Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government allocates an annual capital budget to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The SFRS Board takes decisions on how that budget should be split between estate, fleet and equipment. The majority of assets such as appliances and equipment are used for multiple types of emergencies and are not limited to one type of incident. SFRS is rolling out a £1.6 million programme of investment at part of its Wildfire Strategy but the Scottish Government does not hold information on the expenditure on equipment specific to tackling wildfires over the last 10 years.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Board is operating effectively and the Scottish Government has no plans to reform its operation. All SFRS Board meetings take place in public with the papers published on the SFRS website in advance. In addition, the Scottish Government holds a public Annual Performance Review meeting each year in which stakeholders and members of the public can ask questions on the performance of the service over the preceding 12 months.

His Majesty’s Fire Service Inspectorate is currently conducting a thematic review into the culture of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The Scottish Government will work closely with SFRS following that review to ensure any appropriate recommendations are implemented and that any suggested improvements are carefully considered.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service has published its analysis of its public consultation on the changes proposed in the Service Delivery Review. This is available on the SFRS website.

The Scottish Government takes the safety of the public very seriously. Sex offender notification requirements apply to an individual, irrespective of what name they use, and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements documentation includes the recording of any aliases. Sex offenders must inform the police of a name change within three days and failure to notify such a change can result in a prison sentence.

Last year, the Scottish Parliament agreed to a Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) which recommended that the sex offender management provisions contained in the UK Crime and Policing Bill be extended to Scotland.

The Crime and Policing Bill received Royal Assent on 29 April 2026; however, none of the sex offender management provisions have yet been commenced by the UK Government.

In relation to the name change provision, full implementation is dependent on matters reserved to the UK Government, specifically the making of regulations relating to driving licence applications in a new name.

There are currently no specific Scottish Government policies or programmes focused solely on improving the digital skills of unpaid carers.

However, Lead Scotland, through its Scottish Government funded national Cyber Project, and its role within the CyberScotland Partnership, supports disabled people, unpaid carers and others facing barriers to develop the skills and confidence needed to use digital services safely. This includes accessible cyber security and online safety resources, tutor-supported learning and targeted digital skills support. Lead Scotland also works directly with unpaid carers in areas including Fife and Perth and Kinross, supporting people to use digital services safely and confidently, including online health and social care services.

More widely, since 2024, the Scottish Government has committed more than £870,000 in grant funding to support over 50 local digital inclusion projects across Scotland. These projects have been delivered by local organisations, reflecting the needs of the communities they serve, and have included support to help people build the skills and confidence needed to use digital services safely and effectively.

We are also developing a Digital Inclusion Delivery Plan, to be published later this year, which will set out clear actions to address the barriers to digital participation, including access, skills and confidence

I note the interest across the chamber in childcare provision for twins and multiples. To ensure members receive prompt answers on this important matter, I direct the member to the answer I provided to Laura Moodie MSP to S7W-02568 on 15 September 2026, in addition to the information below on current policy for eligible two-year-olds. 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.

A range of research shows that attending high quality early learning and childcare (ELC) improves outcomes for all children, and children facing the most disadvantage, benefit the most. That is why we currently provide targeted access to funded ELC to children facing the most disadvantage at age two. Our aim is that by providing eligible two-year-old children with early access to high quality ELC, they are more likely to achieve similar outcomes to their peers who start funded ELC at age three. This current policy focuses on the impact of access to funded ELC on the child, rather than as a support to parents.

As set out in my answer to S7W-02568, our Programme for Government set out that we are seeking to transform Scotland’s childcare offer to better support families with the cost of childcare, for children from 9 months to the end of primary school. We intend to publish and consult on a blueprint for the future of childcare, building on learning from the last ten years of childcare design and delivery. This will be published next year. I encourage anyone with an interest, including families with multiple births, to participate in this consultation.

Since Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine, the Scottish Government has taken a clear stance in support of the people of Ukraine and has encouraged organisations to review their links with Russia. In March 2022, the then Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy called on businesses in Scotland to review their links to Russia and sever them wherever possible. This was an additional discretionary measure taken by the Scottish Government, over and above the legally binding UK sanctions regime.

However, the Scottish Government cannot compel businesses to sever links where activity is lawful and does not breach UK sanctions. The regulation of companies, inward investment screening, anti-money laundering measures and the sanctions regime are largely reserved matters for the UK Government.

While we do not comment on allegations relating to specific properties or companies, any evidence of sanctions breaches, money laundering or other criminality should be referred to the appropriate authorities for investigation. We continue to work with partners to support measures to strengthen transparency, tackle economic crime and ensure that Scotland is not a destination for illicit finance.

The Scottish Government has and continues to take a proactive approach to understand the prevalence and address concerns about reported spiking in Scotland.

We have recently consulted on further protections for women in the criminal law, including in relation to spiking, and the analysis of responses to that consultation is currently underway, and will inform our next steps. We always seek to learn from effective interventions in any jurisdiction, although it is important to understand how any approach in a different jurisdiction may or may not operate effectively in Scotland, alongside current routes to report in both health and criminal justice services.

A similar pilot, Project Alliance, has been sponsored by the UK Home Office. The evaluation of that pilot will provide useful intelligence as we develop our response to spiking.

The Safer Scotland webpage provides guidance on reporting and support available to victims of spiking. We would always encourage anyone who suspects they have been spiked or witnesses an incident to report this to Police Scotland, and security in any venue they witness the behaviour.

Scottish Enterprise has previously advised that 13 organisations had been identified as ineligible for support under the policy.

Records relating to applications for support are held by the relevant delivery body. Where those records are held by a public body, decisions regarding the publication or disclosure of information are operational matters for that organisation.

However, I have requested that officials ask delivery bodies to provide the Scottish Government with the same information released by Scottish Enterprise, and I will come back to Ross Greer MSP in due course.