Chamber and committees

Consideration of the options for change included in the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Service Delivery Review impacting Inverclyde have included extensive analysis of historic response data along with assessment of the current and future risks present in communities. No decisions have yet been taken on the conclusions of the Service Delivery Review. Decisions on the location of fire stations, the number of appliances and the crewing patterns of staff are operational matters for SFRS. SFRS continues to respond to every emergency with the appropriate level of resources.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that survivors of domestic abuse receive the support they need. We recognise the vital role that local organisations, such as Inverclyde Women’s Aid, play in delivering frontline services and supporting women and children in their communities.

Through our Delivering Equally Safe fund, we are investing £21.6 million annually to tackle violence against women and girls. This includes a £2.4m uplift for 2025/26, ensuring all fund recipients can continue the vital work they undertake to prevent violence and support survivors. Of this total annual investment, £8.6 million is allocated to Women’s Aid organisations across Scotland with Inverclyde Women’s Aid receiving approximately £219,000 in 2025/26.

In addition, local organisations can access funding through the Victim Surcharge Fund. This fund allows any organisation of any size and in any location in Scotland, that support victims of crime including survivors of domestic abuse, to apply for a share of this Fund, which is financed by penalties imposed on offenders.

We also provide support through the Victim Centred Approach Fund which will deliver over £32 million to 23 organisations between 2025 and 2027, including £12 million for advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence.

We support the permanent employment of teachers by providing £186.5m to local authorities in 2025-26 to restore overall teacher numbers across the country to 2023 levels and maximise the number of teaching posts available. In addition, we are also providing Local Authorities with £28 million to support better outcomes for children with ASN including the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce.

The recruitment of teachers including recruitment practices are matters for individual local authorities. The use of supply contracts is a long-standing feature of local authority recruitment practice.

Supply teachers play an important role in guaranteeing that any teacher's absence from the classroom can be covered, while also providing flexibility for teachers who choose to work part-time. It also serves as an opportunity for teachers seeking to re-enter the teaching profession after a break, as well as for retired teachers wishing to engage in part-time employment.

Supply teachers play an important role in ensuring continuity and quality in education by guaranteeing that any teacher's absence from the classroom can be covered, while also providing flexibility for teachers who choose to work part-time.

Like all teachers in Scotland, supply teachers are required to be registered with the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) and are therefore required to undertake professional learning and development in order to maintain their registration and uphold the high professional standards expected within the teaching profession.

Local Authorities carry the statutory responsibility for the delivery of Education in Scotland. It is therefore their responsibility to ensure they have planned for the adequate number of staff required during the academic year. To support them in this endeavour, the Scottish Government has provided them with £186.5m during this financial year to increase teacher numbers back to 2023 levels.

Growing our economy is one of this Government’s top priorities. Scotland’s regional economies, and Regional Economic Partnerships (REPs), are key to delivering this, and we are committed to enabling effective regional decision-making.

The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) was created via the Police and Fire Reform (Scotland) Act 2012 and is the primary governance body for policing in Scotland, holding the Chief Constable to account and to promote, support and oversee improvement in policing.

There are no plans to replace the SPA with another means to scrutinise policing in Scotland. In a report published last year, His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Policing Scotland (HMICS) acknowledged considerable improvements in the governance of SPA and highlighted its effectiveness.

The 2012 Act has also improved local governance, ensuring each local authority can put in place a system which best meets their needs, requiring Police Scotland to involve individual local authorities in setting of priorities and objectives for the policing of its area, and take into account feedback received.

I fully acknowledge the work of the Scottish Retail Consortium in supporting its members when such businesses and their staff are victims of retail crime. The Scottish Government recognises the distress this kind of crime can cause and has made an additional £3 million available this year to help tackle it, as part of a record £1.64 billion investment in policing.

I, with officials, recently met with victims who have an interest in the regulations and changes that will be made to exclusions zones in licence conditions. The Government will also, and shortly, engage further with Victim Support Scotland, and other stakeholders to promote and encourage views on how best to develop these changes into operational practice.

The Government have held discussions with the Parole Board for Scotland (PBS) on the changes set out in section 29GD of the Bill. The Government will continue to engage with PBS, and other stakeholders, over the coming months to jointly develop robust operational plans to deliver upon this commitment.

The Government are taking forward work on the legislative requirements necessary to make changes to the Parole Board Rules, following the passing of the Victims, Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill. The Government intend to lay the required instruments in early 2026 with a view to the changes from section 29I coming into force in spring 2026.

Following Royal Assent, the Scottish Government will engage with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, as well as other stakeholders, in respect of implementation of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill, including the provisions in section 29ZB.