Chamber and committees

Dallachy Airfield is currently owned and managed by Crown Estate Scotland rather than the Scottish Government. Currently, there are a number of commercial leases in place at the site.

Crown Estate Scotland has submitted a Call for Ideas representation to Moray Council Planning Department for the airfield to be allocated as Industrial and Green Energy development land, as part of the Moray Local Development Plan 2027.

The Scottish Government are checking and reviewing the ownership details used for this site as it appears on the Vacant and Derelict Land Register and will update the register with any changes in due course.

Myself and the previous Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills have supported the annual Vision Schools Scotland Awards ceremony by attending and contributing to the ceremonies where achievement of schools and pupils in Holocaust Education are recognised.

Since 2021, Scottish Government has provided £126,247 in funding to the Vision Schools Scotland programme to further support Holocaust education in schools. This includes funding up to £36,352 for the 2024-25 financial year.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

HMP Shotts was fully redeveloped and completed during 2013-14 at a cost of £93.1m. The establishment remains a valuable part of the SPS estate and delivers consistently high levels of care and support for those individuals who live there.

The land of the former prison site, which sits to the west of the current establishment, remains operational and is partly used for photovoltaic panels, reducing the establishment’s energy use.

SPS is currently in the process of assessing the future use of this area which includes methods to achieve a climate change journey to zero-direct emissions.

Under Scots law, there are established legal avenues for addressing concerns arising from deaths in the prison estate.

The Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016 requires a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) to be held where the deceased was in legal custody at the time of death. This requirement arises unless the Lord Advocate is satisfied that the circumstances of the death have been sufficiently established during the course of another formal investigation, such as a criminal investigation. FAIs are designed to establish the circumstances of a death and to consider what steps might be taken to prevent other deaths in similar circumstances, including identifying any defects in systems or practices that contributed to the death.

Additionally, individuals employed by Crown bodies can be prosecuted for health and safety offences. There are also relevant statutory offences that could apply following a death in custody, most notably, corporate homicide under the UK-wide Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, for which the Scottish Ministers, via the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), could potentially be held criminally liable.

There are currently no plans to bring forward legislative proposals in this area given the existing Parliamentary timetable.

In consultation with the Lord Advocate, I have commissioned an independent review of the FAI system to focus on improving the efficiency, effectiveness and trauma-informed nature of investigations into deaths in prison custody. The review will also identify the specific barriers that families face in engaging with the process and propose concrete solutions to shortened timescales. From 7 April 2025 close family members who are involved in deaths in custody FAIs also now have access to non-means-tested legal aid.

The specific spend from the Single Scottish Estate (SSE) programme budget during the 2024-25 financial year was £611,000. This budget covers a range of delivery matters for the programme, including funding 7 posts dedicated to the SSE work. The business as usual function of Property and Construction Division also provides delivery support to the programme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36866 on 6 May 2025. 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.

The site of the former Braehead Brickworks is within the operational land of the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project and is maintained by the project contractor, Scottish Roads Partnership (SRP). SRP has no plans for the site.

The retention or otherwise of Crown immunity from prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Scottish Government is committed to working with the UK Government on the removal of corporate Crown immunity from prosecution, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

I recently wrote to the Secretary of State for Justice asking to meeting, with this being one of the several agenda items for discussion. The Secretary of State for Justice has now responded and a meeting will be held in due course.

The Scottish Government recognises the growth in the number of pupils with an additional support need since the pandemic.

Local authorities have the statutory responsibility for delivering education and for ensuring that those pupils identified with an additional support need are fully supported to learn, in the environment that best suits their needs. Most children and young people’s needs are met through a universal level of support and 95% of children and young people with ASN were educated in mainstream classes in 2024. This includes adapting learning and teaching approaches to support children in the classroom. There remains a broad consensus from children and young people, parents and carers, the teaching profession and others that the Scottish approach to inclusive education continues to be the right one.

We continue to seek ways to improve the experience of inclusion for all of our young people and the 2025-26 budget sets out an additional £29 million for additional support needs.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is a top priority for the Scottish Government. We continue to provide £16 million per year to enable local authorities to provide access to school counselling services for pupils aged 10 and over.

Where Ministers have agreed that an appointee should be remunerated, the Daily Fee Framework for Chairs, Board Members and Public Appointments must be used to determine the appropriate Daily Fee. The framework does not mandate that a fee be paid.

It is open to the Sponsor Team to decide whether a payment need be made. Remuneration may be proposed where it is particularly important to have representation from as wide and diverse a range of candidates as possible, or where there is specific need for appointees to be drawn from otherwise under-represented groups.

Any remuneration payable is not intended to meet the market rate that could be commanded by the individuals concerned.

The relevant Scottish Government approval must be obtained prior to implementing any daily fee and prior to advertising, negotiating a remuneration package or confirmation of appointment.