Chamber and committees

Protecting, managing and restoring degraded peatlands is a vital part of mitigating and adapting to the linked climate and nature emergencies.

Improving the condition of degraded peatlands contributes to mitigation by reducing atmospheric greenhouse gases, and to adaptation by increasing ecosystem resilience and reducing flood risk and the severity of wildfires.

Our Climate Change Plan and carbon budgets incorporate the modelled emissions reductions associated with the measures we set out in the Plan to protect, manage and restore Scotland’s peatlands.

The Scottish Government remains committed to our longstanding intention to ban the sale of peat for horticulture, as set out in our 2026 Climate Change Plan.

Following discussion during passage of the Natural Environment Act 2026, and to overcome the challenges posed by the UK Internal Market Act, Scottish Ministers called on UK Ministers to support a collaborative cross-UK approach. We are now engaged in preparatory work with the other UK nations towards joint legislation to establish an effective ban.

LGBT Health and Wellbeing is a national charity. The Scottish Government does not hold information on funding received by charities from bodies other than the Scottish Government. Details of charities funding arrangements may be obtained from the organisation directly or through their published accounts.

NHS Boards and Local Authorities are responsible for their own operational decision-making, including how they engage with and respond to the needs of the communities they serve.

The Scottish Government is continuing to consider the issues raised in the last session of the Parliament about the offence introduced by section 40 of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 and related matters.

The Scottish Government has received clear and unambiguous assurance that the voluntary run parental group, Queer Milk, is not training men to lactate and feed infants. Any claim to the contrary is untrue.

Queer Milk is a small, volunteer-led peer-support group for LGBTQ+ parents and carers. The group forms part of LGBT Health and Wellbeing's wider community wellbeing programme, which aims to reduce social isolation, support mental wellbeing, and provide opportunities for peer connection. The Scottish Government does not directly fund Queer Milk.

It is important to be clear that Queer Milk is not a clinical service. The group does not prescribe medication, induce lactation, provide medical treatment, offer clinical advice on infant feeding, train individuals to breastfeed or replace professional healthcare services.

Any media reports, organisations or individuals claiming the contrary is false.

The future of the Mackintosh building is of great importance to the Scottish Government and to me as Culture Secretary.

Following conclusion of a long running insurance matter, I met with the Glasgow School of Art to discuss their plans to invest in a significant enabling project, funded by an insurance settlement, and provide a platform for future rebuilding.

The clear preference of the Scottish Government is for the building to be faithfully reinstated, and we have welcomed the Glasgow School of Art’s commitment to exploring every opportunity with the support of partners for a faithful reinstatement. While the Glasgow School of Art are owners and custodians of the building, the Scottish Government will continue to engage closely with them on their plans. No request for public funding has been made, however we will work with the Glasgow School of Art and other partners to secure a prosperous future for the Mackintosh building.

Yes, and the recently published Islands Connectivity Plan identifies that the priority for island communities is that ferry services should be reliable and resilient.

Police Scotland have previously briefed Ministers regarding the different types of vehicles including Electric Scooters, Electric Motorcycles, and Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycles (EAPC, commonly known as e-bikes).

Officers have been issued with guidance on how to differentiate between legal and illegally modified EAPCs, and they only seize vehicles, including ones which fall into the categories described above, when they have the power to do so. Work is currently underway to assess devices and technologies which can help officers to detect illegal vehicles.

It is for Police Scotland to determine how best to record incidents. If a crime has been committed, this should be recorded in line with the Scottish Crime Recording Standard.

Launched in 2022, the Just Transition Fund (JTF) is a 10-year commitment focused on creating new jobs and economic opportunities as the North East and Moray transitions away from carbon-intensive industries.

Scottish Government has an established reporting process which is used to monitor progress on each project during delivery. We also undertake regular independent impact evaluation to ensure that impacts of the Fund are well understood, and that the projects deliver as much impact as possible.

A fresh independent impact evaluation of the first four years of delivery of the JTF is being commissioned currently, and we intend to publish findings in early 2027. This will provide a comprehensive view of the jobs created, investment leveraged and wider impacts of the Fund. Importantly, it will also estimate the forward impact of these projects as they mature and continue to deliver and provide an estimate of the impact of the newly announced projects for 26/27. Some projects have their own independent evaluation, such as the ETZ Supply Chain Pathway and Challenge Fund Programme which has recently reported that their project alone directly led to the creation of 267 FTE jobs between 2022 – 2026, with the report estimating it would create 786 FTE jobs over a 10 year period. See here.

As part of the new CHFS3 contract, CalMac is introducing an increased programme of regular maintenance across the network. This is intended to improve reliability and resilience by reducing the likelihood of breakdowns, which can cause significant disruption to island connectivity.

CalMac has been working with the Raasay community, as with communities across the network, to introduce such maintenance in a way that minimises disruption.