Chamber and committees

Decisions on the rates and bands in place for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax are considered annually as part of the Scottish Budget.

As set out in Scottish Budget 2025-26, the conclusions of the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax review will support decisions in the next Scottish Parliament.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39952 on 9 September 2025. 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 Government is committed to advancing inclusive communication in Scotland. We have therefore commissioned an inclusive communications toolkit for listed authorities, which includes NHS Boards, to consider. This toolkit aims to make improvements for those with different communication needs in Scotland.

The project will provide practical support to all public bodies in Scotland. It will help them to mainstream inclusive communication throughout their organisation and so meet the general equality duty.

The toolkit is currently being co-produced with people who communicate in diverse ways, public bodies, and other expert organisations. We intend to roll out this toolkit by early 2026.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government has collaborated with both autistic people and professional partners to produce resources to help healthcare practitioners understand and accommodate the communication needs of autistic individuals. These include an Autism Informed Services eBook and a series of posters, co-produced with an autistic working group, detailing how healthcare practitioners can anticipate, enquire about, and arrange adjustments to meet the needs of autistic patients, including communication needs. These resources are freely accessible on our Different Minds website.

Scotland is not alone in facing challenges as a result of a rise in the prison population. There is no single reason for the increase and there is no single solution.

The Scottish Government has therefore taken a range of actions to address this, including changing the point of release for some short-term prisoners and bringing forward regulations to widen the use of home detention curfew, which enables selected individuals to be released to serve the last part of their sentence under curfew and clear licence conditions. Additional funding of £25m over two years has been provided to increase the capacity of community justice services across Scotland to support a sustained increase, where appropriate, in the use of alternatives to custody. This brings the total funding for community justice to £159m in 2025-26. We have also established an independent Sentencing and Penal Policy Commission to review how custody and community-based interventions are used, with a focus on reducing crime, supporting rehabilitation, and ensuring a sustainable prison population. Final recommendations will be delivered by the end of 2025 and will inform longer term action in this area.

Work related to the Land and Buildings Transaction Tax review is ongoing.

Alma Economics has been appointed to undertake independent research on various aspects of the legislation and will engage with a range of relevant organisations to support this. The Scottish Government has also established a working group involving legal, property sector and other organisations to allow for detailed consideration of other specific issues.

As set out in Scottish Budget 2025-26, the review will support decisions in the next Scottish Parliament on whether any legislative changes should be brought forward.

I meet regularly with the Scottish Police Federation (SPF), where we discuss a range of issues which affect their members. At our meeting on 19 December 2024, the SPF raised concerns about the condition of buildings in the Police Scotland estate, and we discussed the Police Scotland Estates Masterplan.

Management of the Police Scotland estate, including assessments of the condition of its buildings, is an operational matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. The Scottish Government supports the work undertaken by Police Scotland to address the issue of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (RAAC), which has been identified in four locations across the Police Scotland estate, and Police Scotland’s commitment to providing a safe environment for officers, staff and the public.

We are investing a record £1.64 billion in policing in 2025-26. This includes £70 million of capital funding for investment in police assets, including the police estate.

While the Scottish Government has overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland, it is for local authorities and health boards to work with the Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to set budgets and ensure that social care support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate support.

Social Care spend therefore occurs at a local government level and details can be found in the Local Finance Returns: https://www.gov.scot/collections/local-government-finance-statistics/#scottishlocalgovernmentfinancialstatistics

However, each year, the Scottish Government does provide additional investment into Social Care.

Details of the Scottish Budget for each year can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/budget/

The Scottish Government intends to include blue carbon in the next Climate Change Plan, based on the best available scientific evidence.

However, there are still evidence gaps relating to blue carbon habitats that impact on a) how blue carbon habitats can be monitored with regard to the potential contribution to climate change mitigation and b) the way in which they can be included in the next Climate Change Plan.

At present, no blue carbon habitats are included in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory. The Scottish Government supports inclusion of saltmarsh and seagrass in the inventory, as data collection methods are improved, and is working collaboratively with the UK Government and other Devolved Governments, through the UK Blue Carbon Evidence Partnership, towards their inclusion.

The Scottish Government is also supporting research to address evidence gaps across all blue carbon habitats, as set out in the Scottish Blue Carbon Action Plan (published 10 September). Addressing these evidence gaps will support progress towards inclusion of blue carbon habitats in the UK Greenhouse Gas Inventory and will inform our approach to monitoring contributions to the net zero targets.

The Scottish Government does not have the powers to impose financial penalties on operators in the event of turbine failure.

If a failure results in a serious breach of health, safety, or environmental obligations, particularly where harm to people or the environment occurs, operators must notify the Scottish Ministers within 24 hours for developments consented under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, including details of the incident and any remedial actions taken.

Scottish Enterprise continue to make significant progress in identifying credible propositions, including the 9 projects identified by Project Willow, that will secure the long term and sustainable future of the Grangemouth industrial cluster. Scottish Enterprise have now received over 100 enquiries from businesses interested in opportunities on the Grangemouth site, including a number of near term developments related to the Project Willow plastic waste recycling, biorefining and fuel switching technology pathways.