Chamber and committees

The relevant documents will be published shortly and will be available on the Scottish Government website -Publications -gov.scot

Responsibility for dealing with day-to-day land use planning matters generally rests, in the first instance, at the most local level. The Scottish Government does not hold information on applications which are being or may be considered by planning authorities.

On 28 August 2025, 22 applications from SSEN Transmission to the Scottish Government’s Energy Consents Unit were live. We expect further applications to be submitted over the next 12 months.

Planning applications did not form any part of the joint visit by the then UK Secretary of State and Cabinet Secretary to HAD Fab.

The Passport is one tool in a wider landscape of support for Scotland’s oil and gas workers – which all support the shared outcome of a just transition for this valued and highly skilled workforce. For example, the Passport is complemented by the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund (launched in July 2025 as a joint initiative from Scottish and UK Governments) which offers tailored careers advice and funded training for eligible workers looking to build the skills needed for work in Scotland’s sustainable energy sectors.

The Passport is an industry led project, and the Scottish Government does not hold detailed information on operational and reporting matters. For such queries, we recommend directly contacting the lead industry bodies - Offshore Energies UK (OEUK) and RenewableUK (RUK).

The Scottish Government is deeply concerned by any planned job losses in the oil and gas sector.

We continue to monitor and consider a range of evidence in relation to Scotland’s energy system. As part of this approach, we review reports on employment from industry, trade unions and other bodies. We have also commissioned and published independent analysis on Scotland’s Energy System and Just Transition. This analysis considers the economic impact of Scotland’s oil and gas industry, including in terms of employment, during the transition to net zero. A partial update of the baseline data underpinning this analysis was published in April 2025.

The Energy Skills Passport is an industry-led tool to support oil and gas workers to identify training pathways into key offshore wind sectors. It is one tool in a wider landscape of support for Scotland’s oil and gas workers. For example, the Passport is complemented by the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund (launched in July 2025 as a joint initiative from Scottish and UK Governments) which offers tailored careers advice and funded training for eligible workers looking to build the skills needed for work in Scotland’s sustainable energy sectors.

In the unfortunate event of any employees facing redundancy, the Scottish Government will also always offer and provide support through the Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE). Through providing skills development and employability support, PACE aims to minimise the time individuals affected by redundancy are out of work.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) collects data on the destinations of graduates 15 months after graduation via the Graduate Outcomes Survey. The survey is voluntary and hence does not represent the outcomes of all graduates from each year.

The following table now includes NHS Western Isles which was excluded previously due to the rounding policy. The HESA Graduate Outcomes Survey had no responses from graduates who were working for NHS Western Isles.

Scottish NHS Health Board of Clinical Medicine graduates, from Scottish providers, who said they worked in the NHS 15 months after graduating, 2020-21 to 2022-23

Schools built within the past five years may not yet have had a condition survey and the condition rating is based on the state of the school at the time of completion of the building works.

In situations where schools were built under PPP (Public-Private Partnerships), PFI (Private finance initiative) or similar arrangements which included school maintenance contracts, local authorities report that the buildings are monitored and maintained by a third party.

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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40612 on 7 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.

It is the statutory responsibility of authorities to manage their school estate, and we expect them to undertake suitability surveys at least every 5 years, in line with the suitability reporting core facts guidance which the Scottish Government co-produced with local authorities.

It is the statutory responsibility of local authorities to manage their school estate, and we expect them to undertake condition surveys at least every 5 years, in line with the condition reporting core facts guidance which the Scottish Government co-produced with local authorities.

In situations where schools were built under PPP (Public-Private Partnerships), PFI (Private finance initiative) or similar arrangements which included school maintenance contracts, local authorities report that the buildings are monitored and maintained by a third party.

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

The Scottish Government opposed the abolition of tax-free shopping when it was announced in 2020 and consistently called for the previous UK Government to listen to the industry and reconsider their position on the issue.

The Scottish Government recognises how vital tourism is to our economy. It creates jobs, sustains communities and contributes significantly to the economy and enables visitors and residents alike to experience the incredible offer we have here in Scotland. Many EU countries continue to offer tax-free shopping for non-EU visitors, which make them a more attractive tourist destination. Scotland’s vibrant retail sector is put at a disadvantage as a result.

We call on this UK Government to ensure they are listening to these consistent industry calls regarding the reinstatement of VAT free shopping.

Ultimately, the Scottish Government believes that all tax powers should be devolved to the Scottish Parliament so that we can provide the support that Scottish retailers and tourism businesses need.