Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to sustainable and resilient food supply chains and is taking a range of actions to support local producers and increase opportunities for Scottish and locally produced food to be enjoyed.

The Scottish Government has established a Public Sector Food Procurement Taskforce, which will consider how public procurement can better support local and sustainable producers. The Taskforce will work at pace to provide recommendations to Ministers.

This work supports the ambitions of our Local Food Strategy, “Local Food for Everyone: Our Journey”, particularly Pillar Three on harnessing public sector procurement to increase the use of quality, fresh, seasonal and locally produced food.

CalMac is currently engaged with an external consultancy to provide independent analysis on the use of LNG vs MGO by MV Glen Sannox. This report is due to be finalised by the end of August. Early results confirm the volumes of CO2 produced during dual-fuel use are lower than if MGO is used as a primary fuel source. CalMac records monthly emissions of CO2 across the fleet as per their reporting obligations. However, like-for-like emission comparison between vessels is challenging due to varied vessel designs and cargo carrying capacity.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of having a Power of Attorney (PoA) in place and is currently considering implementation options for the recent Audit Scotland recommendation, regarding the promotion of PoA, published in Delayed discharges: A symptom of the challenges facing health and social care, January 2026. Implementation is expected to increase public awareness and uptake.

The Scottish Government has collaborated with NHS 24 to update relevant NHS inform content, which provides guidance on the process and benefits of setting up a Power of Attorney. Available here: https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/health-rights/access/power-of-attorney-guardianship-and-intervention-orders/

The Community Wealth Building (Scotland) Act 2026, passed by the Scottish Parliament on 10 February, requires public bodies to work together and actively implement the approach more systematically across Scotland by producing local Community Wealth Building Action Plans, and reporting progress. While Co-operative Development Scotland is not a specified public body in the Act, Scottish Enterprise, of which CDS is a part, must work with local authorities and other public bodies within local ‘community wealth building partnerships’ across Scotland to produce local action plans within three years of commencement of the Act. The local partnerships also have a duty to implement the community wealth building plans and report on progress.

The Scottish Government’s consistent position is that Scotland’s onshore wind capacity should continue to play a central role in delivering a secure, affordable and decarbonised energy system.

We are continuing to engage closely with NESO and the UK Government as the Strategic Spatial Energy Plan is developed and are making the case directly that this plan should make full use of Scotland’s renewable energy resources.

The Scottish Government’s engagement is informed by a wide range of evidence, including industry analysis such as the report commissioned by the Scottish Onshore Wind Developers Forum.

Local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes in their area. Since 2016, the Scottish Government has provided £612m to local authorities to support the delivery of flood protection schemes and wider flood resilience activities.

Funding for flood resilience is provided through the local authority general capital grant. This means that decisions related to it are agreed jointly by Ministers and COSLA Leaders following principle-based recommendations from the jointly attended Settlement and Distribution Group. Through this process, a new, more flexible, funding allocation was agreed for financial year 2026-2027. This means that local authorities can invest in local needs and priorities from their local Flood Risk Management Plans.

In parallel we have funded SEPA to develop a Flood Advisory Service that will improve the governance and delivery of high value flood protection schemes across Scotland, learning the lessons from delivery over the last 10 years. Work is ongoing with COSLA to ensure a new funding model is in place to support the delivery of the next programme of high value flood protection schemes once the Flood Advisory Service is operational.

The UK’s telecommunications regulator, Ofcom, regularly publishes information in relation to full fibre and gigabit-capable broadband coverage in Scotland as part of their Connected Nations updates. The most recent update was published on 13 May 2026, showing coverage figures for January 2026.

Latest figures show that, as of January 2026, a total of 35,261 homes across Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley can access a full fibre connection, which equates to 87% of all eligible homes across the constituency.

More detailed information can be found through Ofcom’s interactive dashboard at https://www.ofcom.org.uk/phones-and-broadband/coverage-and-speeds/connected-nations-update-spring-2026#interactive-report

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the delivery timelines for commercially funded broadband infrastructure projects. However, gigabit-capable full fibre deployment is being delivered in Scotland through Project Gigabit, including within the Kilmarnock and Irvine Valley constituency. Project Gigabit delivery is currently expected to be completed by 2030.

The assertion that the report on Recorded Crime in Scotland 2025-26, indicates that weapons possession made up 18% of total crimes in Scotland is incorrect. Weapons possession accounted for 18% of crimes against society in 2025-2026 which is one of the six crime groups used in the bulletin, and crimes against society accounted for 21% of all recorded crime. Measured against total recorded crime, the correct figure is close to 4%.

Our approach has three strands, education on the danger and unacceptability of carrying a weapon, effective consequences when offences are committed, and sustained school and community engagement.

The Scottish Government has invested over £6 million to support implementation of the Violence Prevention Framework since its publication in May 2023. It has also provided over £2 million over 2026/27 to continue delivery of the violence prevention work. This funding supports a range of targeted prevention and early intervention activity in schools, hospitals and across communities, working with partners to tackle violence and its harms including the use of any form of weapon including knives.

The Scottish Government is committed to reducing avoidable food waste across the supply chain and in households, to help work towards UN Sustainable Development Goal 12.3 to halve food waste by 2030.

Our recent Circular Economy Strategy for Scotland, available on the Scottish Government website at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/circular-economy-strategy-scotland/, identifies the food system as a priority sector. Actions being taken to reduce food waste include the Government working with stakeholders on effective options to implement mandatory reporting of food waste and surplus by businesses. Requiring business to report on their food waste and surplus is intended to improve understanding on where and why food waste arises and what action can be taken to prevent it.

In addition, Zero Waste Scotland is developing an intervention plan to support long-term household food waste reduction. This includes identifying, testing and refining a range of interventions to help reduce avoidable food waste in households.

We have also commissioned research through ClimateXChange on circular economy opportunities in agriculture, including reducing on-farm food loss, and will explore how these findings can inform future action.

These actions will support Scotland's efforts to reduce avoidable food waste and make progress towards the 2030 UN target.

The Scottish Government is committed to giving the people of Scotland the information they need to make an informed choice about their constitutional future. The publications, ‘A Fresh Start with Independence’ and the ‘Building a New Scotland’ series set out this government’s proposals for how Scotland could become independent, and what Scotland could do with the powers of independence. The UK’s approach to managing public finances means that it is paying higher interest rates than other comparable countries.

The full powers of an independent country will give Scotland the opportunity to develop a new economic model, one that is tailored to our circumstances, opportunities and strengths. When Scotland becomes an independent country, our fiscal policy would be designed to support improved economic competitiveness and resilience, underpinned by the principle of fiscal sustainability. As with any independent country, the macroeconomic framework would evolve over time to adapt to changing economic circumstances, but with all fiscal levers in the hands of the people of Scotland.

However, fundamentally, the benefit of an independent Scotland is that decisions about Scotland are made by those who live there and they will be the ultimate arbiters in deciding policy matters with Independence just like other independent states.