Chamber and committees

These questions relate to the procurement, specification, quality assurance, performance monitoring and contract management of hearing aid batteries supplied through National Procurement arrangements. This is a matter for Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS) and NHS Boards and the information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Prior to 1 April 2026, these functions were undertaken by National Services Scotland and now sit within PSDS. While the Scottish Government sponsors PSDS and provides strategic oversight, operational responsibility for procurement and contract management rests with PSDS, while the delivery of audiology services is a matter for NHS Boards.

PSDS has advised that NHS Boards may raise supplier or product performance concerns through National Procurement's complaints process where products supplied under the framework do not meet the required standards. PSDS has also advised that it holds no record of a formal complaint relating to hearing aid battery performance under the current framework agreement that has resulted in contractual remedies being exercised since the commencement of the contract.

These questions relate to the procurement, specification, quality assurance, performance monitoring and contract management of hearing aid batteries supplied through National Procurement arrangements. This is a matter for Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS) and NHS Boards and the information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Prior to 1 April 2026, these functions were undertaken by National Services Scotland and now sit within PSDS. While the Scottish Government sponsors PSDS and provides strategic oversight, operational responsibility for procurement and contract management rests with PSDS, while the delivery of audiology services is a matter for NHS Boards.

PSDS has advised that NHS Boards may raise supplier or product performance concerns through National Procurement's complaints process where products supplied under the framework do not meet the required standards. PSDS has also advised that it holds no record of a formal complaint relating to hearing aid battery performance under the current framework agreement that has resulted in contractual remedies being exercised since the commencement of the contract.

The 2026 – 27 Scottish Budget provides a further real-terms increase in funding for both the Local Government Settlement and Police Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently and the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets, and to allocate the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities. This includes decisions on how they and police resource the antisocial behaviour strategies which they are required, by law, to have for their respective areas.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02285 on 21 August 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.

Under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004, education authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of children in early learning and childcare (ELC) settings. In line with the National Standard, we expect local authorities and settings to work together to support children with additional support needs to access their funded ELC hours. The Funding Follows the Child approach enables families to access provision in the public, private or third sectors.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02042 on 18 August 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 figures contained within the Supply Chain Development Statements (SCDS) are expected to change across the term of the lease options as projects mature and the supply chain develops.

Compared with the last updates in 2023, developers have maintained or increased their commitments in Scotland with only two projects reducing commitments. The CampionWind project has returned its site option to Crown Estate Scotland as has Arven South.

We continue to work with CES, developers and industry to identify trends which can help Scottish Government and our delivery partners target support where it can have the greatest impact and maximise value to Scotland.

We recognise that the offshore wind sector has the potential to bring substantial benefits to Scotland, and we are committed to maximising economic value from ScotWind projects, and to retaining investment, jobs and supply chain opportunities within Scotland.

For some components, overseas supply chains are currently more mature than in the UK. We are working with developers, the UK Government, inward investors and the supply chain to support and grow manufacturing in Scotland.

Based on the 16 projects that submitted Supply Chain Development Statements (SCDS) updates in 2026, Scotland’s share of total commitments in each category is Development 62%; Manufacturing & Fabrication 20%; Installation 36%; and Operation 70%.

This information can be verified on the Crown Estate Scotland supply chain dashboard https://crownestatescotland.com/supply-chain-information

The Scottish Government is leveraging private investment into the offshore wind supply chain and ports infrastructure through our strategic investment – to date we have unlocked almost £900m of investment into projects with the potential to support up to 5,000 jobs.

Our enterprise agencies are providing targeted development support and connecting our supply chain companies with offshore wind projects and principal suppliers and contractors, enabling them to bid for - and crucially to win - work in renewables.

Where levers are reserved, such as with the Clean Industry Bonus, the Scottish Government continues to urge the UK Government to consider all available options to bolster the expansion of domestic manufacturing, support order book certainty for suppliers, and avoid the offshoring of economic opportunities from our energy transition.

At its meeting on 16 June 2026, the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation (CSAE) Strategic Group discussed future priorities in light of developments, including the statutory public inquiry into group-based CSAE and the Inspectorate-led National Review of local responses to this issue. It also considered updates on the progress of its subgroups on enhancing workforce skills and training, improving the collection and analysis of data to better assess the scale of child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland, and mandatory reporting.

The Group agreed to hold an extended meeting in early autumn to review progress to date, consider stakeholder views and determine future priorities and next steps. This will support a refresh of the Group's strategic approach and inform further advice to Ministers.

The remit of the Group, alongside minutes of meetings of the Strategic Group and its subgroups, are published on the Scottish Government website and available at: https://www.gov.scot/groups/national-child-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation-strategic-group/