Chamber and committees

Scotland is a welcoming nation that rejects racism, hate, and prejudice. The Scottish Government stands in solidarity with Muslim communities across Scotland and unequivocally condemns the heinous attacks that took place in Edinburgh on 19 June. Each individual impacted by these incidents, either directly or indirectly, is able to seek mental health support and we encourage people to do that via their GP in the first instance.

NHS Lothian holds statutory responsibility to assess and meet the mental health needs of its population. In accordance with its duties under the Equality Act, it provides a range of culturally appropriate and accessible mental health supports and services (delivered in collaboration with local statutory and voluntary sector partners), which ensures responsiveness to the trauma experienced by minority ethnic communities. In practice, NHS Lothian’s evidence-based tiered provision of community-based, psychologically informed, trauma services includes: the Minority Ethnic Health Inclusion Service; Health in Mind; Rivers Centre (specialist psychological trauma service); and CAMHS (Meadows) trauma service.

Nationally, with Scottish Government investment of around £1.5 billion annually, we have record numbers of staff, providing more varied mental health support and services to a larger number of people than ever before. We have provided £99 million for grassroots projects through the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults since 2021, with support totalling £194 million since 2020. A further £15 million will be invested in the Communities Fund for Adults in 2027-28 as part of the Fairer Funding Pilot.

Additionally, over the last 5 years the Scottish Government has undertaken extensive work with delivery partners, including NHS Boards, to improve access to quality psychological therapies, which evidence shows are an effective intervention for supporting people affected by trauma. The National Specification for Psychological Therapies and Interventions sets out what high quality psychological care and practice looks like and acts as a service planning and evaluation resource for delivery partners.

Finally, since 2018, the Scottish Government has invested over £12 million in our National Trauma Transformation Programme. This provides training resources and implementation support for all members of the workforce, supporting the Scottish Government and COSLA’s shared ambition for a trauma-informed and trauma-responsive workforce and services across Scotland.

Scotland is a welcoming nation that rejects racism, hate, and prejudice. The Scottish Government stands in solidarity with Muslim communities across Scotland and unequivocally condemned the heinous attacks in Edinburgh in June.

The Scottish Government unequivocally condemns all forms of hatred and prejudice, including racism, religious hatred and online abuse. We undertake engagement with a range of stakeholders with expertise in tackling prejudice, building cohesive communities and advancing human rights to support our approaches to challenging all forms of hatred, violence and intimidation. While we have not engaged directly with the Centre for Countering Digital Hate to date, we work with a wide range of organisations who share an interest in challenging hatred and prejudice, including that which takes place online, and in supporting evidence-based approaches to preventing harm and protecting communities. We are open to engagement with organisations that can contribute evidence and expertise in these areas.

In 2025-26, the Scottish Government funded the education charity Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) £71,144 to further develop and promote the Digital Discourse Initiative (DDI) in schools, and we have provided additional funding to TIE to support them to roll out the DDI to support all schools across Scotland. This is an initiative that helps schools to equip children and young people with skills to navigate digital media and counter the impacts of disinformation and online hate.

In January 2025, the Scottish Government established the Online Safety Taskforce, following a directive from the First Minister, to strengthen efforts to keep children safe online, provide strategic oversight across government and identify further actions to protect children and young people. The Taskforce’s Action Plan, published in March 2026, sets out the Government’s priorities for tackling online harms through a public health approach and will continue to evolve in response to the experiences of children, young people, families and communities. Membership of the Taskforce is currently under review, and following an interim meeting with external stakeholders in June 2026, a series of themed summer workshops, including sessions on radicalisation and hate crime, will help shape the next phase of this work.

Both Ministers and officials engage regularly with faith groups, Muslim community organisations and third sector partners across Scotland, including in Edinburgh and the Lothians, to understand local concerns and strengthen community safety and resilience.

The Scottish Government will continue to engage regularly with faith communities through established mechanisms, including the Faith and Belief Representatives Group, alongside targeted roundtables and stakeholder engagement, ensuring that their views inform policy development and responses to emerging issues.

Work is currently progressing on the next phase of Scotland’s Hate Crime Strategy, and we are taking steps to ensure that the experiences and priorities of those most affected by hate crime, including faith communities, help to shape its development.

The Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism Delivery Plan 2026–2030 sets out a cross-government approach to tackling structural and systemic racism, with the aim of creating a Scotland where equity, justice, dignity and respect are upheld for all. The Plan responds to calls for practical action, long-term systemic change and stronger accountability, embedding anti-racism across government through clear governance and lived experience leadership. Establishment of the Anti-Racism Observatory further supports this, and works closely with affected communities and uses evidence to inform priorities and action.

