Chamber and committees

The decision to approve the donation of the surplus NHS Scotland medical supplies to Ukraine was made jointly by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care and myself. The submission, dated 18 September 2024, was released under FOI/202500451642. The transport of the medical equipment was provided as Official Development Assistance which, according to The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development OECD, cannot be spent on military aid and this is a rule that the UK as a whole, including Scotland, adheres to.

Scottish Government officials have now looked further into this matter, and in relation to the member's previous questions S6W-30076, S6W-30077 and S6W-30078, we can provide the following further information.

On question S6W-30076 (To ask the Scottish Government what due diligence was carried our prior to it providing funding to the group of companies referred to in the BBC's recent reporting on modern slavery within the Scottish fishing sector):

As part of the due diligence process for the historical schemes in question, grantees were required to ensure that they and anyone acting on their behalf comply with the relevant law. The scheme rules and eligibility criteria included, where appropriate, assessment of any previous relevant offences and convictions.

On questions S6W-30077 and S6W-30078 (To ask the Scottish Government whether it was aware that there were ongoing police investigations into the companies referred to in the BBC's recent reporting on slavery in the Scottish fishing sector when it awarded any funding to those companies: and to ask the Scottish Government whether it was aware that workers at the companies referred to in the BBC's recent reporting on slavery in the Scottish fishing sector had been recognised by the Home Office as victims of human trafficking when it awarded any funding to those companies):

Any form of human trafficking or exploitation is of course totally unacceptable. Whilst Scottish Government officials may from time-to-time be aware of the existence or generalities of specific Police Scotland investigations, or be informed of relevant outcomes following their conclusion, they are not privy to detailed investigatory or procedural information. A live police investigation or sub-judice proceedings are not automatically grounds for refusing funding unless and until those proceedings had concluded and resulted in a conviction for a relevant offence, with decisions taken on a case-by-case basis. Historic funding schemes were subject to the relevant scheme rules and eligibility criteria which included, where appropriate, assessment of any previous relevant offences and convictions. That continues to be the case for the current Marine Fund Scotland funding scheme.

According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS), an estimated 710,700 people in Scotland aged 16 to 64 were unemployed or were economically inactive for reasons other than being a student in April 2024 to March 2025. This was an estimated 20.5% of people aged 16 to 64 in Scotland.

Table 1: Unemployed and economically inactive people aged 16 to 64 (excluding those who gave their reason for inactivity as student) by Sex, Scotland, April 2024 to March 2025

Scotland is a highly attractive destination for investors, including in offshore wind where we offer extensive natural resources, a deep history of engineering excellence, strong supply chain capability, excellent port infrastructure, and a stable policy environment backed by long-term government support.

The Scottish Government’s strategic investment of up to £500 million over five years is intended to unlock £1.5 billion in private investment to support market certainty and create a highly productive, competitive offshore wind economy.

The Global Offshore Wind Investment Forum was a key milestone in realising these ambitions. Almost £150 million has been invested in 18 months, leveraging £670 million in private investment and supporting 5,000 jobs. Specifically, investments at Nigg, Montrose and Kishorn were announced at or soon after the event.

GOSWIF has driven targeted follow-up engagement by the First Minister, myself, officials, and Team Scotland partners both in Scotland and internationally. This includes active discussions with developers, ports, and supply chain companies to progress the opportunities highlighted at the Forum, supporting a strong pipeline of future investment announcements.

As highlighted in the recent EY Attractiveness Survey (Scotland) 2025, Scotland has cemented its reputation as the top UK foreign direct investment (FDI) location outside of London – for the tenth year in a row. These latest results are an endorsement of Scotland’s proposition as a destination for global investment despite geopolitical uncertainties.

Along with our Enterprise Agencies and the Scottish National Investment Bank, we continue to work with the sector to ensure that the right infrastructure, facilities, skills and supply chains are in place to deliver our offshore wind objectives and maximise the economic benefits for Scotland and our communities.

Public inquiries are independent of the Scottish Government. Publication of information on costs is a matter for each individual inquiry and its Chair, and is typically done via their website. For inquiries established under the Inquiries Act 2005 there is a statutory duty on the Chair to "act with regard to the need to avoid any unnecessary cost" (s. 17(3)).

The Finance and Public Affairs Committee is currently undertaking a review of the cost effectiveness of Scottish public inquiries. As part of that review, the Scottish Parliament Information Centre produced a document detailing the cost of Scottish Inquiries, which is published on the Committee's web page Cost-effectiveness of Scottish public inquiries - updated costs of 29 May 2025 (parliament.scot) The Committee also wrote to all current or ongoing inquiries asking for details of their costs. Responses were provided by the individual inquiries and have been published on the Committee's web page.

The Scottish Parliament elections in May 2021 resulted in 72 of the 129 MSPs elected on manifestos which commit them to a referendum on Scottish independence during this Parliament.

A range of publicly available polling evidence is available showing support for Scotland’s right to choose its own future, and the right of the people of Scotland to choose their future was the belief of all three main Westminster party leaders at Scottish level, who signed a pledge in 2014 saying: “Power lies with the Scottish people and we believe it is for the Scottish people to decide how Scotland is governed.”

Following the independence referendum, the cross-party Smith Commission, containing representatives of all parties in the Scottish Parliament, agreed that:

“nothing in this report prevents Scotland becoming an independent country in the future should the people of Scotland so choose.”

Scottish Enterprise continues to work at pace to triage enquiries and identify a route forward for viable proposals at Grangemouth, with a focus on how the public sector might be able to support the deployment of near term propositions. Ministers are receiving regular updates on the most viable proposals that have emerged from the triaging process, and ways in which they could be deployed, via the Grangemouth Investor Taskforce.

The Culture Fair Work Task Force is independent of the Scottish Government and it is not for Scottish Ministers to influence the work of the independent Chair or the Task Force. However Officials have already circulated the STUC "Freelance and Forgotten" report, together with other relevant material which may prove useful.

Ministers will examine the STUC report, together with a wide range of relevant material, when considering the Task Force's recommendations for a sectoral Culture Fair Work Agreement to further implement Fair Work in Scotland’s creative industries.

Our palliative care strategy – Palliative Care Matters for All – which is due to be published later this summer, focuses on resources to support programmes of work such as data collection, staff education and future care planning, to support organisations responsible for delivering palliative care services across Scotland. The palliative care strategy is supported by a budget of £2.05 million for 2025-26. This will support Integration Joint Boards, Health Boards, and third sector organisations such as independent hospices and care homes, to deliver high quality palliative care.

The Scottish Government is aiming to publish the palliative care strategy - Palliative Care Matters for All – and its associated delivery plan, later this summer. This timing reflects the time taken to analyse the 169 responses to the consultation on the draft strategy which closed earlier this year, and to undertake further work based on this feedback to inform the strategy’s finalisation.