Chamber and committees

The legislative requirements in relation to safe staffing levels in Early Learning and Childcare settings falls under The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act which was enacted on 1 April 2024. The Act is applicable to all health and care staff in Scotland.

The first ministerial report on the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019, was published on 27 November 2025. The report marks an important milestone in our collective efforts to ensure safe and effective staffing decisions across Scotland’s health and care services following commencement of the legislation. While the report is system-wide, it has implications for early learning and childcare. The report explains how Scottish Ministers have considered the information submitted by health boards, local authorities, and care providers about how they are meeting their statutory staffing duties.

The Act requires local authorities to demonstrate that ELC staffing is appropriate, safe, and aligned with the Act’s principles. The Act also reinforces that ELC services are part of the care landscape subject to statutory staffing duties, not just regulatory expectations. The Act also ensures that annual reporting and Ministerial scrutiny increase accountability for safe staffing in ELC.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with Health Boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to improve the delivery and accessibility of gender identity services in Scotland.

Since December 2022, the Scottish Government has invested over £8.5 million to support this work. Of this, over £2.2 million has been allocated directly to NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to support the reduction of waiting times for these services. This includes an anticipated £430,800 of new funding for the 2026-27 financial year, subject to final budgetary processes.

In February 2026, I met with the Chief Executive of NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to discuss what more can be done to bring down waiting times for these services. This discussion included the exploration of new models of care, the role of sub-national planning, the sharing of best practice between Health Boards; and providing recurrent funding to stabilise staff recruitment and retention.

Additionally, work is also progressing to implement a new Target Operating Model for young people’s gender identity services. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde is currently considering how this model will be applied locally.

The active travel budget was adjusted in the Autumn Budget Revision. The original 2025-26 active travel budget was £164.8 million, comprising £12.4 million resource and £152.4 million capital. In addition, a further £23.9 million for Cycling, Walking & Safer Routes was allocated within the ‘central government grants’ budget line, bringing the total original allocation for 2025-26 to £188.7 million.

The comparator figures for 2025-26 are lower following agreed transfers at the Autumn Budget Revision. Funding was moved from the Active Travel budget to Local Authorities and to the Road Safety Directorate of Transport Scotland so that these delivery partners could take forward active travel projects directly. A further £0.5 million was transferred into the Active Travel budget to support Bikeability.

Following these adjustments, the revised total of £135.9 million, consisting of £13.1 million resource and £122.8 million capital, reflects these transfers and ensures that the budget is aligned with where delivery responsibility sits for the remainder of the year.

This revision is a technical adjustment to support delivery and does not represent any reduction in the Scottish Government’s commitment to active travel investment.

The ‘Support for Active Travel’ budget line was re-named ‘Support for Active and Sustainable Travel’ when the Bus Infrastructure Fund was launched at the start of financial year 2025-26 and brings together programmes and investment designed to facilitate and encourage greener alternatives to car use. In 2026-27 that budget continues to deliver the Active Travel programmes and the Bus Infrastructure Fund, which has been increased to £60 million for the next financial year.

This change was made to better reflect the Scottish Government’s policy intention and approach, so that we could show and encourage everyone with an interest in active and sustainable travel that like them, we see how our funding and interventions can and should work better together. We are investing to support high quality active travel and bus infrastructure, sustainable travel integration and behaviour change investment to promote walking, wheeling and cycling for everyday shorter journeys.

The Scottish Government has been clear since the Supreme Court ruling that it accepts the judgment. As such, it is taking forward the actions required in response to the ruling.

Trans and non-binary people are a small, marginalised group of 0.44% of Scotland’s population, who are often misunderstood, misrepresented, and receive disproportionate levels of attention. The Scottish Government remains steadfast in its commitment to advancing equality, protecting rights and ensuring that trans and non-binary people can live free from discrimination.

Since the judgment, we have strengthened our direct support for the trans community. This includes additional investment to expand the LGBT Health and Wellbeing Helpline and to increase opportunities for trans people to connect through community virtual and in-person events. Any trans or non-binary person feeling concerned or anxious about the ruling is encouraged to contact the helpline.

The Scottish Government has provided £1.1 million in funding through our Equality and Human Rights Fund in 2025-26 to a range of organisations to promote equality of opportunity and inclusion for LGBTQI+ people. This funding has been used to:

• help LGBT Youth Scotland deliver a range of projects to support LGBTQI+ young people
• commence initiatives such as work supporting ending conversion practices through legislative and non-legislative measures
• advance non-binary equality
• support policy development for LGBTQI+ people
• support research into the lives of the LGBTQI+ community

The Scottish Government accepts the judgment of the Supreme Court. The Court emphasised that this decision does not diminish the protections against discrimination and harassment that trans people are entitled to under the Equality Act 2010, whether or not they hold a Gender Recognition Certificate.

Regarding reports that some youth organisations are excluding trans children and young people from their services, it is important to be clear that all employers and service providers must interpret and comply with the Equality Act 2010. It is for the regulator, the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), to enforce the Act. All organisations, whether publicly funded or not, are required to operate within the wider framework of the law.

The Scottish Government is clear that trans men, women and young people are valued in our society. People in Scotland want to live in a country that treats everyone with respect, compassion and care, and we remain firmly committed to protecting the rights of all.

The Scottish Government has no plans to produce guidelines on how BID levies should be set or enforced, as this is a matter for individual BIDs operating within the existing framework of the Business Improvement Districts (Scotland) Regulations 2007.

We do, however, provide funding support for Scotland’s Improvement Districts (SIDs), which delivers advice and governance support for BIDs, including best practice and guidance on levy arrangements.

There are no plans to introduce a public record of the levies charged by BIDs. Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally, local authorities are responsible for administering and collecting BID levies.

Eligibility for higher education student support is assessed by the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) at the beginning of each separate course. Students progressing from an HNC or HND to a degree are therefore subject to a new assessment and there are existing funding pathways to support students who are progressing.

The outcome will depend on individual circumstances and what previous study they have undertaken and what financial support they have received.

SEPA collect waste returns from waste sites in Scotland and those returns indicate where waste inputs originate.

Although uncommon, waste can travel from across the UK to Scotland for incineration. SEPA data shows small amounts of waste incinerated in Scotland from England, with the majority of that waste made up of wood waste.

The Scottish Government is working in partnership with Zero Waste Scotland (ZWS) to undertake an update of their recent capacity analysis, and is being covered as part of ZWS's activities covered under its annual block grant as a non-departmental public body.

The details of any spend on this work would be a matter for Zero Waste Scotland.