Chamber and committees

While the University of Dundee is an autonomous institution and responsible for its own strategic and operational decisions, the Scottish Government expects compulsory redundancies to be considered only as a last resort, after all other cost-saving measures have been fully explored.

Through the Ministerial Direction issued under Section 25 of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) are responsible for monitoring the University of Dundee’s compliance with funding conditions published in March 2026, including in relation to meaningful engagement with staff and students, and adherence to Fair Work principles. As set out in their funding conditions, the SFC will not release grant funding allocated under the Section 25 Direction to support any job losses.

The Scottish Government published the Health and Care Improving Flow Plan 2026-2031 on 31 August, delivering our commitment to publish a National Flow Plan within the first 100 days of this administration.

The Plan sets out our ambition for one connected system, simple routes to care, ensuring every person receives the most appropriate response as quickly as possible. It outlines action to improve navigation into care, expand home and community-based services, strengthen discharge arrangements, improve acute hospital flow, and tackle overcrowding and corridor care

The Plan has been developed jointly with Scotland East and Scotland West Sub-National Planning Committees and informed through engagement with NHS Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships, clinicians, national agencies, care providers and other partners. Detailed operational implementation arrangements an collaboration with partners will continue to be developed following publication. Through delivery of this Plan we will improve access to care, support more care closer to home, reduce delays and improve outcomes for people across Scotland.

The Health and Care Improving Flow Plan does not set out proposals for structural reform of NHS Boards. Separate proposals for NHS structural reform were announced in the Programme for Government on 1 September 2026.

The Scottish Government does not hold that information and we suggest the member contact relevant local authorities directly.

Procurement is underway for the Welcome to School Bags, and costs will be confirmed following conclusion of the procurement process.

Likewise, the colours of the school bags will be confirmed following conclusion of the procurement process.

Each bag will contain a pencil case, stationery, including pens, pencils, coloured crayons and a notebook, a water bottle, and resources to support learning at home. It will also include information relevant to families of P1 children to support their entry to school.

The bags will not be branded.

On the 1 September, as part of the Programme for Government, the First Minister announced the Scottish Government’s intention to simplify the NHS by replacing the current 14 territorial Health Boards with two Strategic Health Boards and build on planned reforms to further reduce the number of special Health Boards.

This work will be done with the workforce, not to the workforce. We remain fully committed to partnership working and will work closely with trade unions throughout this process.

For NHS staff the principal change will, in due course, be the transfer of their employment from their current Board to one of the new NHS Boards.

Staff in NHS Scotland continue to receive the best reward package in the UK, and pay, terms and conditions will remain the same, all underpinned by the Scottish Government’s Fair Work principles, and our ongoing commitment to no compulsory redundancies.

Any future workforce changes will be done in full partnership with NHS Trade Unions in a structured and managed way, in line with existing NHS Scotland policies which have been agreed in partnership with trade unions.

Integration arrangements will be reviewed as part of wider health, social care and public service reform. Over the next three months, we will undertake an intensive programme of engagement with local government and partners to consider how health, social care and wider public services can work more effectively together, make best use of public investment and improve outcomes for people and communities. Detailed arrangements will be developed as part of wider public service reform. In doing so, we will also draw on the intelligence from extensive civic engagement and co-design with lived experience as part of the National Care Service development and Independent Review of Adult Social Care.

While structural change will support long-term financial sustainability, the greatest benefits will come from service redesign, better planning and reducing variation in health care and outcomes across Scotland. The costs and benefits of reform will be set out through the programme's business case and developed in partnership with NHS Boards.

This work will complement existing plans to improve financial sustainability and support Boards in returning to financial balance. The programme will be supported by a clear benefits framework and ongoing monitoring to assess whether it delivers improved outcomes and value for money. Decisions on final service structure models and their locations will be worked through during this design phase.

The Scottish Government welcomes the publication of Scottish Environment LINK's Nature Protection Scorecard. Independent scrutiny and transparent assessment of progress help to inform action to address the nature emergency and support nature restoration.

The Scorecard highlights a range of issues across different organisations and policy areas, many of which align with existing priorities, actions and metrics set out in the Scottish Government’s Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, and supporting delivery plan.

A robust approach to monitoring and evaluation of our strategy and delivery plan will ensure accountability, and help drive action to meet our ambitions and future statutory targets.

Since the publication of the strategy we have been working on our approach to monitoring and evaluation. Our approach uses a suite of indicators to track progress towards the Strategy’s outcomes and inform adaptive management along side annual delivery plan assessments which helps to ensure we are taking the appropriate corrective actors to remain on the right trajectory.

We will publish our first statutory report on delivery of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy in 2027.

While the adoption of specific programmes and approaches is a matter for individual local authorities, the Scottish Government welcomes the focus on phonics as part of the steps being taken by Glasgow City Council to improve reading and literacy outcomes for pupils. As per answer to Parliamentary Question S7W-03170 on 21 September 2026, Education Scotland's professional learning resource, Learning to Read in the Early Years (2024) identifies systematic phonics as a critical component of early reading instruction.

A part of its work to review and update the curriculum, Education Scotland oversees a National Literacy Network which includes representatives from Glasgow City Council. In addition, Glasgow City Council is represented within the Curriculum Improvement Cycle Collaboration Group for English and Literacy. Education Scotland will therefore continue to engage with local authority representatives to ensure that evidence on the impact of the programme can be considered and shared more widely.

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 has no plans to commission a feasibility study around the restoration of Holyrood Abbey as a national memorial chapel.

Holyrood Abbey is a Property-in-Care managed by Historic Environment Scotland on behalf of Scottish Ministers. The Properties-in-Care are part of the national estate of historic monuments and sites that are cared for to ensure their long-term preservation and deliver public benefit.

Decisions regarding the conservation, maintenance and management of Holyrood Abbey are therefore made by Historic Environment Scotland.