Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government consulted in 2024 on proposals to phase out the use of cages for laying hens. It is still considering the responses to that consultation and will confirm next steps in due course.

The Scottish Government does not have any plans to ban first-cousin marriages in Scotland.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

Disclosure Scotland received 25 formal complaints regarding errors in Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) disclosures in the period since 2021.

The Scottish Government remains resolutely committed to fulfilling all recommendations of the Independent Care Review and to Keeping The Promise by 2030.

The Promise Implementation Plan, published in March 2022, set out the Government’s approach to fulfilling these recommendations. A comprehensive update on progress was provided in the Implementation Plan Update published in September 2024, which outlined the actions taken and the ongoing work required.

Progress is being understood through the Promise Story of Progress, a joint approach co-authored by Scottish Government, COSLA and The Promise Scotland. One aspect of this is the Promise Progress Framework, which builds on a theory of change to identify outcomes for care-experienced children, young people, and families which need to improve by 2030, and national-level data that can help understand where change is happening.

The Scottish Government acknowledges that transformational change is required and that progress must be understood not only through outcomes, but also through the lived experiences and relationships that shape those outcomes. There are two further strands to the Promise Story of Progress, which seek to better understand organisational activity to Keep The Promise, and the voice of the care experienced community. The approach promotes shared accountability across the sector and supports continuous learning by identifying effective practices and areas for improvement, and is designed to evolve as new insights emerge. An update to all three these strands of The Promise Story of Progress will be published in December 2025.

The Government continues to work collaboratively across portfolios and with key stakeholders and delivery partners to ensure that the necessary changes are implemented and sustained.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government as it relates to an operational matter for the children’s hearings system. Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) are responsible for the scheduling and administration of children’s panel members.

The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) publish annual statistics, which sets out a measure on time taken to progress referrals through the children’s hearings system. The information is available on the SCRA website: Official Statistics - SCRA.

The Scottish Government recognises that delays in securing permanence or adoption can negatively impact on children’s wellbeing.

We continue to work with organisations in Scotland to consider data and research on permanence, to understand where challenges remain, and what interventions are required to support positive change.

To promote consistent and effective practice in permanency, the Scottish Government commissioned the Association for Fostering, Kinship and Adoption (AFKA) Scotland to develop three national good practice guides on permanence in kinship care, foster care and adoption. These will be available in early 2026.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

From 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025 the longest waiting time for a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) result was 192.7 processing days. This was because the case required information from a third party to complete. This case was completed in November 2024.

Note 1: Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) applications from 1 April 2025 onwards, with the implementation of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020, represents: Level 2 PVG scheme disclosure (Join), Level 2 PVG scheme disclosure (Existing), Confirmation of PVG scheme membership (Join) and Confirmation of PVG scheme membership (Existing). Prior to 1 April 2025, PVG applications represents: Scheme Record Disclosure, Short Scheme Record Disclosure, Existing Scheme Record Disclosure and Statements of Scheme Membership.

Note 2: This figure relates to PVG applications completed between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025 inclusive.

Note 3: The processing time for a completed application incorporates all time between an application being received by Disclosure Scotland, through to completion with a disclosure issued to the applicant. Disclosure Scotland deducts any time which the application was suspended on our system, such as being suspended for customer contact. Weekend days are included in the number of processing days for applications, but national holidays and Scottish Government public and privilege holidays are excluded.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

In the past 12 months, Disclosure Scotland spent £300,321.94 in overtime payments.

Overtime allows us to be agile and responsive to changing demand, including handling application peaks, as we are a demand-led organisation.

Disclosure Scotland does not hold information on the reason for overtime; however, the use of overtime has been to respond to changing demand and higher than expected volumes in applications – for example, as a result of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020 introducing the legal requirement to be in the Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) scheme if carrying out a regulated role.

The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on average current spend on play per child in Scotland and does not hold such data for England or Wales.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children across Scotland can access high quality play opportunities in a range of settings that will aid their growth, development and wellbeing. In March 2025 we published Scotland’s Play Vision Statement and Action Plan 2025-2030 that builds on our 2013 play strategy and emphasises our commitment to play and our vision for the future of play in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is also making the following investments in programmes that support play opportunities for children across Scotland:

• £60 million to renew play parks during the course of this Parliamentary term;
• £500,000 in 2025/26 for the Outdoor Community Play Fund to increase play opportunities for children and families in disadvantaged communities;
• £1.8 million funding to Scottish Book Trust to deliver the Bookbug Programme in 2025-26;
• £645,000 funding to Smart Play Network for the delivery of PlayTalkRead programme in 2025-2026;
• £250,000 funding to Actify, Inspiring Scotland and partners to explore how the reach and impact of Active Play can be extended across Scotland;
• Through the CYPFEI & ALEC and CYPFAL third sector funds we fund organisations that promote play, such as Starcatchers (£157,500), Play Scotland (£210,000), Outside the Box (£34,125), Learning through Landscapes (£52,500) and the Yard (£94,500);
• In a joint initiative with the Scottish Football Association, £5.5 million to fund the ‘Extra Time Programme’ in 2025-2026, supporting local football clubs and trusts to provide before, after school and holiday clubs to targeted primary school children from low-income families.

In terms of the operation of the courts, the Scottish Government has not made any such assessment and would not seek to do so. The Lord President is the head of the judiciary in Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service supports the courts by providing the staff, buildings and services needed.

As regards family law in Scotland in relation to child contact, residence and Parental Responsibilities and Rights, the key legislation is the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act). The driving principle is that the welfare of the child must be the court’s paramount consideration.

The Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act) reforms the 1995 Act. One of the key aims of the 2020 Act is to ensure further compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. A Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment was carried out when the Children (Scotland) Bill (now the 2020 Act) was introduced in 2019.