Chamber and committees

Work is ongoing to determine how the additional £4.5 million announced in the 2025-26 budget to deliver new specialist support will be allocated to NHS boards, what conditions it will cover and the services it will prioritise. It is expected that NHS boards will develop support based on their understanding of local population need and synergies with existing local service provision.

The Scottish Government will publish its Health & Social Care Service Renewal Framework by the end of June, which sets out our medium and long-term intentions for transformative change. We are committed to publishing annual reports on progress against the actions set out within the Framework.

The First Minister announced on 7 February that around £14 million will be allocated to delivering the Future Farming Investment Scheme (FFIS). The proposals for the scheme are currently being finalised and the full details about the scheme and application process are expected to be announced shortly.

Scotland is currently the only part of the UK offering financial support to consumers, small businesses and the third sector to purchase electric vehicles. Since 2011 we have provided over £230 million in interest free loans to support the purchase over 8,700 zero and ultra-low emission vehicles saving an estimated 230,000 tCO2e.

In 2025-26 we aim to provide a further £20 million in interest free loans to support the purchase of electric cars and vans. There was an announcement about the reopening of this fund on 27 May.

In addition, since 2011 Scottish Ministers have also provided over £19 million for the installation of over 23,000 lower powered charge points at homes and at workplaces, complementing the £65 million invested in Scotland’s public charging network.

The Energy Savings Trust, an independent organisation working to address the climate emergency, provides free and impartial advice on electric vehicles to both businesses and consumers and my officials regularly meet with stakeholders from Scotland’s automotive trade.

The Scottish Government is committed to doing all it can to bring forward investment at Grangemouth and across Scotland. We have given clear signals to investors and prospective developers at Grangemouth that we want to work with them to make the projects outlined in Project Willow a reality including establishing the £25 million Grangemouth Just Transition Fund. Additionally, we have established an investment taskforce, led by Scottish Enterprise and the UK Office for Investment, which is working at pace to identify and attract inward investors at Grangemouth.

In any meetings relating to offshore wind, I encouraged investors to continue engaging with Scotland’s economic development agencies.

The UK Government is responsible for national security, the regulation of international trade, elements of critical national infrastructure including energy, and the application of the NSIA. We continue to engage closely with the UK Government to understand the security implications of potential foreign investment in energy-related infrastructure.

I refer the member to the answers provided in response to S6W-36894 and S6W-36895 on 13 May 2025. 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.

Powers over maternity leave and pay are reserved to the UK Government and we know that in comparison to OECD countries, maternity payment rates in the UK are amongst the lowest, with less than one-third of gross average earnings replaced by the maternity benefit.

The Scottish Government recognise that families with a child under the age of one are at greater risk of poverty and that families will see a considerable reduction in their earned incomes following the first 6 weeks of Statutory Maternity Pay. Support through Statutory Maternity Pay is also only payable for 39 weeks, which can leave a period where parents receive no support if they decide to stay home with their baby.

Tackling child poverty is a key priority for the Scottish Government. Our investment in Scottish Child Payment has seen more than £786 million worth of Scottish Child Payments already issued by 30 June 2024; that is money directly in the pockets of those families who need it most.

Our Best Start Grant which aims to help tackle the impacts of child poverty by giving eligible families additional money at key stages in children’s early years, adding to the family budget and avoiding the need for borrowing. Between launching on 10 December 2018 and 30 June 2024, Best Start Grant has provided over £107 million to those families who need it most.

As an employer, the Scottish Government is fully committed to providing support and flexibility to parents. This includes providing full pay for 27 weeks followed by statutory maternity pay up to 39 weeks which far exceeds statutory entitlements.

We continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across Scotland to tackle poverty by using all the levers at our disposal to encourage employers to adopt inclusive and family friendly workplace practices to support pregnant workers and new parents.

The Scottish Government does not collect this information. The local councils are independent corporate bodies, separate from the Scottish Government, and it is up to each council how it manages its risks. Under the Strategic Framework for a Cyber Resilient Scotland (2021), the Scottish Government strongly encourages all public bodies to seek appropriate and regular independent assurance of their critical technical controls.

The Scottish Government recognises the economic and environmental benefits of precision farming technology and has provided capital support to allow farmers and crofters to invest in precision farming equipment.