Chamber and committees

Although universities are autonomous institutions, we expect them to be conducting due diligence on international research agreements - including complying with relevant legal requirements already in place and carefully considering guidance published by Universities UK, and the UK Government’s Research Collaboration Advice Team, to support them in managing risks of international partnerships.

The Scottish Government accepts the Supreme Court judgment.

The Supreme Court counselled against reading this judgment as a triumph of one or more groups in our society at the expense of another. It is not. The ruling gives clarity on the interpretation of two pieces of relevant legislation passed at Westminster. We will now engage on the implications of the ruling. Protecting the rights of all will underpin our actions. The Scottish Government acted in good faith in our interpretation of both the Gender Recognition Act 2004 and the Equality Act 2010; and as the Supreme Court recognised, our approach was consistent with advice then given by the EHRC.

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 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 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 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.

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

The aim of the four-day working week public sector pilot is to assess the environmental, health and wellbeing benefits, and efficiency gains, that a four-day working week could bring.

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.