Chamber and committees

As set out during the passage of the Non-surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Act 2026, the Scottish Government is considering amendments to the Healthcare Improvement Scotland (Requirements as to Independent Health Care Services) Regulations 2011. Assessment of the options and engagement with affected businesses and Healthcare improvement Scotland will begin over the coming months.

Any amendments to the Regulations will be made in advance of the offences in the Non-Surgical Procedures and Functions of Medical Reviewers (Scotland) Act coming into force. We intend that those offences come into force on 6 September 2027.

The Sustainable Procurement Duty of the Procurement Reform Scotland Act 2014 places a requirement on public bodies to consider how their procurements can be used to improve economic, social and environmental well-being, and reduce inequality.

Under the 2014 Act, Public Bodies with contractual expenditure over £5 million per annum, must publish a Procurement Strategy and annually report on the delivery of their strategy. Their strategy must include information on how they intend to ensure their regulated procurements will be carried out in compliance with the sustainable procurement duty. They are then required to report on this and provide a summary of any community benefits that were delivered that year through their procurement activities, within their public annual procurement reports.

The most recent Scottish Ministers' Annual Report on Procurement Activity in Scotland (2023-24) demonstrates that public procurement is delivering a wide range of economic, social and environmental benefits to communities across Scotland.

We promote socially responsible public procurement through guidance, tools, learning opportunities, and engagement with procurement professionals. For example through the use of the national Sustainable Procurement Tools, associated guidance and training and Fair Work First in procurement e-learning.

The Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 places a duty on Scottish Ministers to produce statutory guidance on ethical commissioning, supporting consistency of approach across Scotland. Before issuing any guidance Ministers must consult with a broad range of organisations, including local authorities, health boards, integration joint boards, and others. Once published this guidance will also support our efforts to promote social responsibility in public care contracts.

Funding for the Scottish Land Fund in 2027-28 will be determined through the annual budget process.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of community ownership in Scotland, which is why, in 2026-27, we have provided over £7 million of funding to support the Scottish Land Fund. This has allowed those communities to then generate a further £60 million in additional funding, from various sources, as a result of owning assets.

Work is underway to progress the appointment of the Land and Communities Commissioner. The appointment is subject to Parliamentary approval, and we will engage with the Rural Affairs Committee as part of this process. We anticipate launching the formal recruitment stage later this year.

The Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026 (“the 2026 Act”) includes provisions that will allow local authorities to make by-laws in connection with the prevention of wildfires.

The 2026 Act is being brought into force on a phased basis, with the first provisions commencing in June 2026, and we will set out further details of the timetable for commencing and implementing individual provisions in due course.

We will continue to engage with stakeholders during the commencement and implementation process and will ensure that local authorities, other stakeholders, and members of the public have sufficient time to prepare before any provisions that affect them are brought into force.

The majority of legislative duties pertaining to the delivery of allotment services are for local authorities including provision of sites, management of waiting lists and annual reporting of site numbers.

Section 112(4) of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 states a local authority must have regard to the desirability of making available allotments that are “reasonably close” to the residence of a person on the waiting list for an allotment.

While there is no statutory definition of “reasonably close”, the Scottish Government has issued guidance to local authorities on Part 9 of the Act which states that as a guide, allotments within a 3 mile radius, or within a 20 minute journey on public transport from where people on the waiting list reside should be considered “reasonably close”.

Local authorities may however opt to apply different travel-time or distance criteria, where appropriate, based upon local geography, particularly in remote and rural areas (where there is, for example, limited public transport provision in that area).

Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver and fund services, including allotments, based on local needs and priorities.

The purpose of these new powers is to enable social landlords to apply to the court for an order on the new ground to enable certain victim/survivors of domestic abuse to remain in the family home where it is their wish, and where it is safe and appropriate for them to do so. The new powers also encourage social landlords to take a more proactive role in supporting and protecting victim/survivors of domestic abuse.

While there is no specific requirement for social landlords to notify existing tenants individually of the change to the law around their tenancy arising from the commencement of section 22 of the 2021 Act, the guidance on the use of the new measures published in June encourages social landlords to publicise these new provisions to their tenants and reinforce zero tolerance of domestic abuse. This could be done in a range of ways such as on their website, in tenants’ handbooks and via newsletters.

We will continue to work with social housing providers and other stakeholders who provide support to those experiencing domestic abuse to assess how the new measures are operating in practice.

Local authorities have the autonomy to determine how best to fulfil their duties under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015. In exercising this autonomy, the Scottish Government expects local authorities to act lawfully and is committed to supporting local authorities in this.

Although legal proceedings could, in theory, be pursued where statutory duties are not met, the Scottish Government’s strong preference is to work collaboratively with local authorities and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) to achieve constructive progress.

Maintaining open dialogue with local authority partners remains a key priority, particularly in supporting them to meet their statutory duties relating to allotments. As part of this approach, the Scottish Government has worked with APSE Scotland (Association for Public Service Excellence) to establish a national partnership forum. This forum aims to facilitate the sharing of expertise and good practice in community growing. APSE Scotland is now engaging directly with local authority members to advance this work.

The Scottish Government recognises that the collection of robust data on private rent levels using the powers in Section 14 of the Housing (Scotland) Act is essential to support decisions on rent control areas, while ensuring that any data collection is proportionate and minimises burdens on landlords and costs to the public sector.

To support the first iteration of local authority assessments, we are building on existing data sources. Rent Service Scotland currently collects an annual sample of around 40,000 to 45,000 advertised rents. This is being enhanced to provide estimates at local authority level, with data expected from November 2026 and year-on-year comparisons from November 2027.

To support future cycles of local authority assessments, we are continuing to consider how to develop systems which support use of powers in the Act to collect information directly from landlords. This includes exploring the use of the existing landlord registration digital platform to collect rent data, subject to further development and engagement with local authorities.