Chamber and committees

The assessment of requests and permission for officers seeking additional jobs or business interests are matters for the Chief Constable. Police Scotland has confirmed that an assessment is undertaken of every application for additional business interests, many of these agreed to are voluntary or charitable posts.

The Scottish Government values the dedication shown by police officers in Scotland. That’s why our police officers remain the best paid in the UK, recognising the hard work and valuable contribution they make daily, as well as our commitment to investing in policing.

Bullying, harassment and unacceptable behaviour of any form cannot be tolerated within society or within policing. Police officers do an incredibly difficult job and the vast majority conduct themselves with integrity and professionalism. However, when things do go wrong, it is essential there are robust, clear and transparent mechanisms in place to investigate complaints or other issues of concern.

The new Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny) (Scotland) Act, which became law in March, introduces several measures to improve the police complaints and misconduct systems and enhance the accountability of officers. It will allow for gross misconduct proceedings to continue or commence following an officer’s resignation or retirement and ongoing vetting throughout officers’ careers. The Scottish Government is also consulting with policing partners on proposals for further changes to police conduct regulations.

Ensuring public trust in police officers is vital and this legislation is building on the range of changes already delivered since Dame Elish Angiolini’s independent review of policing in November 2020.

The Scottish Government does not hold the data requested as exits from the Scottish Landlord Register and changes in portfolio size are not tracked.

The following table shows active registrations on the Register in March 2024 and March 2025.

Universities are autonomous bodies and operate within a legal framework which places duties on them to uphold freedom of speech and academic freedom, most notably under the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 and the Higher Education Governance (Scotland) Act 2016. These duties apply alongside legal obligations under the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Equality (Scotland) Act 2010. This includes the Public Sector Equality Duty reporting and the statutory requirement that Universities undertake Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments of their policies.

Universities must also comply with the Scottish Code of Good Higher Education Governance. Institutions are required to report on their compliance with the Code in their annual accounts.

Compliance with the Code of Good Governance is a condition of grant from the Scottish Funding Council. Regulatory bodies including the Scottish Charity Regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission and the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman also have an interest in how institutions exercise their legal responsibilities.

The Scottish Government commissioned a report into the security of supply of Scotland’s electricity system. This report, Electricity system security of supply in Scotland, was published on the ClimateXChange website in December 2023.

The Low Carbon and Renewable Energy Economy (LCREE) Survey, published by the Office of National Statistics, estimates that in 2023 there were 2100 direct Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) roles in the nuclear industry in Scotland.

The SQA are currently located in the Lowden Building in Dalkeith and Optima Building in Glasgow. These locations will transfer to Qualifications Scotland and so there will be no relocation cost.

The transition from the Scottish Qualifications Authority to Qualifications Scotland through our Education Reform Programme in 2025-26 is forecast to cost approximately £0.3m for rebranding and £0.436m for restructuring, to meet the Bill requirements, as voted for by Parliament in June 2025.

All children and young people in Scotland are entitled to receive the same level of access to NHS-delivered services, regardless of which school they attend.

Decisions around fees for hospital education services are a matter for local authorities and NHS Boards to consider in conjunction with independent schools. Where fees are applied, we would expect the independent schools to offer families the financial support needed in instances where there is a charge for the education services on offer.

Schedule 3 (Transfer of staff, property etc to Qualifications Scotland) Section 2 (Transfer of staff) of the Education (Scotland) Bill as passed sets out that all employees assigned to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) at the point of Qualifications Scotland being established, will transfer to Qualifications Scotland in line with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE).

All children and young people should receive the support they need to reach their full potential. Independent schools have a duty under the Equality Act 2010 to make reasonable adjustments for pupils with disabilities. The Scottish Government encourages parents to discuss any reasonable adjustments that may be required for their child with their school in the first instance. Where there are concerns that a disabled pupil is being discriminated against in school, families have recourse to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland.

Under the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004, education authorities have a duty to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of pupils for whose education they are responsible. These duties apply when an education authority has placed a child or young person at an independent school.

Where a child or young person has been placed in an independent school by their family, education authorities have a discretionary power, rather than a duty, under the 2004 Act to provide support. In these circumstances, it is a matter for individual education authorities to decide whether support should be provided. Education authorities are supported in implementing the 2004 Act through the statutory Code of Practice, Supporting Children's Learning, 3rd edition.