Chamber and committees

Information regarding the annual subsidy level for the public contract for the Northern Isles Ferry Services is available on the Transport Scotland website under ‘Transport Scotland Section 70 return – 2013-2014’ and ‘Transport Scotland Section 70 Return – 2024-25’.

The individual subsidy levels from these documents for the Northern Isles Ferry Services have been reproduced in the following tables.

 Web addresses:

http://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/transport-scotland-section-70-return-2013-14/

http://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/transport-scotland-section-70-return-2024-25/northern-isles-ferry-services/

The Scottish Government unequivocally condemns all forms of hatred and prejudice, including racism, religious hatred and online abuse. We undertake engagement with a range of stakeholders with expertise in tackling prejudice, building cohesive communities and advancing human rights to support our approaches to challenging all forms of hatred, violence and intimidation. While we have not engaged directly with the Centre for Countering Digital Hate to date, we work with a wide range of organisations who share an interest in challenging hatred and prejudice, including that which takes place online, and in supporting evidence-based approaches to preventing harm and protecting communities. We are open to engagement with organisations that can contribute evidence and expertise in these areas.

In 2025-26, the Scottish Government funded the education charity Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) £71,144 to further develop and promote the Digital Discourse Initiative (DDI) in schools, and we have provided additional funding to TIE to support them to roll out the DDI to support all schools across Scotland. This is an initiative that helps schools to equip children and young people with skills to navigate digital media and counter the impacts of disinformation and online hate.

In January 2025, the Scottish Government established the Online Safety Taskforce, following a directive from the First Minister, to strengthen efforts to keep children safe online, provide strategic oversight across government and identify further actions to protect children and young people. The Taskforce’s Action Plan, published in March 2026, sets out the Government’s priorities for tackling online harms through a public health approach and will continue to evolve in response to the experiences of children, young people, families and communities. Membership of the Taskforce is currently under review, and following an interim meeting with external stakeholders in June 2026, a series of themed summer workshops, including sessions on radicalisation and hate crime, will help shape the next phase of this work.

Spend on the A83 Rest and Be Thankful is provided in the following table. All figures are inclusive of VAT where applicable.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01326 on 8 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 continues to engage closely with the pig production sector, following my meeting on 10 June, in order to understand further the current challenges, with a view to considering how best the Scottish Government can provide support for pig producers and where it may be targeted. I also met with the Agricultural Supply Chain Adjudicator, at the Royal Highland Show on 18 June, to discuss how the Fair Dealing Obligations (Pigs) Regulations 2025 may assist producers in their contracts, bringing balance and transparency to the pork supply chain.

Aggressive cancer is not a term recognised or used in NHS Scotland. This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Scottish Government are presently scoping the approach to establishing the fund, taking into account existing and recent spending plans from across a number of related policy areas, including tourism.

The Scottish Government has made no assessment of the number of male chicks culled by maceration in Scotland in the last five years. Most egg producers in Scotland buy in pre-sexed chicks and there are insufficient numbers of producers hatching eggs to make any monitoring/measurement necessary.

Scottish Government officials are presently scoping the approach to establishing the fund. Initial meetings with stakeholders have been undertaken and more comprehensive stakeholder engagement is planned. The matter has also been discussed at the National Access Forum.

Scottish Government officials are presently scoping the approach to establishing the fund, taking into account existing and recent spending plans from across a number of related policy areas, including tourism.