Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government regularly meets with representatives of teacher trade unions, including the Educational Institute of Scotland.

The 2021 SNP manifesto included a commitment to give teachers more time out of the classroom to prepare lessons, undertake professional development and tackle the challenges of closing the attainment gap.

We remain committed to delivering a reduction in teacher class contact time of 90 minutes per week, which we believe will create the conditions to achieve these improvements.

That is why we are working with teacher unions and COSLA through the SNCT to make meaningful progress towards delivering the reduction.

Teacher numbers increased by 12 between 2021 (2020 census baseline) and 2024. Teacher numbers for 2025 will be published with the teacher census statistics in December 2025.

The Scottish Government commissioned the report: Pupil projections and implications for teacher resourcing needs: education workforce modelling and research, which was published on 7 May 2024. This independent research has informed our engagement with partners on the commitment to reduce class contact time for teachers.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The figures recently reported in the media stem from a Freedom of Information request made to Police Scotland and relate to a single day snapshot of the situation as of
3 September 2025. Police Scotland do not publish the figures as a matter of course, given the day to day fluctuation around the number of outstanding warrants.

Police Scotland have been clear that they prioritise all arrest warrants according to threat, risk and harm, deploying national specialist resources and intelligence techniques to locate and apprehend those who pose the greatest risk to communities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41542 on 11 November 2025.

Status of major projects at outline business case stage or later – including NTC Forth Valley – is published on a 6-monthly basis in the Scottish Government’s major capital projects progress update. This is published on the Scottish Government’s website: Infrastructure Investment Plan: progress reports - gov.scot

As set out in the latest update (August 2025), the new ward continues to be delayed and an opening date is not yet confirmed for that ward. Work to agree a route to completion is ongoing. However, existing theatres (previously unused) have already been commissioned and in a phased opening, the National Treatment Centre began treating patients in October 2024.

There is an ongoing dispute with the contractor over final works required to bring the facility into appropriate condition for operational service. The final costs remain a point of negotiation and have not been finalised.

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.

Status of major projects at outline business case stage or later – including NTC Forth Valley – is published on a 6-monthly basis in the Scottish Government’s major capital projects progress update. This is published on the Scottish Government’s website: Infrastructure Investment Plan: progress reports - gov.scot

As set out in the latest update (August 2025), the new ward continues to be delayed and an opening date is not yet confirmed for that ward. Work to agree a route to completion is ongoing. However, existing theatres (previously unused) have already been commissioned and in a phased opening, the National Treatment Centre began treating patients in October 2024.

There is an ongoing dispute with the contractor over final works required to bring the facility into appropriate condition for operational service. The final costs remain a point of negotiation and have not been finalised.

Execution of warrants is a matter for Police Scotland, who remain focused on the investigation of crime and keeping our communities safe. The service has been clear that they prioritise all arrest warrants according to threat, risk and harm, deploying national specialist resources and intelligence techniques to locate and apprehend those who pose the greatest risk to communities.

The Scottish Government is investing a record £1.64 billion for policing this year, and our continued investment enabled Police Scotland to take on more recruits in the last financial year than at any time since 2013, including an intake this month. Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales and recorded crime has fallen by more than half since 1991.

The figures recently reported in the media stem from a Freedom of Information request made to Police Scotland and relate to a single day snapshot of the situation as of 3 September 2025.

The Scottish Government requires Local Authorities to estimate future housing need and demand in a report called the Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA). This includes the use of National Records of Scotland (NRS) household projections and the Scottish Government also provides authorities with an Excel-based model, called the HNDA Tool, to help them do this.

The HNDA Tool includes the household projections, as well as several other data inputs, and is available on the Scottish Government website Housing Need and Demand Assessment (HNDA): tool 2020 - gov.scot. The household projections take account of assumptions about migration into and out of Scotland.

Local Authorities also have the option to detail the housing needs of Asylum Seekers and Refugees in their HNDAs. HNDAs are completed by all Local Authorities every five years and they are used as an evidence-base to formulate local housing policies within their Local Housing Strategy (LHS) reports.

The SPPA is required to issue annual benefit statements to scheme members by 31 August of each year. Where statements have not been issued by that date, it is not solely due to delays on the part of SPPA. In some cases it is not possible due to insufficient data, and statements were subsequently issued when that data became available. In the years 2023 to 2025, there was an additional requirement to issue remediable service statements to scheme members eligible for the McCloud remedy. The following tables set the available information out, and reflect numbers reported to the Pensions Regulator in each year.

Table 1: Scheme members that did not receive an annual benefit statement in 2021 and 2022, by scheme.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41542 on 11 November 2025.

Status of major projects at outline business case stage or later – including NTC Forth Valley – is published on a 6-monthly basis in the Scottish Government’s major capital projects progress update. This is published on the Scottish Government’s website: Infrastructure Investment Plan: progress reports - gov.scot.

As set out in the latest update (August 2025), the new ward continues to be delayed and an opening date is not yet confirmed for that ward. Work to agree a route to completion is ongoing. However, existing theatres (previously unused) have already been commissioned and in a phased opening, the National Treatment Centre began treating patients in October 2024.

There is an ongoing dispute with the contractor over final works required to bring the facility into appropriate condition for operational service. The final costs remain a point of negotiation and have not been finalised.

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