Chamber and committees

Payments to Crofting Agricultural Grant Scheme claimants are issued once a week. The most recent payments were made on 18 August 2026.

The Scottish Government is responding to ongoing cost of living pressures being felt by households across Scotland. We are working towards a consultation on the price cap on essential food items within 100 days of the start of this Government.

The consultation will be an opportunity for interested parties to inform the further development of the policy and any future legislative proposals. Any proposals brought forward would be subject to parliamentary scrutiny.

The Scottish Government published an initial evaluation of Best Start Grant in December 2020 and Best Start Foods in July 2022, and a further assessment of both policies as part of the Five Family Payments evaluation in September 2025. Findings were based mostly on survey and interview research with recipients. They clearly show the benefits have positively impacted recipients’ finances and helped to reduce material deprivation for low income households. In turn, they are having a range of social and health impacts. For example:

• Most recipients said Best Start Grant helps their children participate in social and educational activities. Examples included family trips to the zoo and annual passes to activity centres.
• Most recipients said Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods improve their own mental wellbeing. Parents described how the payments reduced stress about affording essential items for their children, such as food and one-off larger purchases like prams and furniture.
• Most recipients said Best Start Foods helps their children to eat more healthy foods, and that the payments have meant they do not need to use food banks. Some parents said they would have to cut back on healthy foods without this assistance.

The findings also indicate the benefits have increased economic activity by facilitating additional spend. Some of the further potential economic impacts that were identified would accrue in the longer-term. For example, the benefits could contribute to positive health outcomes for children in later life, thereby lowering the costs of health services.

Under the Transport Act 1985 local bus services, which includes request stops and hail-and-ride arrangements must be registered with the Office of the Traffic Commissioner. The registration of services is devolved and subject to the Public Service Vehicles (Registration of Local Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2001. To ensure that all operators are adhering with the regulatory regime, the Office of the Traffic Commissioner produced a guide entitled “Local Bus Services Registration in Scotland: Guide for Operators”, which sets out the procedures for the registration, variation or cancellation of local services.

As part of the regulatory process, operators are required to provide notice of their intention to vary or cancel services to the relevant local authorities in whose area the services have stopping places. This advance notice gives authorities the opportunity to consider whether to take action to support services where they consider them to be socially necessary.

In 2024, Transport Scotland published Best Practice Guidance on Community Engagement, which was developed in collaboration with local authorities, passenger representatives and operators, and sets an expectation that communities should be consulted on changes to bus services. However, there is no statutory requirement for operators to consult passengers or local communities about proposed service changes. Operators must, however, give notice of such changes by displaying the relevant information on board vehicles for a minimum of 21 days.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with Motability to understand how its changes might affect customers in Scotland under the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment (AVE) Scheme.

As a result of our engagement Motability has committed to providing additional mileage, on top of its reduced standard allowance, to customers living in very rural and island communities in recognition of their having to drive further to access key services.

Also, customers in any area who for essential purposes need to drive more than 3,000 miles each year above the 10,000 standard annual inclusive mileage will be able to apply for support with the increased excess mileage charge.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the AVE Scheme and to ensuring that all eligible clients can access the right support through it to meet their mobility needs.

While house-building remains the cornerstone of our response to increase housing supply, we are using every lever at our disposal to ensure existing stock supports the housing needs of our communities. This is happening via three routes: action led by the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership and local authority empty homes officers to support privately owned empty homes to return to use, the conversion of empty commercial/ retail properties into residential housing and a reduction in the number of empty local authority/ social housing units.

