Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering appropriate advocacy support for children in accessing their rights. Any assessment of need must recognise that advocacy can be delivered in a number of ways and is often dependent on the context of each situation and specific wishes of the child.

Statutory gateways to independent advocacy have been established for specific groups of children, including those involved in the Children's Hearings System, subject to mental health legislation, and care experienced children and young people, reflecting the particular legal processes, decision-making responsibilities and power imbalances that can arise in these circumstances.

The Scottish Government has co-developed a set of core measurements for organisations that children and young people may access for advice and support when they have a concern or want to raise a rights issue. The data gathered will provide insights into their experience of the services they access for support, including independent advocacy. A report will be published in Spring 2027.

Children's participation is a core component of social work practice and is underpinned by the UNCRC, GIRFEC and the SSSC Codes of Practice, which require social work practitioners to seek, listen to and take account of children's views and to have awareness of the statutory pathways to independent advocacy and apply these where appropriate. There is also a range of national and local organisations across Scotland that provide support services for children and young people beyond these statutory entitlements. We will continue to strengthen provision where required but no further reviews to the statutory gateways to independent advocacy are planned at this stage.

It would not be appropriate to comment on the Loch Kemp Pumped Storage Hydro development proposal, as this is a live application under consideration by the Scottish Ministers for determination.

Potential impacts on communities, nature, and cultural heritage, including the cumulative effects of developments, are important considerations in the decision-making process for applications for energy consent.

The decision whether to grant consent is taken only after careful consideration of environmental information, consultee responses and public representations. In reaching their decision, Scottish Ministers will determine applications in accordance with legislative requirements and relevant policy.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of staff employed in local authority planning services or their allocated duties. Staffing and resourcing decisions for planning services are matters for individual local authorities.

In 2025, the National Planning Improvement Champion (NPIC) published a workforce and capacity report, which is available at: www.improvementservice.org.uk/__data/assets/pdf_file/0029/64559/NPIF-Workforce-and-Capacity-Report.pdf. The NPIC is undertaking a survey of planning authorities in order to provide a refreshed evidence base for 2026.

Planning enforcement is a matter for the relevant planning authority. It is for the authority to decide what, if any, action to take in relation to any potential breach of planning control.

The Scottish Government recognises the financial and capacity pressures facing the planning system and continues to implement a package of measures to provide planning authorities with additional support and resources, including through increased planning fees, support from the National Planning Hub and actions to grow the planning profession in Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information .

We have no plans to introduce national planning policy relating to cast-iron street furniture in Conservation Areas, and have not carried out an assessment of how any such policy would impact on Scotland's domestic foundry sector.

National Planning Framework 4 states that Local Development Plans should identify, protect and enhance valued historic assets and places.

Location specific design guidance, for example, relating to Conservation Areas, is best addressed at the local level, to reflect the character of individual places. Planning authorities have the ability to take this forward through local guidance.

Equally Safe, Scotland’s strategy for preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls (VAWG), recognises that technology can be used to directly track, monitor, and facilitate violence against women and girls. While Equally Safe does not refer specifically to Automatic Number Plate Recognition, it acknowledges the wider risks associated with the misuse of technology and recognises that action to address VAWG must take account of these evolving risks.

The Scottish Government does not consider there to be a conflict between the Planning (Listed Buildings and Conservation Areas) (Scotland) Act 1997 and the Building (Scotland) Act 2003. The two Acts serve different purposes and operate alongside one another, with the former providing protections for the historic environment and the latter providing powers for local authorities to address risks to public safety.

Planning authorities are required to determine all planning applications, including retrospective applications, in accordance with the development plan unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Planning authorities have powers to apply a surcharge (of up to 25% on top of the usual planning application fee) to retrospective planning applications, where development has already commenced or been completed without the necessary permission. The use and level of any such surcharge is a matter for individual planning authorities to set out in a charter.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to issue specific guidance on the determination of retrospective applications for unauthorised alterations to shopfronts.