Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government continues to make progress in delivering its legislative programme in this parliamentary session with 38 Government Bills already passed since 2021. I have set out below the 14 Government Bills which parliament is currently scrutinising and we will set out the Bills which will be included in our Year 5 programme as part of the next Programme for Government. There are two Scottish Government Bills from the Year 4 programme which will be introduced before summer recess which are the Building Safety Levy Bill and the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Bill.

In addition, the Government remains committed to taking action in a number of policy areas but will not be in a position to bring forward three Bills in this parliamentary session. The reasons for that are set out below.

The Scottish Government consulted between July and October 2024 on proposed changes to the Adults with Incapacity (Scotland) Act 2000, with more than 160 responses received. During that engagement, risks relating to European Convention on Human Rights non-compliance in relation to deprivation of liberty cases emerged. As a result, there is the need for a more detailed approach to be developed to ensure we can bring forward a solution consistent with ECHR legislation.

We will therefore establish an Adults with Incapacity Expert Working Group to work with government on the additional policy and operational development required. The Minister for Social Care, Mental Wellbeing and Sport will also chair an Adults with Incapacity Ministerial Oversight Group to ensure that pace and progress is maintained, with a view to bringing forward a future Bill early in the next parliamentary term. I expect invites for both groups to be issued in June 2025, with initial meetings to take place in September 2025.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring people are protected from misogynistic abuse and we had previously committed to the introduction of a Misogyny Bill. This is a complex area of policy and law, and it would be necessary that any Bill which brought misogyny into criminal law contained clear and unambiguous provisions in regard to the circumstances in which they apply. This would include the implications of the recent Supreme Court Judgment. Given the short time left in this parliamentary session, there is insufficient time for a Bill to be finalised and introduced in this session, therefore the Scottish Government has decided not to proceed with this Bill in this parliamentary session.

To ensure there are protections for women and girls in law, we will therefore lay an SSI by September to add the protected characteristic of sex to the Hate Crime and Public Order (Scotland) Act 2021 so that they have the same protections as other groups protected by that Act. This SSI is subject to super affirmative process and will therefore be subject to consultation.

We recognise the gendered nature of the harm caused to women and girls and will also take forward further work and engagement on the harms caused by misogyny including what more could be done to tackle the underlying attitudes that lead to misogyny and gender based abuse.

The Scottish Government is committed to ending conversion practices. We will continue to develop our draft legislation and policy towards ending these harmful practices in Scotland. Engagement will continue with the UK government for a Bill covering England, Wales and Scotland. However, if this approach cannot be agreed, then we commit to publishing our own Bill in Year 1 of the next Parliamentary session.

Scottish Government Bills currently in Parliament

• Care Reform
• Children (Withdrawal from Religious Education and Amendment of UNCRC Compatibility Duty)
• Community Wealth Building
• Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews
• Education
• Housing
• Land Reform
• Leases (Automatic Continuation etc.)
• Natural Environment
• Regulation of Legal Services
• Scottish Languages
• Tertiary Education and Training (Funding and Governance)
• UEFA European Championship
• Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform

Scottish Government Bills passed this session

• Aggregates Tax and Devolved Taxes Administration
• Agricultural and Rural Communities
• Bail and Release from Custody
• Bankruptcy and Diligence
• Budget
• Budget (No.2)
• Budget (No.3)
• Budget (No.4)
• Carer’s Allowance Supplement
• Charities (Regulation and Administration)
• Children (Care and Justice)
• Circular Economy
• Climate Change (Emissions Reduction Targets)
• Coronavirus (Discretionary Compensation for Self-isolation)
• Coronavirus (Extension and Expiry)
• Coronavirus (Recovery and Reform)
• Cost of Living (Tenant Protection)
• Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles
• Gender Recognition Reform
• Gender Representation on Public Boards (Amendment)
• Good Food Nation
• Housing (Cladding Remediation)
• Hunting with Dogs
• Judicial Factors
• Miners' Strike (Pardons)
• Moveable Transactions
• Non-Domestic Rates (Coronavirus)
• Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland
• Police (Ethics, Conduct and Scrutiny)
• Post Office (Horizon System) Offences
• Prisoners (Early Release)
• Scottish Elections (Representation and Reform)
• Scottish Local Government Elections (Candidacy Rights of Foreign Nationals)
• Social Security (Amendment)
• Transvaginal Mesh Removal Cost Reimbursement
• Trusts and Succession
• Visitor Levy
• Wildlife Management and Muirburn

NHS Boards have exceeded the commitment to deliver 64,000 appointments and procedures in 2024-25, funded through our additional investment of £30 million to drive action to address the longest waits.

