Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is firmly committed to advancing equality and improving outcomes for disabled people across Scotland. I’m pleased to confirm that the Disability Equality Plan will be published today.

This plan has been shaped through close collaboration with Disabled People’s Organisations at every stage of its development. I want to sincerely thank each organisation for their time, insight, and dedication in helping us create a plan that aims to deliver meaningful and lasting change.

The plan sets out a series of actions to ensure disabled people are more visible and actively involved in shaping policy and decision-making. It also commits to improving disability competence across government, so that the needs and rights of disabled people are considered from the very outset of policy development. I will personally champion this work to ensure it is embedded across all areas of government.

Finally, the plan introduces a robust governance framework to hold us accountable for delivering on our commitments—whether that’s reducing the disability employment gap, reforming social care, or promoting and protecting disability rights.

The publication of this plan marks an important milestone. It lays the foundation for systemic change and is a vital step toward building a fairer, more inclusive Scotland for everyone.

Link to the plan: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836915508

VAT is a reserved matter and outwith the responsibility of the Scottish Government. This includes decisions on the interaction between VAT and the visitor levy. The Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act allows for local authorities to make the levy not payable by accommodation which has an annual turnover below the VAT threshold. This in effect, exempts small businesses from the visitor levy.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Whilst the Scottish Government publish data on both Recorded Crime in Scotland and Criminal Proceedings in Scotland, these are based on distinct and unlinked data sets and it is not possible to directly compare them.

New information will be published later this year as part of delivering Section 15 of the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021, which requires an annual report to parliament on the characteristics of hate crime in Scotland. This will include the total number of hate crimes recorded by Police Scotland in 2024-25, and the number that were cleared up (i.e. where there exists a sufficiency of evidence under Scots law to justify consideration of criminal proceedings).

In addition to the above, the Crown Office & Procurator Fiscal service have also published Hate crime in Scotland, 2024-25.This provides details on hate crime-related charges reported to COPFS in Scotland, including decisions on how those charges will proceed (such as to Court proceedings, direct measures, no action etc.)

Decisions on whether to install defibrillators in schools are a matter for local authorities. The Scottish Government published a guide in 2018 providing advice on purchasing and installing a public access defibrillator. This can be found at the following link: Out-of-Hospital Cardiac Arrest: guide to public access defibrillators - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government is a partner in the Save a Life for Scotland Partnership, which is working to ensure that all school aged children in Scotland will be given the opportunity to be equipped with CPR skills and increase defibrillator familiarisation across Scotland.

This has included delivery of Restart a Heart Day Live last year. This was a live stream CPR training event targeted at school-age children, which included information on defibrillation. The Scottish Government has committed to working with Save a Life for Scotland to support Restart a Heart Day Live again in 2025.

Scottish Government holds regular discussions with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) about Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) sites. SFRS continually review and develop their operational response to any new and emerging technology to keep communities safe.

SFRS is responsible for enforcing general fire safety under the Fire (Scotland) Act 2005, while process-related fire risks at Battery Energy Storage System (BESS) sites fall under the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) via the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. Monitoring these sites is the duty holder’s responsibility.

No national impact assessment has been conducted in relation to fire risk of BESS applications and developments. Where new development proposals come forward, our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) ensures the impacts of proposals on communities and nature, including cumulative impacts, are important considerations in the decision-making process. All applications are subject to site specific assessments.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested regarding CPR training in each local authority area.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information you have requested regarding defibrillators in nurseries and schools.

Ferguson Marine was brought into public ownership in 2019 to ensure completion of the Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa vessels at Port Glasgow and to retain commercial shipbuilding on the Clyde. During that time, the Scottish Government has supported the business with £32 million of funding to support operating costs and capital investment.

Financial and operational decisions in response to the industrial action are a matter for Scottish Water, whose Chief Executive is the Accountable Officer for the organisation.

It is for Scottish Water and the Joint Trade Unions to agree a settlement which is fair and affordable, and the Government urges them to find a solution.