Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government promotes and facilitates the procurement of healthy, fresh and seasonal produce in contracts for food and catering to support our vision of Scotland as a Good Food Nation.

The Procurement Reform (Scotland) Act 2014, proposes a range of opportunities to increase the quality and provenance of food and drink procured.

The Act legislates for a number of levers to achieve delivery of the Scottish Government food and drink policy including the sustainable procurement duty where public bodies have a legal duty to take account of how they can improve the social, economic and environmental wellbeing of their area through their procurement activities.

National procurement policy with respect to the climate emergency is set out in Scottish Procurement Policy Note 3/2022 Public procurement - taking account of climate and circular economy considerations. The policy highlights that public bodies should use their public procurement spend to support climate and circular economy ambitions, and signposts sources of support to embed this policy in practice which include the Scottish Government funded Sustainable Procurement Tools which host tools, guidance, case studies and climate and circular economy e-learning.

According to information provided by 107 public bodies in their annual procurement reports for 2022-23, examples of the ways in which environmental wellbeing and climate change were addressed through procurement included: environmental criteria in procurement exercises, using climate action plan templates, and encouraging staff to complete climate literacy eLearning.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of staff currently employed in local authority planning services.

However, each planning authority in Scotland has recently participated in the new National Planning Improvement Framework (NPIF), which is being led by the National Planning Improvement Champion. The performance assessments for 22 authorities are available at: https://www.improvementservice.org.uk/products-and-services/planning-and-place-based-approaches/national-planning-improvement/national-planning-improvement-framework/improvement-action-plans-and-performance-assessments. The reports include information on the number of staff in individual authorities.

The Scottish Government recognises the financial and capacity pressures on the planning system and is taking forward a package of changes to provide authorities with additional resources. Planning fees were increased in line with inflation last December, and further changes are due to come into force this month. Through the National Planning Skills Commitment Plan, we are coordinating skills development across the planning sector in Scotland.

In addition, Scotland’s National Planning Hub is providing additional surge capacity and resource to help authorities to respond to current challenges, and to enable them to accelerate their activities this financial year.

We are also supporting an increase in planners coming into the profession, particularly through direct recruitment and training in our Future Planners programme, and a trebling of the planning bursaries we are offering this year.

It is not for the Scottish Government to issue immediate instructions or temporary guidance to public bodies or services, and we are not responsible for monitoring or enforcing compliance with the Equality Act 2010. That is the statutory role of the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC). Each public body should consider the impacts of the Supreme Court ruling and prepare for the updated Code of Practice from the EHRC.

As an independent non-departmental body, the Care Inspectorate operates at arm’s length from Government and issues its own guidance independently from the Scottish Government to maintain its role as an impartial and objective regulator.

The Scottish Government provides funding to a range of organisations through several different funding streams. Each fund has its own set of monitoring and reporting requirements to assess that the recipient is meeting the criteria of the fund. We expect all organisations in receipt of Scottish Government funding to comply with the law.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to maintaining and improving the ferry links to Orkney and Shetland and better meeting the needs of island residents, businesses and communities. After careful consideration of the outline business case, I can confirm that a competitive process will begin shortly to secure delivery of two new 140m Freight Flex vessels. These vessels will replace the two existing vessels and provide additional freight capacity, higher operating speeds, and provide the ability to carry up to 200 passengers when required.

This procurement will be progressed by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited as the procuring authority. It is expected that the relevant processes will be completed by early 2026, at which point contracts can then be awarded, subject to approval. I will provide further updates to Parliament at key stages of the procurement process.

The Scottish Government is grateful for the latest advice from the Climate Change Committee on Scotland’s Carbon Budgets.

We will carefully consider the Committee’s advice before bringing forward regulations to set carbon budget levels for Scotland. This will include consideration of the target setting criteria set out under the act, and an assessment of whether the pace of decarbonisation is appropriate for people, sectors and businesses across Scotland. Any carbon budgets proposed via secondary legislation must provide an achievable pathway to net zero in 2045.

Work is ongoing on the development of the next Climate Change Plan which will cover the period 2026-2040. Parliament will be updated once the new timetable for the next Climate Change Plan is finalised. The forthcoming Climate Change Plan will outline policies and proposals which will set out in further detail how we intend to deliver action to tackling climate change across all key areas of the economy, including land use. It will, of course, be subject to all necessary impact assessments to ensure rural and island interests are fully considered.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to continuing to support our agricultural industry with both the core role of sustainable food production and in terms of integrated land use, we are also in the process of developing our Land Use and Agriculture Just Transition Plan. This plan will focus on the wider livelihoods, skills, health, and wellbeing of those who live in and rely on Scotland’s land and agricultural sector for their livelihoods and wellbeing, as well as focusing on supporting thriving rural and island communities.

Scotland has a strong record in attracting foreign direct investment and our Inward Investment Plan (IIP) plays a central role in supporting this by targeting key sectors including HealthTech, energy transition and advanced manufacturing.

Scotland’s IIP outlines a plan for Scotland to be a leading destination for inward investment aligned with Scotland’s values of fair work, net zero and inclusive prosperity. It takes an evidence-led approach to identifying Scotland’s strengths, aligning these with current and projected global investment flows, and set out a series of actions to attract high quality inward investment to Scotland.

The Scottish Government and Enterprise Agencies work closely with both domestic and international businesses to secure and grow their operations in Scotland, ensuring long-term economic benefit and job creation.

ZeroAvia’s recent investment at Glasgow Airport, is one example of how our approach to inward investment, aligned with our values and net zero goals, is delivering real results, and creating high-value jobs. Scotland remains the top UK location for inward investment outside of London for the ninth year running, securing a record 142 projects in 2023 – a testament to the strength of our strong investment approach.

Scotland already produces a wide range of fruit and vegetables; the Scottish Government provides funding through the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme enabling groups of growers, recognised as Producer Organisations (POs), to increase their competitiveness in the supply chain. We have confirmed that support for the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme in Scotland will continue for another round of operational programmes from 2026, and remain committed to supporting the valuable fruit and vegetable sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Government recently carried out a consultation looking to review livestock feed controls. We are currently analysing responses to our proposals to relax rules to allow wider use of processed animal protein (PAP) in animal feed. These changes would allow our legislation to reflect current scientific evidence and advice, and allow business innovation in the animal feed sector. They would also allow the Scottish Government to support industry in achieving sustainable farming goals by reducing reliance on imported Soyabean and fishmeal protein for poultry and pig feed.

The Scottish Government’s Land Use Strategy supports our ambition to achieve sustainable land use in Scotland.

The third Strategy was published in March 2021 and resets our focus on the integrated nature of land use, by showcasing the range of demands and benefits we get from our land.

It is through understanding these multiple and sometimes conflicting relationships that we can look to secure the fine balance that will be needed to allow our land to contribute sustainably to our multiple long term national priorities.

The initial development of Scotland’s fourth Land Use Strategy began in late 2024, with the final strategy due for publication in 2026. It will continue our focus on integration and deriving multiple benefits from land.

We are currently working to finalise the Bioenergy Policy Statement (BPS).The draft BPS sets out the ambition for the future of bioenergy, including outlining principles and priorities for biomass use, pathways for bioenergy with carbon capture and storage, and the potential to scale up the domestic planting of perennial energy crops. Developing a thriving and homegrown market for the domestic production of energy crops can help deliver a just transition for our energy sector and provide opportunities for rural communities.

Our draft BPS highlights that expanding the domestic planting of energy crops must only be done where it does not negatively impact wider land use needs, and requirements, such as sustainable food production, and development of the bioenergy sector must align with and support Scotland’s goals for protecting and restoring nature.