Chamber and committees

Part (a) In relation to expenditure on programme delivery, administration, monitoring and evaluation and other overhead costs, the following proportions and values apply concerning the project to date. These are estimates relating to approximately £3m of spend for Link Education International (RISE project) and approximately £2m of expenditure for OXFAM GB (GIRLS project) incurred to date.

A. Programme Delivery

1.RISE project: 69%of budget spent on programme outputs and delivery: £1,888,000 to date

2.GIRLS project: 68% of budget spent on programme outputs and delivery: £1,234,712

B. Administration

1.RISE project: 14% of budget spent on management, technical leadership and reporting: £741,000 to date

2.GIRLS project: 29% of budget spent on administrative costs: £528,418 to date.

C. Monitoring and Evaluation

1.RISE project: Approximately 12% of budget spent on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning: £324,000 to date

2.GIRLS project: Approximately 1.6% of budget spent on Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning: £29,973 to date

D. Other overhead costs

1.RISE project: Approximately 5% of budget spent on equipment, safeguarding and other overhead costs: £139,000

2.GIRLS project: Approximately 0.75%% of budget spent on other overhead costs, including equipment: £13,572

Part (b)
The number of children and young people which have been directly supported since the programme's commencement:

A. Enrolment

1.RISE project: Link Education International, with its partners in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia, have screened around 360,000 children with disabilities or additional needs prior to enrolment in school. The project has also provided around 1,000 assistive devices to children with disabilities, and has supported communities, teachers and parents to engage and support those children.

2.GIRLS project: Oxfam, with its partners in Malawi, Rwanda and Zambia, have supported 3,523 scholarships for girls from marginalised backgrounds to enrol in secondary school and TVET courses.

B, C, D.

Concerning attendance, retention and educational attainment: For both the RISE and GIRLS projects, midline assessments are planned for 2027 to assess the effect of both projects in improving attendance and retention, and for GIRLS only, the effect of the project on improving performance.

Information regarding ministerial engagements is available on the Scottish Government website and I would refer the member to the following pages:

https://www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/.

The minister with responsibility for energy met with Scottish Enterprise on the following occasions:

• The Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy met Scottish Enterprise on 28 February 2024 to discuss the wellbeing economy.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work visited the Scottish Enterprise Clean Heat Supply Chain and Investment Conference on 27 March 2024 to discuss heat in buildings.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Interim Chair and Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise on 22 May 2024 to discuss economic development.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met Scottish Enterprise on 10 July 2024 to discuss energy and the Just Transition.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Chief Executive and Interim Chair of Scottish Enterprise on 23 July 2024 to discuss health and the economy.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work held a phone call with the Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise on 12 August 2024 to discuss the economy.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Interim Chair and Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise on 28 August 2024 to discuss the economy.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the President and CEO of NFI Group, the President and Managing Director, Group Finance Director and Group Marketing Director of Alexander Dennis Limited, and the Chief Executive and Account Manager of Scottish Enterprise on 5 September 2024 to discuss the economy and net zero.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Interim Chair and Chief Executive of Scottish Enterprise on 5 September 2024 to discuss the agency’s work.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work met the Business Response Team Leader and Digital Transformation Specialists Team of Scottish Enterprise, and the Head of Enterprise and Business of South of Scotland Enterprise, on 31 October 2024 to discuss business resilience.
• The Minister for Energy, Just Transition and Fair Work recorded a video for Scottish Enterprise Backing Ambition 2024 and St Andrew's Day on 28 November 2024.
• The Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Energy met Scottish Enterprise and Crown Estate Scotland on 13 March 2025 to discuss offshore wind.

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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02062 on 19 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01941 on 19 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-02062 on 19 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.

In a letter to the Criminal Justice Committee dated 16 December 2025, the then Minister for Victims and Community Safety set out the Scottish Government’s response to the report published by the Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour. The response set out details about work that has been taken forward. A copy of the response can be found at: https://www.parliament.scot/-/media/files/committees/criminal-justice-committee/correspondence/2025/asb-iwg-response-letter-from-minister-vcs-16-december-2025.pdf. Since this letter was issued, work has continued in implementing the actions to which the Scottish Government committed.

The Scottish Government has not agreed to the sale of the Centre for Contemporary Arts (CCA) building on Sauchiehall Street, Glasgow. An Expression of Interest process has been undertaken by Creative Scotland.