Chamber and committees

The Partnership Group comprises of representatives from Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life, Historic Environment Scotland, Museums Galleries Scotland, the Scottish Government and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Scottish Enterprise has also participated in the group’s work.

The Partnership Group was established with a specific remit to support the project through strategic coordination among organisations with direct responsibilities for funding, governance and delivery. Accordingly, membership has been limited to organisations with formal responsibilities in these areas.

Additionally a significant amount of community engagement and collaboration on the Peoples Palace Project has taken place, with over 7000 people involved to date. This includes the People’s Palace Community Partners Panel, which was established specifically for the project and includes key local community groups and representation. The aim of the group is to ensure that community voices and views inform all aspects of the project in a meaningful way. The panel has been heavily involved in the design process and has viewed and fed back on architectural designs. They are also informed of plans for future museum displays and interpretation of content and updates on the wider project plan.

Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with the Subsidy Advice Unit (SAU) of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) to discuss current and potential subsidy referrals including Ferguson Marine. Scottish Government officials met with the SAU on 2 June and 12 August 2026 to participate in routine discussions on the general requirements of the referral process.

Decisions relating to the development and administration of HES grant programmes are operational matters for HES, which exercises its functions independently of Scottish Ministers.

There may be existing HES grants which would be suitable for small business owners to apply for. More information on HES grants and funding is available on the organisation's website: https://www.historicenvironment.scot/grants-and-funding/.

It is not for the Scottish Government to comment on a statement made by Alex Hynes in his capacity as Director General for Rail Services at the UK Department for Transport.

The Scottish Government provides support for the historic environment through our sponsorship of Historic Environment Scotland, our lead public body that investigates, cares for and promotes Scotland’s historic environment. Historic Environment Scotland actively engages with a variety of international stakeholders, enabling the exchange of knowledge and expertise that can help inform historic environment policy and practice in Scotland.

While there is currently no specific plan to evaluate local government procurement practices in relation to heritage and conservation policies, procurement can and should be an enabler of public sector policies. Where relevant to the local governmental body, this can include policies and good practice set by Historic Environmental Scotland.

There are no plans review the buildings identified in the Buildings at Risk Register for Scotland to identify potential opportunities to unlock and accelerate affordable housing delivery in empty town and city centre buildings.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting local authorities and communities to tackle persistent vacant and derelict land and empty town and city centre buildings.

This is supported through our regeneration investment programmes which are providing up to £52 million in resource and capital programmes for community-led regeneration across Scotland in 2026-27. This may be used to transform vacant and derelict land and empty buildings into homes. Local authorities may also choose to use Affordable Housing Supply Programme grant to convert empty properties into housing.

Additionally as part of ongoing work to support the establishment of More Homes Scotland, we are undertaking an exercise alongside local authorities to understand potential opportunities to unlock and accelerate affordable housing delivery on vacant and derelict land and in empty town and city centre buildings.

Local authorities have responsibility for delivering local housing development and local regeneration. They are best placed to develop the right partnerships to deliver regeneration and to identify suitable sites and funding for regeneration activity.

I wrote to the Parliament’s Rural Affairs Committee on 3 September 2026 to notify them of my intention to bring forward a Scottish statutory instrument which, subject to Parliament’s consideration, will amend the number of Land Commissioners at the Scottish Land Commission from five to four. We expect the instrument to be laid in early October. The letter can be found on the Parliament’s website https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/committees/current-and-previous-committees/session-7/rural-affairs-committee/correspondence/2026/land-reform-scotland-act-2016-of-3-september

Ministers will continue to comply with the requirements of the 2016 Act, including having regard to the desirability of the Commission, taken as a whole, having expertise or experience across the areas set out in the 2016 Act when making future appointments.

There are no plans to establish a public portal for the nomination of potential opportunities to unlock and accelerate affordable housing delivery on vacant and derelict land and in empty town and city centre buildings.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting local authorities and communities to tackle persistent vacant and derelict land and empty town and city centre buildings.

This is supported through our regeneration investment programmes which are providing up to £52 million in resource and capital programmes for community-led regeneration across Scotland in 2026/27. This may be used to transform vacant and derelict land and empty buildings into homes. Local authorities may also choose to use Affordable Housing Supply Programme grant to convert empty properties into housing.

Additionally as part of ongoing work to support the establishment of More Homes Scotland, we are undertaking an exercise alongside local authorities to understand potential opportunities to unlock and accelerate affordable housing delivery on vacant and derelict land and in empty town and city centre buildings.

The Scottish Government considers that Legislation currently in place provides appropriate powers to help protect the historic environment while also ensuring public safety. Responsibility for the maintenance and repair of buildings rests with owners, and planning authorities have a range of powers available to help secure the preservation of listed buildings. Proposals to demolish listed buildings are subject to statutory controls and are considered on a case-by-case basis.

The Scottish Government does not consider there to be a conflict between the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 and the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. The two Acts serve different purposes and operate alongside one another, with the former providing protections for the historic environment and the latter providing powers for local authorities to address risks to public safety.