Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government policy is one of robustly supporting the livestock sector and there are no plans to reduce livestock numbers in Scotland. Livestock farmers will continue to be part of the solution and are working with the sector on reducing emissions through improved animal health, productivity, breeding, feed efficiency and innovation.

Food is a global commodity and as such, were Scotland to cease to produce meat and dairy products, production would simply take place elsewhere, effectively resulting in offshoring emissions.

The Climate Change Plan sets out Scottish Government’s policies and proposals for agriculture to contribute to meeting our carbon budgets in a way that works for rural Scotland and plays to our strengths. Unlike elsewhere in the UK we have maintained direct support to our farmers and crofters, providing more than £600 million in payments every year, including supporting beef numbers with £40 million through the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme and a further £21 million to help farmers invest in more climate friendly activity to make their business more efficient.

The Scottish Government intends to launch the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway on a phased basis from October 2026. This approach is intended to minimise disruption to services and service users, and to support the effective implementation of the pathway across Scotland. Existing provision in the NHS Board areas which currently offer Veterans First Point (V1P) services will continue until the end of this financial year (2026-27).

To support delivery of the Pathway, a full governance structure is being established to provide appropriate oversight, coordination and stakeholder engagement across national and local partners during the implementation phase. These arrangements will help ensure that any impacts arising from planned NHS reform are identified and managed appropriately, enabling progress towards delivery of the Pathway's key aims and outcomes.

This comprehensive governance – with the voice of veterans at its heart – will ensure that the Pathway is implemented in a sustainable manner, with full regard to the needs of veterans and service providers.

The Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Framework was published in March 2026 and sets out the vision, values, and principles of high quality veterans’ mental health support. A procurement exercise to establish a service provider for the Veterans Mental Health and Wellbeing Pathway has now concluded. The new service provider will be announced imminently and the Pathway is expected to start to become operational on a phased basis from October 2026.

To support delivery of the Pathway, a full governance structure is being established to provide appropriate oversight, coordination and stakeholder engagement across national and local partners during the implementation phase. These arrangements will help ensure that any impacts arising from planned NHS reform are identified and managed appropriately, enabling progress towards delivery of the Pathway's key aims and outcomes.

A guiding principle is that the new national Pathway should continually evolve, supported by regular evaluation and feedback from key stakeholders.

The Scottish Government does not support the construction of new nuclear fission power stations under current technologies. We have therefore made no assessment of the potential employment effects of new nuclear development at Torness.

The Scottish Government recognises the important contribution that the skilled workforce at Torness has made and continues to make. The Scottish Government has not made a separate assessment of the figure cited.

Security of electricity supply is reserved to the UK Government and is managed on a Great Britain-wide basis by the National Energy System Operator.

I have placed a copy of the information requested in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (bib number 66922).

The Scottish Government believes no worker should face destitution after losing employment through no fault of their own, including where an employer’s sponsorship licence is revoked. We recognise that workers on employer-sponsored visa routes can face particular vulnerabilities, including an increased risk of exploitation where their immigration status is linked to a single employer.

While immigration policy and employment rights enforcement are reserved to the UK Government, we continue to engage with the UK Government where aspects of the immigration system may increase vulnerability to exploitation or create barriers to workers exercising their rights.

The Scottish Government funds a range of services to support vulnerable migrant workers, including the Worker Support Centre, which provides advice on employment rights and routes to relevant enforcement agencies. We also work with regulators, enforcement bodies and third sector partners to help prevent and tackle labour exploitation and human trafficking.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who will reply in writing within 20 days.

Standards and funding criteria for heat networks do not prescribe specific technologies when designing a heat network. Each heat network project is unique and the design will take account of the variable factors to optimise the efficiency of the heat network.

The Scottish Government is supporting the development of heat networks across Scotland, including projects that may cross local authority boundaries. Through Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies (LHEES), local authorities are identifying opportunities for heat network development and are encouraged to collaborate where opportunities extend across administrative boundaries.

We are supportive of collaboration between local authorities and the wider public sector to identify and develop opportunities for heat networks at an appropriate scale. We continue to work with local authorities, delivery partners and developers to identify and address potential barriers relating to funding, governance and delivery arrangements. This includes supporting regional collaboration and ensuring that viable heat network projects can progress where this offers the most effective route to decarbonising heat.

Should further opportunities for cross-boundary projects emerge, the capital and pre-capital support available through Scotland's Heat Network Fund and the Heat Network Support Unit would be available to such projects, subject to a successful application.