Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is supporting local authorities to develop and deliver local Good Food Nation plans through ongoing engagement and guidance. This includes dedicated workshops, regular engagement to provide tailored support, attendance at local Good Food Nation steering groups and workshops, producing policy guidance notes and presentations at relevant events with a focus on Good Food Nation. An online collaboration space for local authorities to share good practice has also been established by the Good Food Nation Team.

Under the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004, education authorities are responsible for identifying and meeting the additional support needs of children in early learning and childcare (ELC) settings. In line with the National Standard, local authorities and settings are expected to work together to support children with additional support needs to access their funded ELC entitlement. Settings must provide appropriate support, including reasonable adjustments, to ensure that children’s disabilities or additional support needs do not present a barrier to participation.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) has recently reviewed the National Occupational Standards for Early Learning and Childcare. This work is informing the redevelopment of qualifications and learning resources to help ensure that the workforce has the knowledge and skills required to support children with diverse and additional support needs.

As we take forward our approach to childcare expansion, we will continue to build on evidence and experience to ensure that the needs of children with additional support needs, and their families, are understood and reflected in future delivery.

The Scottish Government recognises the important contribution that nature-based solutions can make to improving flood and drought resilience. Our policy and investment supports nature-based solutions in both rural and urban areas.

Our Sustainable Flood Risk Management guidance supports a catchment-based approach to flood management and our national Flood Resilience Strategy sets out the importance of restoring and maintaining our natural environment to create flood resilient places. In addition, the Water Resilient Places Policy Framework supports the delivery of blue-green infrastructure and has informed the work of urban drainage partnerships in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Dundee.

We support both the Eddleston Water and Allan Water projects to develop and implement nature-based solutions. Evidence from these projects indicates that nature-based solutions can help to delay flood peaks and hold water in the catchment to mitigate water scarcity.

We fund research through the Centre of Expertise on Water and the James Hutton Institute to assess the effectiveness of nature-based solutions and our five year Strategic Research Programme (2022-2027) is funding the “Achieving Multi-Purpose Nature-Based Solutions” research project to explore how to work at scale and across sectors to deliver urban and rural nature-based solutions.

Since 2016, the Scottish Government has provided £612 million to local authorities to support the delivery of flood resilience activities. We also fund environmental improvements with co-benefits for flood and drought resilience through the Water Environment Fund, Peatland Restoration Fund, Nature Restoration Fund and Forestry Grants Scheme.

Transport Scotland holds a quarterly Strategic Transport Electrification Group with the two Scottish electricity network operators, the National Energy System Operator (NESO) and Scottish Futures Trust. This seeks to co-ordinate research and analysis and ensure the electricity networks are aware of the overall requirements for energy infrastructure to support decarbonised transport, as well as existing data to inform business planning. Fleet operators should discuss specific future power requirements directly with electricity networks to secure appropriate connections in good time.

Transport Scotland has undertaken significant research to identify where charging will be required for zero emission road transport. This has been shared with the Scottish electricity network operators and NESO, as well as fleet infrastructure providers, trade bodies and commercial investors. The next iteration into charging requirements for zero emission heavy goods vehicles will be published in September, based on an substantially increased sample of vehicle data and incorporating an interactive tool to help infrastructure providers, fleet operators and others to make investment decisions. COSLA and Regional Transport Partnerships are aware of this work, the current version of which can be found at Towards Zero Emission HGV Infrastructure in Scotland: Phase 2 Report | Transport Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01941 on 19 August 2026. 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.

The Scottish minister with responsibility for energy has met Crown Estate Scotland twice since 2024.

• The Minister for Energy and the Environment met the Chair and Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland on 16 January 2024 to discuss Energy
• The Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy met the Chief Executive of Crown Estate Scotland on 20 November 2025 to discuss Offshore Wind

All ministerial engagements are published on The Scottish Government website at - www.gov.scot/collections/ministerial-engagements-travel-and-gifts/

The Scottish Government continues to improve transport infrastructure and make travel more accessible and affordable for all through the Accessible Travel Framework and the National Transport Strategy, which includes “Reduces Inequalities” and “Improves our Health and Wellbeing” as two of its four priorities.

Support is delivered through mainstream transport investment, affordability measures, equality legislation and race equality policies. Equality Impact Assessments help identify and address barriers affecting protected groups, supporting more inclusive transport outcomes.

Measures include enhanced passenger assistance, improved access at rail stations and transport hubs, clearer travel information, and embedding accessibility in the design of new transport infrastructure.

Free bus travel for eligible disabled people and free public transport for blind and visually impaired passengers help reduce the cost of accessing services, employment and recreational opportunities. The Accessible Travel Framework also expects operators to improve accessibility and the passenger experience.

The Scottish Government engages with disabled and minority ethnic representative bodies, including the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland and the Transport Equalities Group, to ensure policies reflect lived experience and address barriers to travel.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the growth of solar generation as part of Scotland's future energy mix and will continue to undertake analysis as required to improve our understanding of how solar deployment can best contribute to Scotland's renewable energy ambitions. Our analysis to date has not included modelling of individual industry-led ambitions.

Scottish Ministers meet their duties under section 2 of the Water Environment and Water Services (Scotland) Act 2003, principally through approval of River Basin Management Plans to protect and improve the water environment in Scotland. Other actions include supporting the delivery of Scotland’s third River Basin Management Plan, for example through the Water Environment Fund. Scottish Ministers are meeting their statutory duties under section 2.

The Scottish Government will continue to ensure that the promotion of Gaelic is a priority commitment and that this is supported in education and learning, in arts and culture, in media and broadcasting and in other relevant sectors in Scottish public life. For example, in education, the Scottish Government will continue to support the growth of GME and welcomes the excellent support and resources which Storlann and Sabhal Mor Ostaig provide for GME teachers and pupils. In arts and culture, the work of Feisean nan Gaidheal, Ceolas and the Royal National Mod continue to provide opportunities for young and old and enrich the cultural life of Scotland. In broadcasting, MG ALBA provides a wide and diverse range of high quality programmes and adds value to other important areas of Gaelic activity with our support. In connection with Gaelic speaker communities in the Highlands and Islands, the Scottish Government will build on the wide range of projects and initiatives that are in place in these areas with the provisions that are set out in the Scottish Languages Act, 2025. A number of Gaelic bodies and projects are based in island communities and the work of centres such as Cnoc Soillier, Carinish and Grinneabhat are important for the promotion of Gaelic in these communities. In particular the 2025 Act, enables local authorities to designate areas of linguistic significance for the Gaelic language. This intervention will be supported by Statutory Guidance, by the preparation of Standards and Requirements and with additional funding. In these matters the Scottish Government will continue to provide support and to work closely with relevant local authorities.