Chamber and committees

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.

The Scottish Government does not hold any information on third-party liability claims for vehicle damage caused by potholes that were submitted to local authorities.

The regulation of veterinary medicines is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) is responsible for market authorisation of antibiotics and undertaking appropriate monitoring. It also publishes sectoral antibiotic sales and usage figures annually in its Veterinary Antimicrobial Resistance Sales and Surveillance (VARSS) Report.

VMD works in partnership with various animal sectors to develop, facilitate and coordinate antibiotic usage data collection systems. These data are reported on a voluntary basis and, for salmon farming, cover both freshwater and marine production. Data is collected by Salmon Scotland representing 100% of the salmon farming sector. Recently Salmon Scotland discovered an error in their 2024 return which was swiftly corrected and is now reflected in the VMD’s 2024 report.

For the purpose of environmental protection, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) places licence conditions on marine fish farm operators to record and report antibiotic treatments to SEPA, including the product and volume used. Figures for 2024 remain unchanged.

Figures published by SEPA and VMD are inherently different as they each report on different phases of production.

Scottish Government confirmed that Salmon Scotland identified an error in its 2024 antibiotic usage figures submitted to the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) and that it would correct the public record and in future introduce additional verification of their antibiotic usage data collection and reporting system.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44092 on 11 March 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44092 on 11 March 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government agrees that it important for every young person to be aware of, understand and actively use their access rights and responsibilities.

The Curriculum for Excellence is a broad framework rather than a set of specific topics of study prescribed to all schools which means that it is not possible to prescribe specific topics. However, as indicated in Professor Higgins’ comments to committee, the curriculum framework includes an entitlement to Learning for Sustainability (LfS), which covers outdoor learning, sustainable development education and global citizenship. This provides opportunities for teachers to cover a range of sustainability themes, including the Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC).

NatureScot has developed a SOAC Education Resource Pack for schools, containing educational activities that can be adapted for all age groups. The landing page for the resources includes a professional learning session with Education Scotland.

Further information on Learning for Sustainability is available at:

https://education.gov.scot/resource-themes/learning-for-sustainability/

Further information on the Scottish Outdoor Access Code Activity Education Resource Pack is available at:

https://www.outdooraccess-scotland.scot/act-and-access-code/education-resources

The Scottish Government draft Budget 2026-27 put in place a new annual £50m package of Whole Family support that will wrap around families and help to break the cycle of poverty. This will further enhance existing support and includes £20m for third sector organisations. Details of how the funding will be allocated will be published in the third Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan in March.

We put child poverty at the heart of the 2026-27 Scottish Budget and of the Scottish Spending Review, which outline how we will tackle the cost of living and drive continued progress to break the cycle of poverty. This includes a package of measures to reduce child poverty and target support to those who need it most.

Recognising that families with a baby are more likely to live in poverty, we have announced our intention to introduce a Scottish Child Payment premium bringing the total Payment to £40 per week for all eligible children under the age of one, commencing during 2027-28.

Further measures to reduce child poverty will be set out in the forthcoming Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan by the end of March 2026. This will set out the actions to be taken between 2026-2031 to drive continued progress toward the 2030 targets set in the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017.

Self-assessment for income tax is reserved to the UK Government, however given the devolved nature of childminding legislation and regulation, it is disappointing childminders in Scotland were not consulted regarding changes to the administration of the wear and tear tax relief allowance.

Scottish Ministers are considering the concerns raised by childminders and in correspondence from the Scottish Childminding Association and will make representations to the UK Government on behalf of Scottish childminders, recognising the reserved nature of self-assessment for income tax.

Our support for the childminding sector in 2025-26 included a further £1.6m funding for the Scottish Childminding Association to continue delivering a national programme of childminder recruitment and retention.

The Scottish Government remains focused on reducing waiting times across Scotland. This year, we have allocated more than £137 million to Health Boards to help tackle the longest waits for appointments and procedures.

Funding has been directed to specialties where it can have the greatest impact against the longest waits, including over £500,000 for Cardiology and £500,000 for Neurology – the specialities most likely to support people with PoTS.

Childminders are a vital part of our childcare sector providing nurturing, flexible, high-quality care which is why we continued our support in 2025-26 with a further £1.6m funding for the Scottish Childminding Association to continue delivering a national programme of recruitment and retention.

The Scottish Government works closely with the Scottish Childminding Association and other partners across the childcare sector to understand concerns from childminders and other childcare providers so that these issues can be factored into ongoing policy development.