The Scottish Government is clear that racism, Islamophobia and all forms of hatred and prejudice have no place in Scotland, including when expressed online. Social media companies have a fundamental responsibility to enforce their own rules, prevent harmful content from being amplified and protect users from harm. That responsibility must be backed by robust regulation.

It is essential that Ofcom is able to use its full regulatory powers to hold platforms to account when they fail in their responsibilities. We recognise concerns about the role that algorithmic systems can play in promoting and amplifying harmful content, and support effective regulatory oversight that ensures platforms are transparent about risks and take appropriate mitigating action. The Scottish Government recently attended the Ofcom Scotland Advisory Council meeting in Aberdeen where officials presented on the work of our Online Safety Taskforce and Action Plan, our main mechanism to coordinate work in this area.

We welcome that Ofcom has taken up the issue of regulation of spikes in illegal content during periods of public disorder by strengthening their codes of practice on Illegal Content and the Protection of Children. The amendments ask service providers to prepare and apply a crisis protocol to mitigate and manage the risks arising from a significant increase in relevant illegal content and/or content harmful to children on their services. This is a priority for the Scottish Government and we are keen to remain informed on the effectiveness of these measures.

While regulation of the internet remains reserved, we have consistent and robust engagement with UK Ministers and Ofcom to strengthen a range of online protections, including as part of the Online Safety Act 2023.

The Scottish Government unequivocally condemns all forms of hatred and prejudice, including hate speech and the incitement of racial or religious hatred online. We are clear that behaviour which targets individuals or communities on the basis of their protected characteristics is unacceptable, whether it takes place offline or online. We would encourage the reporting of such behaviour to Police Scotland.

There are already a range of offences that can be used to prosecute threatening behaviour online. These include the offence of ‘threatening or abusive behaviour’ which has been in force since 2010 and criminalises behaving in a threatening or abusive manner that would be likely to cause a reasonable person to suffer fear or alarm. Other offences include breach of the peace, the common law offence of threats and the offence of ‘improper use of a public electronic communications network’ at section 127 of the Communications Act 2003. Additionally, the offences of stirring up racial or religious hatred and racially aggravated harassment in the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 are enforceable.

The Scottish Government is clear that we must not allow recent attacks to stoke fear or division. We recognise the distress these events have caused, and that everyone in Scotland should be able to go about their daily lives without fear.

Ministers and senior officials have met with Police Scotland following the reported attacks in Edinburgh on 19 June 2026. The Scottish Government engages regularly with Police Scotland on issues of community safety and the policing of public events, and recognises the importance of communication that supports safety and provides reassurance across communities.

The European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR) articles apply to marches, parades and static demonstrations and organisers of static demonstrations or protests do not need to notify a local authority or Police Scotland of their intentions to hold an event. Police Scotland regularly communicates information about events and potential disruption through public communications, local engagement, and partnership working, including outreach to affected communities where appropriate but they will often not have advanced information to communicate ahead of a static demonstration taking place.

The Scottish Government condemns all forms of racially and religiously motivated violence. We recognise that incidents of this nature can cause fear well beyond those directly affected, and are committed to working alongside communities and partners to provide reassurance.

Following the reported incidents on 19 June, the First Minister met with faith leaders at Broomhouse and Annandale mosques on 22 June to hear directly from those affected and to understand how best to support communities.

Our work on ensuring inclusive, safe and cohesive societies is continually informed by faith communities and other stakeholders, including through established groups such as the Hate Crime Strategic Partnership and the Faith and Belief Representatives Group, and the wide range of partners we work with.

The closure of the Victoria Quay nursery followed the withdrawal of the sole service provider during the contract renewal procurement exercise. The provider indicated that continued operation was not viable, reflecting reduced demand. The decision to close the nursery was not taken by the Scottish Government.

We recognise that the closure of the nursery was difficult for the families affected. To support the transition to closure, the Scottish Government put in place a short-term contract extension to enable parents to secure alternative childcare; and all parents using the VQ nursery, and those on the waiting list, were offered alternative provision by the original provider at a site 2.5 miles away.

No specific assessment of the closure has been undertaken. However, a range of support is available to parents, including flexible working arrangements, flexi-time to support work–life balance, special leave for unexpected emergencies, and carers’ leave for parents of disabled children.

Parents and guardians also have access to our Employee Assistance Service that can provide information and support in relation to childcare or parenting.

The Scottish Government continues to engage with the parent group and, as previously committed, will keep future provision under review based on demand.