In 2024-25, Boards were required to provide regular management information to the Scottish Government on activity being delivered as a result of additional funding provided. Boards have reported delivery of 105,500 appointments and procedures, as follows:

Over 15,800 new outpatient appointments;

almost 10,700 surgeries; and

almost 79,000 diagnostic procedures delivered.

This total is around 30,000 more than reported to the end of January in the answer to question S6W-35115 on 20 February 2025.

Funding was targeted in specialties including Diagnostics, Ophthalmology, Orthopaedics, Urology, and Cancer. Since April 2024, Scottish Government has been closely monitoring progress and impact. The volume of diagnostic procedures is almost double those originally planned for.

Across Scotland, the latest published data in the PHS Stage of Treatment Statistics show that, between October 2024 and December 2024, compared to the same period in 2023, there has been an 2.0% increase in activity for inpatient/daycase procedures and 1.6% increase for new outpatients appointments. Additionally, in relation to diagnostics, at the end of December 2024, the diagnostic waiting list had reduced by over 18,000 compared to end of April 2024. Since December 2022 the diagnostic waiting list has reduced by over 14,870. While changes to overall activity and waiting times cannot be solely attributed to the £30 million additional investment, we are confident that it has supported increased throughput.

At Board level, we have seen reductions in waiting times across a number of specialities where funding has been targeted, as set out in the following table:

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a just transition to net zero in the region. That is why we are launching a new 2025-26 open bidding round of £8.5 million for projects for the North East and Moray Just Transition Fund. Applications will open on 6 May 2025.

This is a capital Fund and forms part of our ongoing delivery of a 10-year programme of support. Since 2022, the Just Transition Fund has allocated over £75 million to create jobs, support innovation, empower communities, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future. We have recently undertaken an independent evaluation of the Fund that is nearing completion and will be published shortly. Its findings point to the real impact of the Fund in providing momentum to just transition in the region during its first two years of operation, especially in leveraging additional investment.

For the Fund’s second open bidding round, we will focus on projects that particularly support jobs, skills, and economic opportunities. This reflects our mission to ensure the Fund is responsive to the identified needs of the region and continues to maximise the impact of our investment for business and communities.

We will also be continuing delivery of projects currently supported through the Fund. This includes our annual commitment to £1 million for community projects through Just Transition Participatory Budgeting, giving communities a direct say on where money is spent in their area. It will also include the continuation of the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund delivered through ETZ Ltd, which is primarily aimed at SMEs and awards grant funding to accelerate innovation and market entry, support business growth, create new jobs, and increase turnover.

In total £15.9 million will be delivered through the Fund over the next year, sending a clear signal of our ongoing commitment to a just transition for both the North East and Moray.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a just transition to net zero in the region. That is why we are launching a new 2025-26 open bidding round of
£8.5 million for projects for the North East and Moray Just Transition Fund. Applications will open on 6 May 2025.

This is a capital Fund and forms part of our ongoing delivery of a 10-year programme of support. Since 2022, the Just Transition Fund has allocated over £75 million to create jobs, support innovation, empower communities, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future. We have recently undertaken an independent evaluation of the Fund that is nearing completion and will be published shortly. Its findings point to the real impact of the Fund in providing momentum to just transition in the region during its first two years of operation, especially in leveraging additional investment.

For the Fund’s second open bidding round, we will focus on projects that particularly support jobs, skills, and economic opportunities. This reflects our mission to ensure the Fund is responsive to the identified needs of the region and continues to maximise the impact of our investment for business and communities.

We will also be continuing delivery of projects currently supported through the Fund. This includes our annual commitment to £1 million for community projects through Just Transition Participatory Budgeting, giving communities a direct say on where money is spent in their area. It will also include the continuation of the Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund delivered through ETZ Ltd, which is primarily aimed at SMEs and awards grant funding to accelerate innovation and market entry, support business growth, create new jobs, and increase turnover.

In total £15.9 million will be delivered through the Fund over the next year, sending a clear signal of our ongoing commitment to a just transition for both the North East and Moray.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) licences and regulates 345 sewer networks operated by Scottish Water, carrying out compliance inspections on a rolling basis and monitors Scotland’s water environment.

