Chamber and committees

Current housing standards do not cover agricultural seasonal workers’ accommodation such as mobile homes or other temporary structures, as mobile homes are not considered as houses for the purpose of legislation. This has resulted in inconsistent and unequal protection for seasonal workers and is something we want to address.

The Scottish Government expect local authorities to use the powers granted them to introduce byelaws, taking into account the specific circumstances relating to seasonal workers in their geographical area.

Local authorities will have their own individual timelines for delivery. Officials have had discussions with COSLA and are continuing to engage with them regarding local authorities’ responsibilities and to facilitate the timely implementation of byelaws that maintain standards of accommodation for seasonal workers.

The farmed fish welfare guidance that we are developing will take into consideration the recommendations from the Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s report in order to deliver positive welfare outcomes for fish, whilst being grounded in robust, achievable and enforceable industry practice. We will also be working with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure we have expert input from scientific, industry and welfare perspectives.

The welfare of farmed fish is already assured under the Welfare of Animals (Scotland) Act 2006 and Article 3.1 of assimilated Council Regulation (EC) 1099/2009. We have no current plans to introduce additional legislation.

It is the General Teaching Council for Scotland’s responsibility as the independent professional registration and regulatory body for teachers in Scotland, to ensure teaching standards are upheld. GTCS, local authorities and professional associations, operate with appropriate independence, which the Scottish Government respects. This autonomy is an important feature of a balanced and credible system. It sits alongside clear responsibilities under the Public Sector Equality Duty, which requires public authorities to exercise their functions in a way that advances equality, eliminates discrimination and fosters good relations between communities.

Ministers and officials engage regularly with local authorities on a wide variety of issues, including pupil wellbeing and support for Additional Support Needs. However, you will be aware responsibility for the delivery of education and support for children and young people, including responding to incidents of bullying, rests with local authorities and schools.

In 2024, we updated our national anti-bullying guidance Respect for All. We expect all local authorities, schools and organisations to develop and implement anti-bullying policies in line with Respect for All.

In 2026-27, we are providing £310,480 to respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service to provide advice, resources, and training for schools, local authorities and parents to help prevent and address bullying.

The 2026 ScotWind Supply Chain Development Statement updates show that total projected spend in Scotland has increased between 2023 and 2026 by nearly £2.3bn for the 16 projects included in the updates, from an estimated £23.3bn to £25.6 billion.

Developers’ SCDS updates include ambitions to go beyond committed spend which suggests an additional potential £10.5bn manufacturing expenditure in key areas such as foundations, turbine components and electrical infrastructure in Scotland as the supply chain matures.

These insights will support the Scottish Government and our delivery partners in targeting intervention where it is needed most, including through our strategic investment in offshore wind, to drive sustainable growth across Scotland’s offshore energy supply chain.

The UK Government has not advised Scottish Ministers that it has any plans to replace the ECO4 Flex scheme when the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme closes in December.

The Scottish Government continues to supports local councils to provide ECO Flex declarations and work with retrofit installers as part of our Area Based Schemes (ABS). In most cases, households that have been provided with a declaration of eligibility through ECO Flex will continue to be eligible for improvements delivered through local ABS schemes; national Warmer Homes Scotland or Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan schemes.

The Scottish Government would encourage households in this instance to get in touch with Home Energy Scotland to determine which scheme they are eligible for.

Each school works with partners, including the school-based Skills Development Scotland (SDS) career adviser(s), to identify the pupils who are most at risk of not transitioning to a positive destination post-school such as further / higher education, training or employment. Factors that are taken into consideration include, but are not limited to, whether the young person is care-experienced; has caring responsibilities; has any health issues or disabilities; has additional support needs; or has interrupted learning. The school and partners then discuss and agree the appropriate support for each individual.

SDS are responsible for managing the 16+ Participation Portal, a secure online portal which tracks the status of young people aged 16-24. By sharing information between partners, including local authorities, colleges, the Scottish Funding Council, the Student Awards Agency for Scotland and the Department for Work and Pensions, SDS can identify those young people not in a positive destination and will proactively make contact with them to offer support.

The SCDS updates make clear the level of projected spend in the Scottish supply chain is very substantial. These projects will spend millions of pounds throughout their development, through activities such as surveys, engineering and construction, which will support jobs across Scotland and the rest of the UK.

We expect developers to help build the resilience of our domestic supply chain and deliver on their SCDS commitments. Failure to do so can trigger remedies ranging from financial penalties to an inability to progress to a seabed lease.

The Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit and Confederation of British Industry (CBI) Economics recently published a report showing Scotland’s net zero economy contributes £10.2 billion GVA and supports more than 105,000 jobs, accounting for 4.9% of Scotland’s economic output and 3.9% of employment (The Scottish Net Zero Economy in 2025, CBI).

ScotWind projects have already delivered over £750 million in revenues to the public purse.

The Scottish Animal Welfare Commission’s recommendations, following its review on snaring, recommended that the use and sale of snares be prohibited.

A complete ban on the use of snares, as provided for in the Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Act 2024, came into force on 25 November 2024.

Section 11(3C) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (the 1981 Act” already prohibits the possession and sale of self-locking snares.

In our consultation document ‘Wildlife Management and Muirburn (Scotland) Bill: use of snares and powers of Scottish SPCA inspectors’, published in August 2023, we proposed not to extend the offence to possess or sell any other type of snare other than those already prohibited under section 11 of the 1981 Act.

This is because many snares that were set were made by practitioners using readily available materials and therefore a ban on the sale of snares would have a limited affect.

The Scottish Government is taking forward a range of actions to develop and improve agricultural education, learning and skills during this Parliamentary session.

This includes implementing the recommendations of the independent Commission for the Land-Based Learning Review, all 22 of which were accepted or accepted in principle by the Scottish Government. In March 2026, the Scottish Government reported that actions relating to 14 recommendations had been completed, with work continuing on the remainder.

The Scottish Government is also supporting agricultural learning and skills development through Scotland’s Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS), including investment in the Knowledge Transfer and Innovation Fund, the Next Generation Practical Training Fund and the Land-Based Pre-Apprenticeship Programme. Together, these initiatives support vocational training, practical skills development and pathways into agricultural careers, helping to develop the skilled workforce needed by Scotland’s rural economy.

The Scottish Government also funds Lantra Scotland to promote careers, learning and skills development across the land-based sector.