Chamber and committees

Under section 2 of the Judiciary and Courts (Scotland) Act 2008, the Lord President as head of the Scottish judiciary is responsible for "making and maintaining appropriate arrangements for the welfare, training and guidance of judicial office holders". Training is delivered through the Judicial Institute, under the direction of the Lord President.

It is for a court to reach a view about the appropriate terms of an order in a particular case based on the existing law and the facts and evidence before them.

There are protection measures available to a person at risk of future abuse by application to a civil court. These include an exclusion order to suspend the legal right of a spouse or civil partner and in some cases, a cohabitant, to live in the family home, for the duration the order is in place. Other conditions can be requested, including preventing a spouse or civil partner from coming within a certain distance of the home, or preventing the removal of any items from the home.

An exclusion order is temporary. It will end, for example, when a married couple divorce or when a civil partnership ends. An exclusion order does not affect who owns or tenants the home, nor prohibits future transactions with the property. Before applying to the court for an exclusion order, the person at risk must have the legal right to live in the family home, either as an owner or tenant or because they have occupancy rights as the spouse or civil partner of person who is so entitled. A non-entitled cohabitant can apply to the civil court for occupancy rights and seek an exclusion order.

The Scottish Law Commission are working on a project at the moment on civil remedies against domestic abuse: Scottish Law Commission :: Aspects of family law

As highlighted in the Programme for Government, growing the economy is a key strategic priority for the Scottish Government and this includes continuing to focus on attracting both foreign direct and large scale capital investment and why the Deputy First Minister is leading a programme of impactful investor engagement.

Our approach to growing the economy ensures Scotland provides the optimal business environment attractive to investors, maximising the benefits from any nearshoring and other investment opportunities.

Scotland has a strong track record of attracting inward investment, with the EY UK Annual Attractiveness Survey in July 2024 showing Scotland maintaining its position as the top performing part of the UK outside of London for the ninth year.

The Scottish Government routinely works with partners to support the manufacturing sector in Scotland. In addition, our investment strategies are designed with the goal of maximising the impact of our interventions, allowing us to maintain our position as the top performing region or nation of the UK for inward investment projects outside of London for the ninth year running as per the 2024 EY Attractiveness Survey.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-36449 on 24 April 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 list of public appointments by public body, which was published on 25 March 2025, is an exhaustive list of Ministerial regulated public appointments only. Ministerial regulated public appointments are those governed by the Ethical Standards Commissioner and the Code of Conduct for Public Appointments (2022).

The list is intended to be updated regularly so that it reflects recently made appointments. It was corrected on 25 March 2025 following the identification of errors.

Details added to the spreadsheet should be correct at the point of the appointment commencing. These details may change over time and become out of date. A process is underway to update the spreadsheet to ensure accuracy, including rectification of any other errors identified, and it will be re-published when complete.

Regarding (a), quasi-judicial panels:

• There are a wide variety of organisations that could be considered quasi-judicial bodies with their own constitutions, legislative underpinnings and governance arrangements. The position in respect of political balance would need to be checked with each organisation.
• Regarding regulated Ministerial Appointments to public body boards that could be considered a quasi-judicial body, all applications are considered individually on their merits. The Ethical Standards Commissioner regulates this area and their Code of Practice for Public Appointments (the ‘Code’) and associated Code Guidance (both 2022) set out the position relating to political activity. In summary, candidates are required to provide information relating to their political activity. It is not necessarily a bar to appointment but the appointing panel will take the information into account as part of the Fit and Proper Person test when assessing ability to perform in role. When an individual is appointed, any political activity is declared in the news release announcing the appointment.

Regarding (b), local authority decision-making bodies:

• Councils (and potentially also their decision-making bodies) are independent bodies with their own powers, responsibilities, governing constitutions, legislative underpinnings and governance arrangements. The position in respect of political balance would need to be checked with each organisation.
• Scottish Ministers have committed to respecting local government’s democratic mandate as part of the Verity House Agreement. The view of the Scottish Government is that locally elected representatives are best placed to prioritise the needs of the local community.

The list of public appointments by public body, which was published on 25 March 2025, is an exhaustive list of Ministerial regulated public appointments only. Ministerial regulated public appointments are those governed by the Ethical Standards Commissioner and the Code of Conduct for Public Appointments (2022).

The list is intended to be updated regularly so that it reflects recently made appointments. It was corrected on 25 March 2025 following the identification of errors.

Details added to the spreadsheet should be correct at the point of the appointment commencing. These details may change over time and become out of date. A process is underway to update the spreadsheet to ensure accuracy, including rectification of any other errors identified, and it will be re-published when complete.

Scottish Government uses the Microsoft 365 product suite to support shared services across 21,000 users in 55 government sector organisations. Within that suite, Microsoft Teams is the component used for videoconferencing, but also supports an array of uses such as file sharing, messaging, telephony, calendar management, and mass corporate notification. As such, the costs provided here are for the total costs of Microsoft product tools as the components are not priced individually.

Streamlining product purchase and usage in this way has enabled Scottish Government to reduce or eliminate spend in other areas. The tool is highly resilient and supports Scottish Government in continuing to operate during disruptive events. It has also cut travel significantly during routine operating.

The following table shows the total amounts spent on Microsoft subscriptions over the past five years. There is a charge for Skype in 2020-2021, as we were transitioning from this service to Microsoft Teams.

Overall, the move to Microsoft cloud services has been driven by a focus on delivering value for money while building business resiliency. Any Microsoft procurement is managed through a government framework in order to ensure the best deal possible and safeguard the public purse.

Statistics on pensioner household income by UK country and English region are published by the Department for Work and Pensions. The median income for these households is presented in the following table.

Median weekly equivalised household income for pensioner households in £ (in 2023-24 prices), before housing costs

The Scottish Government has regular discussions with NHS and public bodies on these matters as they are key stakeholders and governance members of the Single Scottish Estate (SSE), which supports a more efficient approach to public sector property management. This includes through co-location and sharing of on-site services.

Our ongoing and extensive engagement with these bodies, includes current SSE Location Based Reviews in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Perth, Aberdeen and Inverness. There have been discussions at the SSE governance meetings and Public Sector Property Forum, which all of these bodies are invited to attend.

NHS national bodies and other public bodies in Scotland are covered by the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) so are required to engage with, and submit business cases to, Scottish Government Property Controls for Ministerial decisions on their estate. There is usually early discussion with the Scottish Government on each proposal.

The Scottish Government attends the Scottish Property Advisory Group, which is led by the NHS, to consider their property matters. Recent NHS engagement has included with NHS National Services for Scotland and NHS Education on their Edinburgh office requirements. The Scottish Government also attends a number of public body groups as appropriate, such as recent attendance at the Delivery Bodies Group to discuss the SSE work.