Chamber and committees

Following the publication of the Life Sciences Scotland Industry Leadership Group’s (LSSILG) strategy in November 2025, the LSSILG published its delivery plan for sprint 1 in March 2026. Activity is underway across a range of priority actions to support delivery of the Strategy’s ambitions. At the end of the 2026/27 financial year, the LSSILG, with input from the Scottish Government, will publish a report setting out the activities delivered and the progress made against the Delivery Plan.

As previously stated, Transport Scotland and our operating company BEAR Scotland have held discussions with various local stakeholders regarding the A84 Teith Bridge and options for active travel improvement between Doune and Deanston. Transport Scotland is working closely with Stirling Council regarding this matter.

Transport Scotland and BEAR Scotland shared the results of the modelling with Stirling Council and met with them to discuss it where Stirling Council requested that a live exercise be undertaken to directly investigate the impact on delays to vehicular traffic.

Taking account of the requirements of all modes of travel, including public transport services, it is recognised that the best form of improvement may not be amendment to the trunk road and the existing bridge. It may be more practical and effective to create an entirely new, offline facility.

Following discussions with Stirling Council, their preferred approach was to trial Option 3. This involved implementing an all-red phase at the traffic signals, allowing pedestrians to cross the bridge independently. However, this arrangement was not considered feasible under temporary conditions due to the associated safety risks.

Alternative options would lie outwith the trunk road and therefore outwith the responsibility of Transport Scotland. Progression of these would be the responsibility of Stirling Council or the Regional Transport Partnership to take forward, and Transport Scotland has suggested that the Council continue to appraise the best means of active travel connection between the two communities.

The Scottish Government notes the findings of the Scottish Land Commission's Rural Land Market Insights 2026 report.

The policy intent of the lotting provisions in the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2025 is to address issues relating to the scale and concentration of land ownership in Scotland. Scottish Land Commission research has highlighted that concentrated land ownership can negatively impact community sustainability, particularly through its effect on land availability.

The policy rationale for lotting is not linked to trends in speculative investment in forestry or natural capital markets, which are more recent developments and were not the focus of the evidence base underpinning the Act.

There are no plans to delay implementation of the lotting provisions. The Act was developed following extensive engagement with a broad range of stakeholders, including representatives of the rural property sector, and a full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment considered the potential impacts of the measures on businesses and the rural land market.

The Scottish Government is working closely with the Scottish Land Commission on implementation of the Act and wider land reform policy. Ministers and officials will continue to engage with stakeholders, including land agents, rural surveyors, lenders, representatives of the rural property sector and other land market interests, through consultation on secondary legislation and guidance. This engagement will help ensure that practical considerations are fully taken into account as implementation progresses.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken, and currently has no plans to undertake, a feasibility study into the provision of west-facing slip roads at Junction 3 of the M9.

The Scottish Government does not have the figures requested by the Member and does not hold any such comparison.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01261 on 9 July 2026. 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 purpose of the £2 bus fare cap pilot in the Highlands and Islands is to test the impact on bus patronage and subsequent modal shift of such an intervention. The focus of the analysis of the pilot will include evaluation of the impact on bus patronage, car use, and rail passengers, and will be published following the conclusion of the pilot.

Work is underway to progress a £2 bus fare cap to Glasgow, Ayrshire, Dunbartonshire, Renfrewshire, Lanarkshire and Inverclyde within the first 100 days of this government. We are also committed to bringing forward legislation for a £2 bus fare cap across Scotland by the end of this parliament, building on the evidence from the current pilot.

The Highlands and Islands pilot is providing us with valuable real-world evidence on customer behaviour, pricing impacts and operator engagement, which will directly inform how we design future schemes.

The Scottish Government does not have the figures requested by the Member and does not hold any such comparison.

Scottish Ministers do recognise the importance of ensuring that all interested parties, including small community groups, are able to participate effectively in the inquiry process. In this context, a number of measures are available within existing procedures and practice.

All interested parties are notified of the inquiry and given the opportunity to participate in the DPEA process. Reporters appointed by DPEA are responsible for ensuring that proceedings are conducted in a fair, transparent and proportionate manner. This includes tailoring how evidence is presented, ensuring that the evidence presented is accessible by all parties, focusing on the key issues, and putting in place arrangements that enable all parties, including small community groups, to participate effectively without requiring extensive legal or technical resources.

In addition, the new Planning and Infrastructure legislation strengthens requirements for early and meaningful engagement with communities at the pre-application stage. This enables communities to identify and address concerns before any application is made.

Guidance is available to support participants in understanding the process, and Scottish Ministers continue to consider how participation can be further supported. Together, these measures are intended to ensure that inquiry processes are accessible and that community groups are able to participate on a fair and proportionate basis.

The Scottish Government unequivocally condemns all forms of hatred and prejudice, including racism, religious hatred and online abuse. We undertake engagement with a range of stakeholders with expertise in tackling prejudice, building cohesive communities and advancing human rights to support our approaches to challenging all forms of hatred, violence and intimidation. While we have not engaged directly with the Centre for Countering Digital Hate to date, we work with a wide range of organisations who share an interest in challenging hatred and prejudice, including that which takes place online, and in supporting evidence-based approaches to preventing harm and protecting communities. We are open to engagement with organisations that can contribute evidence and expertise in these areas.

In 2025-26, the Scottish Government funded the education charity Time for Inclusive Education (TIE) £71,144 to further develop and promote the Digital Discourse Initiative (DDI) in schools, and we have provided additional funding to TIE to support them to roll out the DDI to support all schools across Scotland. This is an initiative that helps schools to equip children and young people with skills to navigate digital media and counter the impacts of disinformation and online hate.

In January 2025, the Scottish Government established the Online Safety Taskforce, following a directive from the First Minister, to strengthen efforts to keep children safe online, provide strategic oversight across government and identify further actions to protect children and young people. The Taskforce’s Action Plan, published in March 2026, sets out the Government’s priorities for tackling online harms through a public health approach and will continue to evolve in response to the experiences of children, young people, families and communities. Membership of the Taskforce is currently under review, and following an interim meeting with external stakeholders in June 2026, a series of themed summer workshops, including sessions on radicalisation and hate crime, will help shape the next phase of this work.