Through its Improving Urban Waters Routemap, Scottish Water is taking action to increase overflow monitoring of the highest priority waters and tackle debris and spills by committing up to £500m to improve water quality.

SEPA’s most recent assessment of Scotland’s entire water environment is that 87% has a ‘high’ or ‘good’ classification for water quality, up from 82% in 2014. However, we are not complacent and seek ongoing improvement and continue to work closely with SEPA and Scottish Water to monitor and improve water quality.

The Scottish Government is determined to limit the amount of rainwater entering sewers to reduce overflows, and in 2024 we published an analysis of the responses to a public consultation which asked the public for their views on how we achieve this, available at https://www.gov.scot/publications/water-wastewater-drainage-consultation-analysis-report/.

There are twenty-five operational windfarms on Scotland’s national forests and land, managed by Forestry and Land Scotland. None of the windfarms are community owned in whole or part.

The 5-year Recycling Improvement Fund will conclude at the end of 2025-26, at which point the Scottish Government will review the overall Project.

Scotland has made significant progress in reducing waste, increasing recycling and decarbonising the waste sector, but there is further work to be done. The Circular Economy (Scotland) Act 2024 and Circular Economy & Waste Route Map set out Scottish Government plans to introduce a statutory Code of Practice for household waste services to accelerate improvements to both the quality and quantity of recycling.

No one should have to compromise on food or other essentials. Food insecurity is driven by insufficient and insecure household income

State Pensions remain reserved to the UK Government, and it is crucial that they remain committed to retaining the Triple Lock, in its current form, to ensure that basic State Pensions keeps up with the cost of living and allows pensioners to live with dignity.

The Scottish Government knows that the cost-of-living crisis hits pensioners hard and that women, especially those who are divorced or single parents, people from BAME backgrounds, disabled people and carers are at greater risk of hardship during their retirement. The UK Government must take responsibility for this inequality, and do more to encourage people to take up benefits they are entitled to including Pension Credit which continues to have one of the lowest take-up rates of all UK benefits.

Our “Cash-First: Towards Ending the Need for Food Banks in Scotland” Plan sets out the nine actions we are taking to achieve our ambition to improve the response to financial hardship and to reduce the need for emergency food parcels. The actions include the Cash-First Programme, which provides ready access to emergency income when someone had no money for food delivered alongside welfare rights and income maximisation advice and support to prevent future hardship. This Cash-First approach enables people to choose the essentials they need whilst maintaining dignity.

For anyone struggling financially, support is available through a number of resources. This includes the Scottish Welfare Fund, which is administered by local authorities, and provides assistance to help meet people’s emergency and immediate short-term needs. The Scottish Government’s cost of living website also provides information on support available.

The Scottish Government will allocate at least £15 million in 2025-26, for the provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice. This includes expanding provision of advice within services that people already go to, such as community centres and hospitals, in order to increase the accessibility and awareness of advice.

Between April 2024-September 2024, investment from the Equalities and Human Rights Fund resulted in a total of 16,087 individuals helped directly with the provision of support, information and advice, with the Age Scotland Helpline providing £1,184,367 of income maximisation with a further 1,039 organisations have also been supported via capacity building and information sharing.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water currently has around 1,400 overflow monitors in place (covering over one third of all intermittent discharges). Scottish Water has plans to increase monitor coverage to around 2,000 locations in total (nearly 50% of intermittent discharges) before the end of 2025 and this year will look to determine an approach to establish how many more monitors should be installed in 2026 and beyond.

A significant number of overflow locations are predicted never to spill and monitoring these locations would generate limited value beyond proving that overflow events do not occur. Monitors are relatively expensive to install and deploying these without generating any environmental benefit is unlikely to represent good value for customers.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency monitors the water quality of Scotland’s rivers and designated bathing beaches and publishes its classification results annually.

87% of Scotland’s entire water environment is assessed by SEPA as having a high or good classification for water quality, up from 82% in 2014, and for rivers the figure is 85%.

SEPA’s most recent Bathing Waters classification shows that 97% of Scotland’s bathing waters currently achieve the bathing water quality standards with 87% being rated good or excellent, up from 84% in 2023.

Scotland is renowned worldwide for the quality of our rivers, lochs and seas, supporting our tourism economy with our natural environment attracting millions of visitors every year with a total of 109 million tourism visits to Scotland in 2023.