Chamber and committees

The existing system is nine years old and has become slower, with its performance declining and more difficult to maintain. Facial authentication should be quicker and more reliable, while maintaining the security benefits of two-factor authentication.Finger template technology is supposed to have a 93% success rate however the system performance has declined to <85% success rate. This has impacted on both new people trying to enrol onto the system, and for users who have found that their template is no longer working and been unable to re-enrol.

Feedback from passholders, particularly Members, has also highlighted delays and queues at entrances.

Following specialist security advice, facial authentication was assessed as offering the best balance of security, reliability and ease of use. The SPCB considered privacy, cyber security, accessibility, resilience and personal safety before approving the upgrade.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the security arrangements of other legislatures. Holyrood’s arrangements are determined by the SPCB, based on the Parliament’s needs and advice from its security partners, including Police Scotland. The rollout will be phased so that the system can be tested and monitored. Security and access-control arrangements are the responsibility of the SPCB. It considered the proposal in detail, including privacy, cyber security, resilience and personal safety, before approving it. Feedback from building users has informed how the new arrangements will operate.

The Scottish Government continues to engage closely with the Welsh Government on areas of shared interest and mutual benefit.

Today, I was in Cardiff to meet the First Minister of Wales for discussions on issues of common interest between our countries.

During the visit, I was pleased to sign a new bilateral framework - the Cardiff Agreement - which sets out areas of shared interest and cooperation between the Scottish and Welsh Governments.

The Agreement establishes a basis for closer collaboration on shared priorities, including tackling child poverty, addressing the cost-of-living crisis, supporting sustainable economic growth, and strengthening engagement with the European Union. It also reflects both governments’ commitment to ensuring that intergovernmental relations are founded on trust and mutual respect.

The Agreement provides a structured approach to sharing expertise and best practice, building on existing collaboration between the Scottish and Welsh Governments to improve outcomes for the people of Scotland and Wales. 

The Cardiff Agreement can be found on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/cardiff-agreement-cytundeb-caerdydd-agreement-between-welsh-and-scottish-government/.

I’m pleased to announce that the draft referendum bill is being published today.

The largest number of pro-independence MSPs in history has voted to support the call for powers to hold a referendum on Scottish independence to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.

This draft Bill, which is a First 100 Days commitment, is being published to show what a referendum bill would look like at the point at which an agreement to hold a lawful independence referendum has been reached.

I attended the 45th British-Irish Council meeting held in St Peter Port, Guernsey on 10 July.

The summit was hosted by the Chief Minister of Guernsey and attended by ministers from across the UK and Ireland. The First Minister of Wales attended as did the Taoiseach and Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and Defence, and the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister. The Northern Ireland Executive was represented by its Ministers for Economy and for Communities and the Chief Ministers of Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man attended.

The theme of this year’s summit was ‘Nurturing Beginnings: Strengthening Early Years and Family Support for Happy, Healthy Childhoods and Lifelong Wellbeing.

The main summit plenary provided an opportunity to highlight Scottish Government policies to ensure our children receive the best start in life alongside learning from activity being undertaken in other jurisdictions.

During the main plenary discussion on latest political developments, I reflected on the significant global challenges we all face including the conflict in the Middle East and the resulting domestic impacts, including on the cost of living. I highlighted the importance of the Scottish Child Payment in tackling poverty. I also raised the need for public service reform.

I reiterated the Scottish Government’s position in relation to our constitutional future alongside our commitment to Scotland’s relationship with Europe and welcomed the reset in relations with the EU and the opportunities presented by Ireland’s EU presidency.

Ahead of the main summit I met with the First Minister of Wales, during which we discussed the relationship between our governments, wider intergovernmental relations and devolution.

I also met with the Chief Secretary to the Prime Minster, during which I reflected on the importance of meaningful and constructive engagement between our governments.

In addition, I held a range of introductory bilateral meetings including with the Chief Minister of Guernsey, the Chief Minister of the Isle of Man, the Minister for the Economy in Northern Ireland and the Irish Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade/Minister for Defence.

The Communiqué that was issued by the British-Irish Council after the meeting can be found on its website at:www.britishirishcouncil.org/resources/

45th British-Irish Council Summit

Guernsey

Friday 10 July 2026

Communiqué

The British-Irish Council (BIC) held its 45th Summit meeting today, Friday 10 July 2026, hosted by the Government of Guernsey in St Peter Port.

The theme of the Summit was Nurturing Beginnings: Strengthening Early Years and Family Support for Happy, Healthy Childhoods and Lifelong Wellbeing. The meeting was chaired by Deputy Lindsay de Sausmarez, Chief Minister of the Government of Guernsey.

Nurturing Beginnings: Strengthening Early Years and Family Support for Happy,

Healthy Childhoods and Lifelong Wellbeing.

The plenary focussed on efforts to support integrated, high quality early years systems which can help give every child a happy, healthy and secure start to life. Among several important discussion points was the topical matter of children and young people’s digital access. Council members discussed how children’s digital needs, risks and opportunities evolve as they grow.

Latest Political Developments

Members briefed the Council on recent developments within their administrations and discussed several domestic and international topics of mutual interest.

Cross-BIC Symposium Leaders welcomed preparations by officials to mark the breadth and depth of the Council’s work through a cross-cutting Symposium in Edinburgh on 29 September, the title of which is These Islands: Cultivating Communities and Tackling Inequalities.

Next Summit Meeting

The Council noted that the next BIC Summit will be hosted by the UK Government.

BIC Secretariat

10 July 2026

Plenary Participants

As of 30 September 2025, 2,110 parents or carers in the Clackmannanshire local authority area, and 2,320 parents or carers in the Stirling local authority area were actively in receipt of Scottish Child Payment.

For the years 2010-11 to 2024-25 the Scottish Government’s school estates data collection makes a distinction between schools built and those refurbished, while for the years 2007-08 to 2009-10 no such distinction was made in the data collection.

Between 2007-08 and 2009-10, one primary (Deerpark) and three secondary (Alloa Academy, Alva Academy, Lornshill Academy) schools were built or refurbished in Clackmannanshire, while in Stirling eight primary (Cambusbarron, Raploch, Our Lady’s, Buchlyvie, Aberfoyle, Breahead, Bridge of Allan, St Mary’s) and five secondary (Dunblane High, Stirling High, McLaren High, St Modan’s High, Wallace High) schools were recorded as built or refurbished.

Between 2010-11 and 2024-25, one primary school was built in Clackmannanshire (Redwell), and two were refurbished (Alva, Clackmannan). In Stirling, four primary schools (Braehead, St Margaret’s, St Ninian’s, East Plean) were built, while six primary schools (Aberfoyle, Strathyre, Riverside, Strathblane, Borestone, Cowie) and one secondary school (Bannockburn High) were refurbished.

In addition, one special school in Striling was built or refurbished in 2007-08 (Castelview), and another one (Student Support) was refurbished in 2010-11.

For context, in 2024 there were 23 schools in Clackmannanshire and 46 schools in Stirling.

Across all years, only schools where the total cost of the works (build or refurbishment) was £500,000 or more for primary schools or £1 million or more for secondary and special schools are included.

The requested information is shown in the following table:

Table 1: Total number of free prescriptions provided in the Clackmannanshire and Stirling local authority area for financial year 2024-25.