Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government remains committed to establishing a National Oversight Mechanism (NOM) for deaths in custody. Officials are working with HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) to establish an initial prison-focused model, following the former Cabinet Secretary for Justice’s commissioning of HMIPS earlier this year. Work is progressing on a phased test-of-change basis, with governance and staffing arrangements currently being finalised.

The NOM will draw on findings from Fatal Accident Inquiries, internal reviews and wider scrutiny activity to identify systemic issues, promote learning and improve accountability. By tracking recommendations, monitoring progress against agreed actions and reporting on recurring themes and areas of concern, the NOM will help ensure that lessons identified through FAIs are considered, implemented and embedded across the system.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has invested £1.6 million in its wildfire strategy over the course of its three year roll-out, which will be complete by the end of this year.

This has been used to obtain specialist equipment and support firefighter training and SFRS intend to continue to develop its Wildfire capability with enhanced equipment, vehicles and specialist Personal Protective Equipment that will continue to strengthen Scotland’s preparedness for wildfire incidents.

The SFRS budget for 2026-27 provides an additional £23.8m, noting the total SFRS budget for this financial year is £435.96 million. This clearly demonstrates the continued commitment to support the SFRS to deliver the high standard of services required to keep Scotland safe. The Scottish Government will continue to discuss future budget requirements with SFRS.

Prison officers play a vital role in our justice system, helping to ensure our prisons are safe, secure and stable environments for all that live and work there. Unlike other uniformed groups, prison officers do not have a dedicated pension scheme as they are members of the Civil Service pension scheme which is a reserved matter for the UK Government.

The Scottish Government has strongly supported the position of the Prison Officers’ Association that the retirement age of prison officers be brought into line with armed forces, police, and firefighters who retire at 60. This reflects the operational environment and physical demands associated with the role which can be particularly challenging.

On 10 September 2026, I wrote to Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Rt Hon John Healey MP urging him to give this matter urgent attention.

The Scottish Government is committed to the decarbonisation of the maritime sector in a sustainable way to deliver a just transition. Many ports across Scotland have already published plans committing to decarbonising their operations. Port of Leith owners Forth Ports has outlined its commitment and the actions it is taking to achieve a Net Zero carbon operation by 2042. The Company has also outlined an interim target of achieving carbon neutral emissions (Scope 1 and 2) by 2032.

Shore power will play an important role in reducing vessel emissions at berth, but given the infrequent but high peak loads that larger vessels such as cruise ships require, shore power may not always be optimal for every port. We will work with the ports sector to ensure that low emission solutions are pursued whilst proportionate to the scale of operations of an individual port.

The Loch Ness area is not designated as a National Scenic Area (NSA) and there have been no recent proposals to consider designating it. Any proposal to designate Loch Ness as a NSA would need to be brought forward in consultation with NatureScot and the local community.

Loch Ness and Duntelchaig is designated by the Highland Council in the Highland Wide Local Development Plan (LDP, 2012) as a Special Landscape Area (SLA).

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) Policy 4 (Natural Places) part (d) sets out that development proposals that affect a site designated as a local landscape area in the LDP will only be supported where:

i. Development will not have significant adverse effects on the integrity of the area or the qualities for which it has been identified;

or ii. Any significant adverse effects on the integrity of the area are clearly outweighed by social, environmental or economic benefits of at least local importance.

Published in March, the Scottish Government’s Strategic Action Plan on wildfires set out a coordinated approach to preventing, preparing for and responding to incidents of this nature. During the Cairngorms wildfire, an urgent review of the plan was commissioned to ensure that any necessary actions identified from this move forward at the appropriate pace to ensure we are prepared in light of the increasing risks we face. The Scottish Government Wildfire Strategic Oversight Group met on 26 August and there is ongoing engagement with SFRS and other partners.

Following the conclusion of operational activity associated with the Cairngorms wildfire, a multiagency and partner debrief was also commissioned by the joint sponsors of Police Scotland and the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

This multi-agency debrief and lessons learned review will identify opportunities for improvement across the themes of preparedness, response, recovery and resilience arrangements and those findings will be used to strengthen Scotland's strategic approach to wildfire risk and resilience, including national resilience policy.

Through Road Safety Scotland (RSS), the Scottish Government has engaged with the vehicle rental industry for many years. RSS, in partnership with Police Scotland, the British Vehicle Rental and Leasing Association (BVRLA) and many of its constituent members, has spearheaded a campaign to enhance the safety of foreign drivers on our roads.

Campaign activity has recently been refreshed and consists of a significant website with a number of downloadable assets, which can be viewed here: https://roadsafety.scot/campaigns/drive-on-the-left-campaign-assets/. The content covers off: junctions; passing places; journey planning; safe overtaking, and includes videos, partner toolkits and suggestions for social media use.

In addition, a number of physical resources has been produced, all of which are available to individual car rental companies, the tourist industry, local road safety contacts, and Police Scotland. These resources include: Drive on the Left wristbands in eight languages; Ride on the Left reservoir gaiters for motorcyclists; and leaflets translated into a number of different languages.

The Partnership Group comprises of representatives from Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Life, Historic Environment Scotland, Museums Galleries Scotland, the Scottish Government and the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Scottish Enterprise has also participated in the group’s work.

The Partnership Group was established with a specific remit to support the project through strategic coordination among organisations with direct responsibilities for funding, governance and delivery. Accordingly, membership has been limited to organisations with formal responsibilities in these areas.

Additionally a significant amount of community engagement and collaboration on the Peoples Palace Project has taken place, with over 7000 people involved to date. This includes the People’s Palace Community Partners Panel, which was established specifically for the project and includes key local community groups and representation. The aim of the group is to ensure that community voices and views inform all aspects of the project in a meaningful way. The panel has been heavily involved in the design process and has viewed and fed back on architectural designs. They are also informed of plans for future museum displays and interpretation of content and updates on the wider project plan.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of attracting and supporting new entrants into the Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) workforce and ensuring clear progression pathways into employment and professional development.

We are working with Skills Development Scotland, training providers, local authorities and ELC sector representatives to promote careers in ELC and to strengthen workforce pathways. This includes supporting school-based vocational learning opportunities, Foundation and Modern Apprenticeships, and work-based learning that helps young people gain relevant experience and progress into employment.

The sector does not currently operate a single nationally mandated recruitment pathway. Rather, multiple routes exist to reflect the diverse nature of the workforce and differing employer needs.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with partners to consider how pathways into the sector can be further strengthened and better connected, helping to ensure that learners can progress from school-based learning and workplace experience into employment and subsequent qualification pathways that meet the workforce needs of the sector.

The Scottish Government keeps the sufficiency of the early learning and childcare (ELC) workforce under continual review through a range of national data sources, including Care Inspectorate statistics, Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) workforce data, engagement with local authorities and providers, and the ELC census.

The latest SSSC workforce statistics, published on 8 September 2026, show that the daycare of children services workforce increased to 42,450 in 2025, representing the highest recorded headcount for the sector.

We recognise that parts of the sector continue to face workforce and sustainability challenges. We are therefore working with local authorities, providers, sector bodies and other partners to support workforce sustainability through ongoing workforce planning activity, investment in training and qualifications, childminder recruitment, and additional funding to support payment of at least the real Living Wage for staff delivering funded ELC in private and third sector settings.

We will continue to monitor workforce and capacity trends closely to help ensure that funded childcare remains available to children and families across Scotland.