legislation in relation to freedom of speech at universities, however it fully supports individuals’ rights to freedom of expression, and believes universities to be places where freedom of expression should always be promoted and fostered, but this should be done in a courteous and respectful manner.

The Scottish Government expects universities to comply with relevant legal requirements in respect of academic freedom (which is addressed in section 26 of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005), and carefully consider existing Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) guidance on freedom of expression for higher education providers in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has received six complaints in the last five years relating to concerns regarding freedom of speech on university campuses.

The Scottish Government fully supports individuals’ rights to freedom of expression, and believes universities to be places where freedom of expression should always be promoted and fostered, but this should be done in a courteous and respectful manner. As autonomous bodies, universities are responsible for internal institutional matters such as complaints made or disciplinary action taken against staff and students.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has a statutory duty set out in the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 to secure the coherent provision by the post-16 education bodies (as a whole) of a high quality of fundable further education and fundable higher education.

The Scottish Government will continue to provide vital assistance to enable older people to heat their homes, to help disabled people live independent lives and will keep thousands of children out of poverty. The Scottish Government is committed to doing all it can to ensure that the finances remain on a sustainable trajectory. We have delivered a balanced budget every year since 2007, while taking forward action to improve the overall sustainability of the public finances. Scottish Ministers have been clear that this Government will continue to direct resources to the most impactful interventions to support our priorities. We will continue to drive forward our public sector reform programme to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of our public services.

There are a range of resources available to support teachers to teach about the Holocaust. For example, the Holocaust Educational Trust, which receives funding from Scottish Government, have a range of age-appropriate resources, a link can be found at https://www.het.org.uk/teaching-resources. In addition, Vision Schools Scotland, also funded by Scottish Government aims to promote excellence in Holocaust teaching with the key education resources available here. As part of this aim, Vision Schools Scotland provides in person and online Continued Professional Learning in Holocaust education to teachers, helping them develop confidence and proficiency in Holocaust teaching. In addition, Education Scotland has published a specific resource in relation to the Kindertransport. Educators can use across the broad general education and into senior phase and it can also be used in History National 4 Added Value Units.

Over the course of this Parliament, the Scottish Government has invested almost £1.7bn in our Enterprise Agencies. In 2023-24, the three agencies were able to help companies unlock over £2 billion of capital investment.

As part of our Green Industrial Strategy, the Scottish Government has committed to strategic investment of up to £500 million over five years in order to leverage £1.5 billion of private investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to growing the offshore wind sector.

We continue to ensure that Scotland is seen as an attractive investment opportunity, and also refer you to Parliamentary Question response S6W-36526 on 29 April 2025 which offers further information.

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