Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government had no role in, and does not hold any details of, this case. Plans, assessments and arrangements relating to the care of this child will have been reached directly between St Mary’s Kenmure and the placing authority in England.

More generally, the Scottish Government is not directly involved in the placement of any children into secure care on welfare grounds.

Secure accommodation services in Scotland are registered with the Care Inspectorate to care for boys and girls up to age 18 together. This approach has been in place for more than 10 years. Care Inspectorate placement guidance requires qualified professionals in secure centres to apply robust matching procedures – in consultation with placing authorities - to ensure the safety of any child under consideration for placement as well as the safety of all children already in a centre’s care. Whilst independent advocacy provision is in place in each centre, and children’s views are taken into account, placement decisions follow on from legal orders. The applicable arrangements for individual children remain with experts who consider the needs, vulnerabilities, risks and rights of each individual child and others within a unit.

When a child enters secure care, an assessment is completed which includes the child’s needs, strengths, hopes, vulnerabilities and risks. The child’s physical, mental, emotional and wellbeing and educational needs are assessed holistically as part of this process, which is also usually underpinned by information shared by the placing local authority.

Secure accommodation centres use a range of interventions, supports and strategies to meet the needs of all children placed there, ensuring that their safety is maintained and risk is managed. Risk assessment and risk management frameworks allow for decisions about the level of care, supervision, and restrictions on a child to be proportionate, individual and tailored to the needs of the child.

These arrangements enable appropriate account to be taken of the needs of all children, to ensure compliance with all of their applicable legal rights, including under the Equality Act 2010.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01643 on 29 July 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 Scottish Government has no current plans to amend the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 in this way. Closure orders under Part 4 of the Act, including which bodies may initiate the closure process and the grounds on which a sheriff may close premises, are within the scope of the legislative review of the Act announced in December 2025. The review is being taken forward in close consultation with local authorities, Police Scotland and other delivery partners, and its evidence base includes the operation of the equivalent powers in England and Wales under the Anti-social Behaviour, Crime and Policing Act 2014. Decisions on whether legislative change is needed will be informed by the review's findings.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01665 on 29 July 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 Scottish Government has no immediate plans to reform inheritance law in Scotland. The most recent consultations on testate and intestate succession took place in 2015 and 2019. The analysis of the consultation findings concluded that there was no clear consensus on substantive reforms to the law. Research into aspects of succession has also been commissioned and we await the findings. The Scottish Law Commission is considering reforms to executry law as part of their current programme of law reform.

Scottish Government officials engage regularly with all Children's Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs), including Highland, as part of the oversight of the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) Programme. Ongoing engagement combined with annual reporting supports our understanding of how funding is being used locally, and the progress being made towards delivering transformational change for children, young people and families.

The National Bus Travel Concession Schemes (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Scotland) Order 2026 enables Scottish Ministers to suspend or withdraw concessionary travel from any cardholder who breaches a national Code of Conduct. It applies to every user of the National Concessionary Travel Schemes, irrespective of age. Transport Scotland is working with bus operators, Police Scotland and local authorities to finalise the Code and the processes that will sit behind it.

We are separately reviewing the Antisocial Behaviour etc. (Scotland) Act 2004 in order to establish whether the wider statutory framework remains fit for purpose.

The Scottish Government works with HM Revenue & Customs and other partners on the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce, including the National Crime Agency and Border Force, to disrupt all aspects of organised criminality including the production, distribution and sale of counterfeit and illicit goods.

The Scottish Government also supports the Scottish Anti Illicit Trade Group which was re-launched in March 2025 bringing together a wide range of agencies, including HMRC, and brand representatives to identify and develop interventions and tactics that improve the combined effectiveness of enforcement activity.

Children's Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) report on their Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) activity via annual Children’s Services Reports, annual WFWF reports, and Children’s Services Plans.

Annual WFWF reports include data on the use of the funding, including the activities being delivered, the outcomes achieved and the funding allocated to each activity. This information supports our ongoing oversight of how funding is being used and the progress being made towards delivering transformational change for children, young people and families.

The Scottish Government does not operate an application process for Element 1 of the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF) Programme. Funding is allocated annually to all Children's Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) via local authorities.

Recognising that local needs and circumstances vary across Scotland, the Programme does not prescribe a specific delivery model. Instead, CSPPs assess their local family support system, identify gaps and opportunities, and determine how funding should be deployed to improve local delivery of holistic whole family support. Any local commissioning and procurement, application processes, or distribution arrangements are therefore determined by individual CSPPs in line with local priorities and needs.

The Scottish Government previously considered this issue through the work of the Land Reform Review Group, an independent group established by the Scottish Government to review land reform in Scotland. Section 6 of the Group's 2014 Report to Ministers considers previous recommendations by the Scottish Law Commission to remove the distinction between heritable and moveable property in succession law. The Group concluded that they were unlikely to have a significant influence on Scotland's concentrated pattern of land ownership.

The Scottish Government subsequently consulted on the Scottish Law Commission recommendations on succession law, including proposals relating to the distinction between heritable and moveable property. Concerns were expressed by a number of respondents about issues that might be encountered by land based businesses, such as farms. These issues could have an impact on their viability and, ultimately, on the rural economy. The Scottish Government decided not to proceed with those recommendations.