Privately Owned Empty Homes

• Our investment of £5.7m in the Scottish Empty Homes Partnership has helped return almost 13,000 privately owned empty homes to use since 2010 (a record 2,066 homes in 2024-25 alone – 10% more than the year before. Figures for 2025-26 will be available later this year).
• This investment has expanded the Partnership’s core service, boosted empty homes officer capacity (15 additional posts in 2025-26) and funded a number of national and local initiatives e.g. the new empty homes Compulsory Purchase Hub facilitated by Aberdeenshire Council and the Society of Lawyers and Administrators (SOLAR) that will support more local authorities to be able to use this power to bring empty homes back into use.
• A further £1.3m is being allocated in 2026-27 to continue the SEHP core activities, as well as to help local authorities to offer grants to empty homeowners to renovate and let their homes for affordable rents.
• We continue to work with partners to increase the delivery of more affordable homes through acquisitions, the majority of which will be for social rent. In 2025-26 90 privately owned empty homes were acquired and returned to use in this way.

Conversion of empty commercial/ retail properties

• Local authorities may choose to use Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) grant to convert empty properties into housing. A recent example is the Kingdom Group's redevelopment of New City House, a former office block in Dunfermline. This was supported by over £3 million from AHSP and transformed the building into 32 energy-efficient two and three bedroom apartments for mid-market rent.
• In addition, in 2026-27 we are providing up to £52 million in resource and capital programmes for community-led regeneration across Scotland. This may be used to transform empty buildings into homes. Some examples of this since 2019 include £800,000 to refurbish an empty commercial building in Airdrie Town Centre into four flats, £441,000 to acquire and convert a former YMCA building in central Motherwell (alongside development of adjacent vacant and derelict land) to provide 48 new town centre residential units and £400,000 to develop a vacant military site at Comlet Invergordon in the Highlands into 93 affordable homes.

Empty local authority/ social housing

• 620 void properties were supported back into use in 2024-25 and 2025-2026 through targeted use of £120m AHSP grant for acquisitions and voids.

Food Standards Scotland plays an important role in supporting healthier diets across Scotland through the provision of scientific evidence, dietary surveillance and expert advice. This evidence informs Scottish Government policies aimed at improving dietary health and creating food environments that make healthier options easier.

Food Standards Scotland are a non-ministerial agency and are directly accountable to the Scottish Parliament. Their Board provides independent strategic direction and governance to the agency.

The Food Standards Scotland framework document sets out the objectives in relation to improving diet and nutrition in Scotland. This is achieved in collaboration with the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with Food Standards Scotland to ensure that action to improve dietary health is informed by robust evidence and expert advice.

The UK Government has full regulatory powers for the financial services industry, including access to cash. However, the Scottish Government regularly engages with the sector and regulator through Ministerial engagements and the Financial Services Growth and Development Board. We continue to urge all financial services providers to listen to and address growing customer concerns.

The Scottish Government recognises the benefits that fixed links can bring to island and rural communities. As set out in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review Recommendation 41, the next stage is to undertake further business case development to assess the viability of potential fixed links across the Sounds of Harris and Barra, and between Mull and the Scottish mainland. This work will include the assessment of the potential costs, benefits, funding options and impacts on existing ferry services.

This work is vital to ensure that the proposed projects remain value for money as set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual and before it moves to the more detailed, design development stage of any one of these three proposed fixed links.

Scoping for this business case work is expected to commence in 2026, and the work would be progressed in close collaboration with local authorities, stakeholders and local communities.

Future announcements on the progress of this work will made at appropriate points in the business case development.

The Scottish Government is also aware that Shetland Island Council is developing its Inter-Island Transport Connectivity Strategy, which includes fixed links (tunnels) as a potential alternative to the current local ferry services.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with Motability to understand how its changes might affect customers in Scotland under the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment (AVE) Scheme.

As a result of our engagement Motability has committed to providing additional mileage, on top of its reduced standard allowance, to customers living in very rural and island communities in recognition of their having to drive further to access key services.

Also, customers in any area who for essential purposes need to drive more than 3,000 miles each year above the 10,000 standard annual inclusive mileage will be able to apply for support with the increased excess mileage charge.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the AVE Scheme and to ensuring that all eligible clients can access the right support through it to meet their mobility needs.