Chamber and committees

Scottish Government has no plans to provide specific funding for the initiatives proposed by FSB in their 2024 report The Future of the High Street. However, we remain committed to supporting vibrant, thriving towns and town centres, and we are continuing our long standing commitment to regeneration with investment of up to £52 million in 2026-27.

This investment supports the revitalisation of our towns and town centres, helps to bring vacant properties back into productive use, and unlocks opportunities for town centre living, business and community enterprise activity. It also includes support for the Scotland Loves Local programme and Business Improvement Districts.

Since 2014, South Lanarkshire Council has received £25.8 million in regeneration capital funding. This investment has supported a number of projects, including the recently completed Carnwath Business and Community Hub which has transformed a vacant and derelict site in Carnwath town centre.

The information provided by the Lord Advocate to the First Minister on the Peter Murrell case included a warning not to comment on the case. This was because any comments made could amount to contempt of court. Given the nature of this case, it is sensible that a warning on contempt of court was re-affirmed, as questions would likely be asked of the First Minister, and those who speak on the First Minister's behalf, in relation to the case. As such, this is why information was shared to those who speak on the First Minister's behalf.

The Scottish Budget sets out a decrease in the three non-domestic property rates for 2026-27 and offers more than £320 million of support through transitional relief schemes and retail hospitality and leisure relief over the next three years.

Information on the number of community paediatrician vacancies is not held centrally.

Information on the number of consultant paediatrician vacancies are available on the NHS Education for Scotland Data and reports | Turas Data Intelligence website.

Health Boards actively manage their turnover and vacancies throughout the year. Where vacancies do occur the Scottish Government expects Boards to take reasonable steps to ensure the continued delivery of services, including, when necessary, the use of supplementary staffing.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. More detailed information on waiting times will be held locally by NHS boards.

NHS Scotland has separate waiting lists for planned care, including one for new outpatient (NOP) appointment and another for inpatient/day-case (IPDC) procedures.

A clock starts for a NOP appointment once the referral is received by the Health Board and only stops once the patient has had their appointment. Patients may be triaged to the optimal, evidence-based pathway, based on a review of the patient’s records, including any imaging and laboratory results, but their NOP waiting time clock will not be paused during triage.

Most patients will agree any necessary treatment at their NOP appointment and this is when the patient’s waiting time clock for their IPDC treatment should start. Health Boards cannot list a patient for IPDC treatment prior to this appointment because healthcare staff have a responsibility to ensure they obtain valid and informed consent from a patient before putting them on a waiting list for any type of care or treatment intervention. To ensure patients can give informed consent, clinicians must provide information about what the treatment involves, including the benefits and risks, whether there are alternative options, and what will happen if treatment does not go ahead. The NOP appointment provides the opportunity for these discussions to take place.

Local authorities have a statutory duty to make available funded ELC to the children residing within their own area and are also responsible for having regard to the statutory guidance requirements in relation to cross-boundary placements.

There are no current plans to amend legislation relating to local authorities’ statutory duties with respect Funded ELC during the remainder of this parliament.

To ensure families’ choice of provider is not limited by local authority boundaries, local authorities are encouraged to work with neighbouring areas through Funding Follows the Child guidance, developed jointly by COSLA and the Scottish Government.

I wrote to COSLA on 12 March 2026, highlighting the importance of this issue, and asking them to work in partnership with the next national Government to find solutions that work for all Scotland’s children and families.

On 14 March, the First Minister announced a financial package worth up to £10 million to help businesses rebuild and renew the part of Glasgow affected by the Union Corner fire. Glasgow City Council will administer the scheme based on engagement with local businesses to understand how they have been affected.

On 24 February 2026, the Lord Advocate wrote to the Presiding Officer and provided a representative sample of examples of minutes on live criminal cases sent to Scottish Ministers based on available records. These examples were provided so far as records allow, supplemented by the recollection and experience of COPFS officials. The Lord Advocate’s letter indicated there may have been other similar minutes sent for which records no longer exist. These materials include cases where information was provided on live criminal cases not in the public domain at the time. Letter from the Lord Advocate to Presiding Officer.pdf | Powered by Box

Complete Bundle - Case Updates from Law Officers to Scottish and UK Governments between 1997 and 2026.pdf | Powered by Box.

All Scottish Government funding provided to Argyll and Bute Women’s Aid is subject to monitoring and reporting requirements to ensure it is being used for agreed purposes. From 2016, oversight by the Voluntary Action Fund included project visits and six-monthly progress reports. Since late 2020, Inspiring Scotland has reviewed quarterly financial and forecast reports for this funding.

We are satisfied that the current oversight arrangements are proportionate and robust. Funded organisations are subject to random financial spot checks to verify reported spend, or to more in-depth financial monitoring visits to review financial procedures against best practice. In addition, all registered charities are required to submit annual accounts to the charity regulator, OSCR, and companies must file their annual accounts with Companies House.

It is not appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on individual organisations’ employment and grievance handling processes, other than to note that all organisations should ensure that they comply with relevant legislation. These are a matter for the Board of Argyll and Bute Women’s Aid and I will not comment on individual cases. As such, the Scottish Government has not engaged Audit Scotland, the Care Inspectorate or the Pensions Regulator in relation to the historic financial mismanagement at Argyll and Bute Women’s Aid.

We expect all Health Boards to uphold their legal duties as employers in keeping staff, patients and visitors safe. Health Boards are expected to record all incidences of assaults using their local reporting systems and escalate to Police Scotland, where appropriate.

The safety of staff and patients is the responsibility of individual Health Boards. Any staff training in relation to this is also the responsibility of Health Boards as employers.

Boards are expected to implement the national workforce policies that include: the Gender-Based Violence Workforce Policy, the Sexual Harassment Guide, and the Work-related Violence and Aggression Policy.