The Scottish Government respects the independence of Local Government and the position of each council, including Glasgow City Council, as an independent employer with responsibility for their own budgets, workforce planning and job evaluation processes. The Scottish Government has no formal role in these issues at a local level and encourages all councils to make decisions, through engagement with trade unions, that meet their responsibility to secure value for money and meet their legal obligations to their employees.

The Scottish Government does not have a regulatory function over BSL local plans under the British Sign Language (Scotland) Act 2015. We fund British Deaf Association (BDA) Scotland and the Health and Social Care ALLIANCE Scotland (the ALLIANCE) to support listed authorities in the delivery and monitoring of local plans. BDA provide that vital community engagement and lived experience expertise to local plans, whereas the ALLIANCE operate a BSL network for listed authority for sharing best practice and working together towards solutions. This approach gathers data and intelligence on how outcomes are being delivered in practice.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Data on ELC placements may be held by local Councils. It is the responsibility of each Local Authority to plan for, and manage, ELC placements in line with their statutory duties in relation to funded ELC delivery, including having regard to the statutory guidance on cross-boundary placements.

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.

This is an operational matter for Crown Estate Scotland. I have asked their Chief Executive, Ronan O’Hara, to respond to you directly.

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 in-principle agreement between the Fire Brigades Union and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service on an expanded role for firefighters in Scotland includes a significant uplift in pay in exchange for carrying out the new duties. The challenging fiscal position has meant that the increases in funding provided to SFRS since 2022 have been in support of front-line services but have been insufficient to provide additional funding to support the expanded role proposals. Whilst a broadened role for firefighters remains a priority in the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland, the overall funding position means there are currently no detailed negotiations taking place.

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.