Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40762 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 Government are taking forward work on the legislative requirements necessary to make changes to the Parole Board Rules following the passing of the Victims Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill. The Government intend to lay the required instruments in early 2026, with a view to changes from section 29H coming into force in spring 2026.

The Scottish Government's most recent fuel poverty scenario modelling was published Friday October 3rd covering the October to December 2025 period under an Ofgem price cap of £1,755 for the typical dual fuel household paying by direct debit and is available online. This analysis estimated a national fuel poverty rate of 33% (830,000 households) and an extreme fuel poverty rate of 17% (420,000 households).

In an energy rich country like Scotland, nobody should be struggling to pay their energy bills. We need urgent action from the UK Government to fulfil their promise to cut bills by £300.

On 8 October 2025, the Scottish Government will publish a new paper setting out why Scotland should become an independent country, and what an independent Scotland could look like.

It explains how independence offers the potential of transformational change, building a new economy to boost living standards, making the most of our energy resources, protecting our NHS, creating a migration system that meets Scotland’s needs, and rejoining the European Union.

The proposals set out in this publication feature analysis of the evidence that informs them, as well as references to sources.

A Fresh Start with Independence will be available to view on the Scottish Government website from 8 October 2025 at Building a new Scotland - gov.scot

It is the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) role to monitor the institutional landscape, to ensure sustainable and coherent provision, and to engage with institutions as needed. The Scottish Government and the SFC are in regular discussions on issues affecting the sector.

I understand and acknowledge that communities in the North East may have concerns regarding proposed electricity transmission infrastructure in their areas. It is vital that communities can have their say on proposed developments and Scottish Ministers are clear that major energy infrastructure requires meaningful and substantive consultation and engagement with the local communities before a developer submits an Electricity Act application.

There are established routes for constituents and community groups to make their views on developments known, and the Scottish Government is working with the UK Government to further strengthen these.

The Ministerial Code states that "the Planning Minister or any other Minister involved in the planning decision, must do nothing which might be seen as prejudicial to that process, particularly in advance of the decision being taken. Action that might be viewed as being prejudicial includes’: ‘expressing an opinion publicly on a particular case which is before, or may subsequently be referred to, the Minister(s) for decision”.

I understand constituents and community groups may wish to discuss infrastructure development with me. However, I do not believe it is possible to have a meaningful discussion without speaking about specific projects and, given the guidance which I have set out above, any discussion on specific projects would risk a breach of the Ministerial Code.

The School Estate Statistics reflect information reported to the Scottish Government by local authorities.

In the case of Beath and Queen Anne High Schools, both were rebuilt in the early 2000s under Public Private Partnership (PPP) contracts and remain within their contract periods.

In situations where schools were built under PPP which included school maintenance contracts, local authorities report that the buildings are monitored and maintained by a third party. It is the Scottish Government’s expectation that condition surveys are carried out as part of this monitoring and maintenance programme.

It is local authorities’ responsibility to ensure schools built under PPP contract continue to be maintained to a sufficiently high standard, given the maintenance contract that will be in place.

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

Pupil support staff play a vital role in the education of our children and young people. Scottish Ministers have invested £15m per year since 2019-20, helping local authorities to respond to the individual needs of children and young people and to maintain near-record levels of pupil support staff in Scotland. In addition, the Scottish Government are investing an additional £29 million to support the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce, in a context of record spend of over £1 billion by local authorities on ASN in 2023-24.

NHS patients requiring urgent care will be seen by practices based on clinical need. Unregistered patients can access emergency and urgent dental care via Public Dental Service clinics. The PDS are NHS Board-run services and therefore the responsibility of the health boards.

Forth Valley College’s campus in Alloa plays a vital role in providing access to services for the people in that community, and everything possible must be done to keep the campus open.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) have identified a route by which some funding could be used this financial year to support urgent feasibility studies to inform the SFC’s forthcoming College Infrastructure Investment Plan.

The Scottish Government and the SFC will continue to engage with Forth Valley College throughout this process to find a way to support the College decide on the best future for the campus.