Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has invested over £70 million in public EV charging since 2011, as a direct result of this funding and increasing private sector investment, Scotland has over 12,700 public charge points, including over 3,200 rapid and ultra-rapid EV chargers.

The private sector has invested over £100 million in public EV charging infrastructure in Scotland over the last three years, predominantly in new rapid and ultra-rapid EV charging.

In April 2026, the Scottish Government introduced a 10 year relief from non-domestic rates for properties wholly or mainly used for EV charging to support continued private sector investment across Scotland, including Scotland’s trunk road network.

The Scottish Government also continues to support the expansion of public EV charging through its £10 million Rural and Island Infrastructure Fund and its £30 million EV Infrastructure Fund, which has supported all of Scotland’s local authorities to develop local EV Infrastructure Strategy and Expansion Plans.

The Scottish Government respects the Court’s judgement of 3 June and will consider its implications in detail.

It should be noted that the material required to be released under the Commissioner’s Decision Notice was published on 24 February. The release consisted of over 700 documents, totalling over 4500 pages and can be accessed on the Scottish Government website.

There were a number of challenges which were specific to the context of this case. Ministers have previously set out to Parliament the requirement to balance our obligations under Freedom of Information legislation with the need to prevent identification of alleged victims in cases of sexual assault.

Ministers do not believe that the challenges experienced in this particular case are indicative of wider issues in the Scottish Government’s ability to meet its FOISA obligations within required timescales. As the Scottish Information Commissioner has recognised, the Scottish Government is a high performing authority in relation to the discharge of its FOI obligations generally. We will consider whether there are specific lessons that can be learned from this case, and from the detail of the Court’s judgement.

We recognise the importance of improving awareness and understanding of postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) among healthcare professionals. We have worked with Public Services Delivery Scotland (previously NHS Education for Scotland) to develop educational resources that support earlier recognition of autonomic disorders and promote consistent, evidence-informed care across primary and secondary settings.

Expertise in managing dysautonomia conditions, including PoTS, exists within local and regional clinical services across NHS Scotland. The National Institute for Health and Care Excellence has published clinical guidance on the management of blackouts and syncope, which assists clinicians across the UK in best practice assessment and diagnosis of PoTS.

NHS Inform also provides accessible public information on PoTS, including symptoms, causes, diagnosis and approaches to management. This supports improved awareness among patients and families and helps enable self-management alongside clinical care: Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) | NHS inform

Responsibility for service delivery rests with NHS boards, which configure services based on local circumstances and the needs of their populations, including through remote consultations and cross-Board referral pathways where these provide the most effective route to specialist input.

The Scottish Government does not hold funding information for Walking Scotland (formerly Paths for All) on a monthly basis, as funding is awarded and managed on an annual programme basis. The following table sets out the Transport Scotland programmes and annual funding allocations by financial year:

The Scottish Government recognises the challenges facing graduates from changes in technology. Our 2026-27 Budget invests over £2.4bn in post school education and skills and reinforces our steadfast commitment to free education. The Scottish Government seeks to ensure Scotland has a strong, responsive skills system, as this is key to Scotland’s future.

Our investments in apprenticeships, careers support, Developing the Young Workforce and adult learning will strengthen pathways into and through employment. This budget supports learners to progress into and through work, helping address poverty and cost of living pressures.

This support is reflected in the statistics for positive destinations for graduates with 89% of 2023-24 UK graduates from Scottish universities in work or further study 15 months after graduation and 85.4% of 2023-24 College qualifiers went on to work or further study.

We want this close alignment with the skills employers to continue. The Scottish Government has introduced a new skills planning model, being developed with partners, to ensure the post-school education and skills system is more responsive to Scotland’s strategic skills priorities. Digital has been identified as an early area of focus within this model, reflecting current and emerging skills needs and its alignment with national policy priorities.

In parallel Scotland’s AI Strategy published in 2026, sets out the Scottish Government’s five-year plan to harness the potential of AI to drive responsible and inclusive growth across our economy and make a positive difference at every level of society. In the Strategy’s first year, the Scottish Government will establish a Future Jobs panel to assess AI’s impact on workforce and to help guide national skills planning.

It is an offence under Section 2 of Aquaculture and Fisheries (Scotland) Act 2007 (‘the 2007 Act’) if an aquaculture business fails to comply with the requirements of the Fish Farming Businesses (Reporting) (Scotland) Order 2020 in respect of sea lice counts, without an appropriate explanation, or to knowingly provide any information which is false in a material particular. An offence under Section 2 of the 2007 Act is punishable on summary conviction by a fine not exceeding level 4 on the standard scale.

The Fish Health Inspectorate (FHI) take potential regulatory breaches seriously, and the 2007 Act provides for inspectors to inspect premises, examine and take copies of records, and as certain levels of parasites, as part of desk-based or on-site investigations, as required, depending on what may be proportionate to the suspected offence.

It was concluded that no offence had been committed on the basis that a reasonable excuse had been provided for not submitting a sea lice count. Legal obligations regarding reporting guidance were strongly emphasised to the operator in this case, in line with the FHI’s Service Charter.

I refer the Member to the Answer to Question S6W-44434 on 20 March 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/questions-and-answers

Careers support is provided to school-age pupils through teaching in the curriculum, access to professional careers advisers, Developing the Young Workforce(DYW).and specialist additional support is available as required.

Since 2020, the Scottish Government has made a sustained and significant financial commitment to keeping The Promise, with investment delivered annually through the Children and Families Directorate and across wider portfolios.

Keeping the Promise is not funded through a single programme. It is a whole-system commitment, with investment spanning multiple directorates and public services, including social work, education, health, housing and justice, alongside local government funding. The Scottish Government does not assign a single fixed annual cost to keeping The Promise, reflecting its scope as a cross-government, system-wide reform programme. Key investments include support for The Promise Scotland, the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding (WFWF), and measures such as the Scottish Recommended Allowance for foster and kinship carers. These are designed to transform how families are supported, with a focus on early intervention and prevention.

The Whole Family Wellbeing Funding is central to this approach. Between 2022 and March 2026, over £154.5 million has been invested to transform family support. This includes multi-year funding for Children’s Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs), which deliver support locally. We will continue to invest £50m in 2026-27 in a programme of work aimed at transforming family support services, by strengthening holistic and preventative approaches that improve family wellbeing. This includes funding for CSPPs which has increased from £32 million to £38.1 million in 2025–26 and 2026–27 to strengthen locally-led provision.

Progress is also supported by legislative change through the Children (Care, Care Experience and Services Planning) (Scotland) Act, with a Financial Memorandum published in February 2026 setting out indicative costs at introduction. These estimates will continue to be refined as implementation progresses.

The Scottish Government continues to work with partners, including COSLA, to ensure delivery is aligned with available resources while maintaining the long-term commitment to keep The Promise by 2030.

The Scottish Government is deeply grateful to all those who have previously, and continue, to serve in the armed forces. No requests from veterans groups for any meeting with Ministers on the matter have been received.

There is a benefits realisation plan in place. The strategic objectives are set out in the Full Business Case. Lessons learned logs are continually updated and reviewed by all parties involved in migrations. Following the conclusion of the migration programme we will work with stakeholders to learn lessons from this rollout to improve future performance.