Chamber and committees

Following discussions with a number of stakeholders and experts over recent weeks, I have decided to delay implementation of the muirburn provisions until the start of the next muirburn season in Autumn 2026.

This decision will provide us with the time and opportunity to carefully consider the upcoming changes to muirburn and how these changes can be brought forward in a way which does not adversely affect our ability to prevent and respond to wildfires. Wildfires as I saw this summer, are very damaging to our precious peatland carbon stores and further discussions on this issue will take place with key stakeholders and at the Wildfire Summit on 14 October 2025.

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.

The management of the Police Scotland estate, including the allocation of resources to the police estate, is an operational matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority.

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.

Planning for the Scottish Spending Review has begun, and the review will identify opportunities to optimise the use of Scottish Government funding over the longer term. As part of this process, we are working closely with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland to understand their 2026-27 budget requirements.

Our national action plan on relationships and behaviour in schools includes a commitment to refresh our national guidance on attendance – Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1.

Consideration of guidance on part-time timetables has been identified as a key priority for this work. We will also seek to strengthen recording and monitoring processes in the refreshed guidance.

We have established a working group to support this work and we anticipate refreshed guidance will be published in early 2026 to support local authorities, who are responsible for school attendance.

The Scottish Government welcome’s Police Scotland’s commitment to providing a safe environment for officers, staff and the public.

Management of the Police Scotland estate, including assessing the impact of the condition of police buildings on staff morale, is an operational matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA).

It is for the SPA and the Chief Constable to allocate resources to meet their priorities and I expect they will be reflecting fully on any health and safety issues, and of course on the wellbeing of officers and staff.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40792 on 9 October 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 management of the Police Scotland estate, including the allocation of resources to the police estate, is an operational matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority.

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.

Planning for the Scottish Spending Review has begun, and the review will identify opportunities to optimise the use of Scottish Government funding over the longer term. As part of this process, we are working closely with the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland to understand their 2026-27 budget requirements.

Part-time learning is a decision which should be taken in agreement with the school and the local authority. It should take into account the circumstances of the individual learner including the existing planning arrangements in place for the child or young person.

We continue to work with all our partners to ensure that all children and young people get the support that they need to reach their full potential.

We are refreshing our national guidance on attendance – Included, Engaged and Involved Part 1 to set a clear expectation that any use of part-time timetables includes a plan to support the young person return to full time education at the earliest appropriate point. We anticipate refreshed guidance will be published in early 2026.

The management of the Police Scotland’s 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 meets regularly with the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) to discuss housing and homelessness issues and with local authorities on the importance of fulfilling their statutory duties. The Scottish Government’s approach is to work collaboratively with partners to address the acute pressures in housing and homelessness.

In its assessment of systemic failure, the SHR identified three major strategic challenges in providing homelessness services: the significant numbers of people in temporary accommodation; maintaining a sufficient supply of appropriate temporary accommodation; and ensuring access to the number of permanent homes that are needed.

The Scottish Government’s housing emergency action plan published on 2 September sets out a suite of actions to help address the challenges identified by the SHR. The plan commits to up to £4.9 billion over the next four years for the delivery of affordable and social homes. It ensures that £808 million will be available for affordable homes in Scotland this year, which includes £80 million for councils to acquire family homes now to relieve pressure. This fund will help to replenish temporary accommodation stock that has been converted to permanent homes. We are also funding a pilot private sector leasing scheme to reduce the use of unsuitable temporary accommodation, which will support local authorities to comply with their statutory homelessness duties.