Chamber and committees

The British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015 requires Scottish Ministers and listed authorities, as set out within the Act, to promote, and facilitate the promotion of, use and understanding of BSL within their services and functions. The BSL National Plan 2023-29 makes clear that for public services to be truly accessible for BSL users, there should be awareness around the culture of BSL and enabling people to access services using their own language. Actions within the plan support the delivery of this ambition. It is the responsibility of listed authorities under the Act who deliver services to make sure these are accessible to BSL users in line with their legal duties.

The Scottish Government recognises the progress being made at SaxaVord as the UK’s first fully licensed spaceport and the important role it can play in supporting Scotland’s ambition to develop a thriving space industry.

We are supporting the continued progress of the space sector through a range of levers. Our Cluster Development Programme is being established through collaboration across the public sector, academic, and industry to build excellence in areas where Scotland has strong assets such as Advanced Manufacturing within the Space sector. And through the activities of our Space Trade and Investment Envoy and Scottish Development International, we are promoting Scotland’s space capabilities to a global audience. We will also continue to work in partnership with the UK Government to leverage a greater share of available funding for space projects in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is confident that establishing sovereign launch capability from Scotland’s spaceports, including SaxaVord in Shetland, will help accelerate the growth of our space sector and strengthen Scotland’s position as a key player in the space economy.

The policy was implemented on 3 September 2025 after the First Minister’s statement to Parliament. Scottish Government officials have undertaken consultation with stakeholders and full operational guidance was issued in December 2025. This operational guidance outlined the applicable defence related sectors. This policy is under continuous review because it is a pause, but remains in place at the present time.

The Scottish Government does not currently gather data specifically relating to the activity of veterans’ start-up businesses, however we know from Scotland’s Census in 2022 that around 10,000 veterans identified as self-employed.

With a new UK wide Veterans’ Strategy published in November 2025 and a Scottish Government commitment to refresh the 2022 Action Plan this year, the range of information gathered in relation to veterans in Scotland will be considered. We will, in formulating our Action Plan, be considering whether we need data to either assess whether there is any disadvantage faced by veterans in establishing businesses or in order to pinpoint success worth celebrating.

The Permanent Secretary to the Scottish Government has responsibility for the operational running of the organisation, including the workforce related location policy.

The Scottish Government introduced an updated hybrid working policy on 27 October 2025 and as part of the implementation process has committed to establishing a formal location policy. I understand that development work for this will be informed by consultation with staff networks and trade unions. It is working to finalise the location policy later in 2026.

I would encourage the member to direct any further questions on this matter to the Permanent Secretary.

The SPCB’s Memorials Policy sets out its approach to marking the deaths of prominent individuals and other significant events. In line with this policy, the SPCB does not commission permanent memorials within the Scottish Parliament building or grounds. Accordingly, the SPCB does not intend to commission a memorial within the Scottish Parliament to mark the first anniversary of the death of the former First Minister, Alex Salmond.

I have been advised by NHS Tayside that external investigators AAB began their formal investigation in February 2026, and that they are independently analysing all the documents they have requested to date, with further documentation being identified and new information requested as witness interviews progress and additional evidence is heard.

The agreed scope of the investigation is to:

• Review NHS Tayside’s systems, processes, actions and governance arrangements in response to the Do Not Destroy notice
• Examine NHS Tayside’s internal investigation to assess whether the Health Board has a full and accurate understanding of how the destruction occurred
• Identify any systemic or procedural weaknesses that contributed to the incident
• Provide recommendations to strengthen controls and prevent recurrence.

NHS Tayside has indicated it expects to receive its final investigation report and recommendations during the first week in April. The report will then be considered by NHS Tayside’s board and next steps agreed. The First Minister has written to the Chief Executive of NHS Tayside to ask that she keep former patients updated with any developments in the weeks ahead.

The review of modern apprenticeship contribution rates will be undertaken in two stages. The first stage of the review will begin imminently, in March 2026, and the initial evidence gathering work will be complete by the end of June 2026. The second stage will commence in February 2027 and will involve a more in-depth consideration of contribution rates.

The scope and terms of reference for the MA contribution rates review can be found on the Scottish Government website at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/modern-apprenticeship-contribution-rates-review-scope-and-terms-of-reference

The publication date of official statistics are pre-announced on the Official Statistics forthcoming publications list, found on the Scottish Government website: www.gov.scot/publications/official-statistics-forthcoming-publications/

As pre-announced, the next quarterly housing statistics release will be on the 31 March 2026.

Behind every statistic is a human being. We know that experience of multiple forms of extreme disadvantage, including homelessness, poor mental health and opioid dependence, is linked to higher rates of ill health and premature death. The Scottish Government remains committed to doing all we can to address disadvantage, tackle health inequalities and prevent homelessness from happening in the first place.

We continue to support local authorities through funding of £8 million per annum for rapid rehousing to deliver Housing First, which provides the best response for people experiencing homelessness who have multiple and complex needs. 26 local authorities in Scotland offer Housing First and, as of March 2025, it is estimated that more than 2,100 people have been provided with a settled home and wrap-around support.

Our housing emergency action plan recognises that people with multiple, complex needs are particularly vulnerable during a housing crisis, and we provided an additional £4 million in 2025-26 to expand the delivery of Housing First. We also extended rapid rehousing funding to 2026-27, bringing total funding provided to local authorities since 2018 to £84.5 million. In addition, the Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 will introduce gold-standard homelessness prevention measures to ensure people receive the help and support they need before reaching crisis point.

We are committed to continuing to strengthen our response to the harms caused by drugs and alcohol. In 2025-26 we made £160 million available for drug and alcohol programmes, including widening access to treatment, residential rehabilitation and life-saving Naloxone. We are maintaining record levels of investment of over £160 million in 2026-27, including £115 million for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships across Scotland. We are also continuing to improve treatment and harm-reduction services through the implementation of the medication-assisted treatment (MAT) Standards and the establishment of the UK’s first safer drug consumption facility in Glasgow, which is backed by Scottish Government funding.

We recognise that addressing the harms caused by substance use requires an integrated and coordinated approach. Our new Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan, published on 10 March, sets out actions to tackle substance related harms and deaths in Scotland and ensure that people receive the care and support that is right for them.

We are also working with colleagues across the UK to identify opportunities for collaboration to respond to emerging drug trends, including the increasing prevalence of new synthetic substances, which is a matter of significant concern across the UK.