Chamber and committees

Budget is allocated on an annual basis therefore there is no defined unspent funding arising from the pausing of the Bus Partnership Fund. The Scottish Government is pleased to announce in the draft budget that we will provide a Bus Infrastructure Fund in 2025-26.

The awards made through the Bus Partnership Fund to date were the first step towards delivering long term investment in bus priority infrastructure, beyond the course of the parliament. To date £20.5 million has been spent through the Bus Partnership and with a Bus Infrastructure Fund announced for 2025-26 this will enable the delivery of further bus priority and other supporting measures.

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that grandparents have in many families bringing up children, particularly following parental separation.

When the Children (Scotland) Bill (now the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act)) was introduced, the Scottish Government considered whether to include a presumption or right for grandchildren to have contact with their grandparents.

However, no such provision was included.A presumption in favour of a particular group of adults could cut across the driving principle of the legislation that the welfare of the child must be the paramount consideration in any contact or residence case.

We have no plans to change the law in this area at the present time.It remains possible for any person with an interest in a child, including a grandparent, to apply to the court to seek an order under section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act), which is the key provision in relation to contact and residence.

Section 16 of the 2020 Act sets out additional factors that the court must consider when deciding whether or not to make an order under section 11 of the 1995 Act.It provides that the court must consider the effect the order might have on the child’s important relationships with other people.This could include the child’s grandparents. Section 16 is not yet in force but the Scottish Government will consider in 2025 which further sections of the 2020 Act could be commenced.

The Scottish Government has produced the Charter for Grandchildren as part of the Your Parenting Plan. The Charter sets out that grandchildren can expect to maintain contact with their wider family except in very exceptional circumstances.

The Scottish Government has received representations from retail representative organisations including the Scottish Retail Consortium, Scottish Grocers’ Federation and others through correspondence, and meetings with Ministers including the New Deal for Business Non-Domestic Rates Sub-group.

It was not possible to fund all the Scottish Government’s priorities in the budget but, despite the financial challenges, the budget continues to support businesses and communities with a competitive non-domestic rates regime including the reintroduction of a 40% relief for hospitality.

The freeze to the Basic Property Rate in 2025-26 is estimated to save ratepayers £9m a year compared to an inflationary increase, and our generous relief package is worth an estimated £731 million next year and includes reliefs which will benefit properties in the retail and leisure sectors such as the most generous small business rates relief in the UK. In combination, we estimate that around half of the properties in the Retail, Hospitality and Leisure sectors will continue to pay no rates in Scotland in 2025-26.

NatureScot and Scottish Forestry are currently putting together a project plan to build on the existing Ancient Woodland Inventory to develop the new National Register of Ancient Woodlands. The scope of the project has therefore yet to be fully agreed, but in line with the priority action in the Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan, the Register will include locational data, a definition of the required ‘protected and restored’ condition of ancient woodlands, and a process for recording ancient woodlands that reach the required standard. In response to the component questions:

a) The inclusion of a woodland site on the Register will not automatically qualify it to contribute to the target to achieve 30% of Scotland protected and managed for nature by 2030 (the 30 by 30 target).Any site on the Register which isn’t within an existing protected area would need to be evaluated against the criteria for Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) before being considered for inclusion in the 30 by 30 network. NatureScot is currently working with stakeholders – including those with expertise of ancient woodlands - to agree how the OECM criteria will apply in Scotland.

b) There are likely to be opportunities for local people, communities and interest groups to participate in the process of developing the new National Register of Ancient Woodlands. For example, it is envisaged that Guidance will be developed and tested with interested parties to enable the identification of ancient woodlands and to assess their condition. This should allow communities to deepen their understanding of and connection to their local ancient woodlands.

c) The creation of the Register will not in itself be an enforcement mechanism, however the associated condition reports will be invaluable in prioritising action to tackle negative pressures on sites, for example in relation to invasive non-native species or overgrazing.

d) The Register would not cover Tree Preservation Orders as these are not explicitly related to ancient woodlands and can cover a wide range of individually important trees, which are outwith the scope of the Register.

e & f)The Long Established Plantation Origin (LEPO) and Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) categories from the existing Ancient Woodland Inventory will be taken into consideration when the Register is developed and it is anticipated that they will be retained.

g)Our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and includes policy to protect our existing woodlands and trees. Local Development Plans should also identify and protect existing woodland and the potential for its enhancement or expansion.

The draft 2025-26 Budget, which is subject to Parliamentary approval, provides indicative funding for a Bus Infrastructure Fund. Work is underway to assess allocations and this will be dependent on business cases, assessments of value for money/impact of spending and deliverability.

Any further ongoing funding for future years will be considered as part of the annual budget setting processes and prioritisation exercises.

Work to scope out what the fund will deliver and how it will be managed is underway. Transport Scotland is engaging with key stakeholders on this and will confirm details in due course. However, the fund will look to build on the work undertaken through both the Bus Partnership Fund and Community Bus Fund with renewed focus on bus priority infrastructure to help address the negative impacts of congestion on bus services, and support local public transport improvements.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-31994 on 12 December 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government is pleased to announce in the draft budget that we will provide a Bus Infrastructure Fund in 2025-26 focussed on delivering bus priority, supporting infrastructure measures to tackle the negative impact of congestion and local public transport improvements. This brings the Bus Partnership Fund and Community Bus Fund together into one fund.

£20.5 million was spent on bus priority through the Bus Partnership Fund. This has delivered bus gates, enforcement cameras, and equipment to help buses get through traffic lights more quickly in North Ayrshire, Glasgow, Inverness, Aberdeen and Edinburgh. It has also assisted in making a number of temporary measures, such as bus lanes, permanent in Edinburgh and Glasgow. A bus gate at Raigmore Hospital in Inverness also opened helping buses to by-pass congestion and passengers to access this important facility more quickly.