Chamber and committees

The Just Transition Fund does not have a single set of programme-wide KPIs. Instead, each funded project has its own agreed targets and milestones, which are monitored through quarterly, annual and final reporting.

The Fund's overarching outcomes are:

• Jobs, skills and economic opportunities;
• Communities and places;
• People and equity; and
• Environment, biodiversity and adaptation.

The Scottish Government expects the Fund to continue contributing to all four outcomes during the remainder of the current parliamentary session. £83.5 million has been allocated to 28 projects since 2022, with a further £17 million due to be allocated this year. A fresh evaluation of the impact of the Fund will be undertaken this year to get a more comprehensive picture of impact.

Just one project supported by the Just Transition Fund, the ETZ Supply Chain Challenge Fund, has generated 267 jobs and leveraged £17 million in private investment in four years, with further benefits expected as projects continue to be delivered.

The Marine Directorate’s Licensing Operations Team (MD-LOT) and NatureScot have worked hard to plan for an increase in offshore wind applications for some time. Scottish Government resource requirements continue to be monitored, with staff deployed flexibly to help process applications as expeditiously as possible. Best efforts are made to meet a determination timeline of 12 months from initial application, noting that more complex applications may take longer. However, where additional information is required this will impact determination timelines.

In April 2026 Nature Scot implemented a new charging model to enable full cost recovery associated with providing advice to MD-LOT and developers. These approaches have helped ensure timescales do not present unnecessary barriers to projects seeking to participate in Contract for Difference Allocation Rounds.

The Scottish Government commissioned an independent evaluation of the first two years (2022-2024) of the Just Transition Fund (JTF), which was published in 2025. This assessed the economic, social and environmental impacts of the JTF through a combination of interviews with project leads, an online survey and a review of project reports. We intend to undertake a fresh evaluation of the project impacts over the course of the last Parliament, which covers the first four years of the Fund, and this will include evidence-based figures on the number of jobs created and safeguarded as a direct result of the Fund.

It is expected that most patients will be seen and treated locally wherever possible and appropriate, based on clinical need.

The NHSScotland National Access Policy (December 2023) sets out the national framework for how Health Boards ensure equitable and timely access to care. Under this policy, Health Boards are responsible for ensuring patients are treated as quickly as possible, including by optimising available capacity and working collaboratively across NHS Scotland.

Patients may be offered treatment within another NHS Board where this is clinically appropriate and capacity is available. Where necessary, Health Boards may also arrange treatment with alternative providers, including elsewhere within the UK.

The policy does not prevent patients from independently seeking treatment outside NHS arrangements. However, patients should not assume that the costs of such treatment will be met by the NHS. Any request for NHS funding must be agreed in advance by the responsible Health Board, which remains accountable for the patient's care.

Approximately £9.7 million from the first round of the Just Transition Fund was allocated to skills interventions aimed at supporting workforce transferability and the transition, including the Energy Skills Passport and Energy Transition Skills Hub.

The Passport is an industry led project and for the most recent data on uptake we recommend contacting Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and Renewable UK (RUK) directly. The latest information available to Scottish Government regarding uptake, which covers the period from launch in January 2025 to March 2026, is that over 650 user profiles have been set up on the Passport’s digital system. The Hub represents a major investment in Scotland’s green energy workforce, aiming to support 1,000 people into energy transition roles over its first five years.

The Just Transition Fund is complemented by the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund (TTF). The Scottish and UK Governments have each committed £3 million to the TTF for 2026/27, which aims to support over 1,000 oil and gas workers with careers advice and funding for training to access opportunities in sustainable energy and other growth sectors.

The Sustainable Procurement Duty of the Procurement Reform Scotland Act 2014 places a requirement on public bodies to consider how their procurements can be used to improve economic, social and environmental well-being, and reduce inequality.

Under the 2014 Act, Public Bodies with contractual expenditure over £5 million per annum, must publish a Procurement Strategy and annually report on the delivery of their strategy. Their strategy must include information on how they intend to ensure their regulated procurements will be carried out in compliance with the sustainable procurement duty. They are then required to report on this and provide a summary of any community benefits that were delivered that year through their procurement activities, within their public annual procurement reports.

The most recent Scottish Ministers' Annual Report on Procurement Activity in Scotland (2023-24) demonstrates that public procurement is delivering a wide range of economic, social and environmental benefits to communities across Scotland.

We promote socially responsible public procurement through guidance, tools, learning opportunities, and engagement with procurement professionals. For example through the use of the national Sustainable Procurement Tools, associated guidance and training and Fair Work First in procurement e-learning.

The Care Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 places a duty on Scottish Ministers to produce statutory guidance on ethical commissioning, supporting consistency of approach across Scotland. Before issuing any guidance Ministers must consult with a broad range of organisations, including local authorities, health boards, integration joint boards, and others. Once published this guidance will also support our efforts to promote social responsibility in public care contracts.

The Scottish Government is committed to honouring the historic deal made with the BMA to invest £531 million over three years in primary care. The funding will help boost staff numbers and capacity, support day-to-day operations and make it easier for people to access GP services. GP practices have already received their first increased monthly payments.

Local authorities have responsibility for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes, and the Scottish Government provides funding to support them to do so.

Funding for the Scottish Land Fund in 2027-28 will be determined through the annual budget process.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of community ownership in Scotland, which is why, in 2026-27, we have provided over £7 million of funding to support the Scottish Land Fund. This has allowed those communities to then generate a further £60 million in additional funding, from various sources, as a result of owning assets.