Chamber and committees

As set out in the manifesto, we will work in partnership with others to progress funding models that safeguard fiduciary duties, provide secure inflation linked returns and can accelerate the delivery of homes.

The Private Jet Tax will be implemented as higher rates of Air Departure Tax (ADT) which will apply to the carriage of passengers by air on private jet flights from Scottish airports.

Police Scotland has stated that it investigated reports of suspicious behaviour and found no evidence of criminality. The safety and wellbeing of pupils in school and in the community is of the utmost importance. Responsibility for the safe operation of schools rest with local authorities, who work closely with Police Scotland to assess and respond to any risks, provide reassurance to pupils and communities, and ensure appropriate safeguarding measures are in place.

NHS Highland has made sustained progress against the 15 recommendations set out in Sir Lewis Ritchie’s report. Most of the recommendations have now been fully implemented, with the remainder either partially implemented or progressed.

The nature of a small number of these recommendations, particularly those relating to workforce, housing, system resilience and partnership working, means that these are not finite end-points but areas requiring sustained focus and continuous improvement.

NHS Highland continues to work closely with local communities and stakeholders to build confidence and trust and to ensure that services evolve in line with local need and experience.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00342 on 5 June 2026. 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.

Bullying of any kind is unacceptable and all children and young people have the right to learn in a safe, supportive and inclusive environment.

Responsibility for the operational management of schools, including responding to bullying incidents and safeguarding concerns, rests with local authorities and schools.

To support schools and local authorities, the Scottish Government published updated anti-bullying guidance in November 2024. We expect all local authorities, schools and organisations to develop and implement anti-bullying policies in line with Respect for All. The guidance is clear that responses to bullying should be addressed in line with a school’s relationships and behaviour policy, with a focus on prevention, early intervention and appropriate support for all children and young people involved.

In 2026-27, we are providing £310,480 to respectme, Scotland’s anti-bullying service to provide advice, resources, and training for schools, local authorities and parents to help prevent and address bullying.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00537. on 8 June 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found athttps://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The 2026 Scottish Budget supports businesses and communities with a decrease to the three property rates and a package of reliefs forecast to save ratepayers over £870 million, in 2026-27. This includes the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous of its kind in the UK.

Recognising the distinct challenges of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses, 15% relief is available for eligible retail, hospitality and leisure premises liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rate in mainland Scotland (excluding specified remote areas). An additional 25% relief is available for eligible licensed hospitality premises and music venues liable for the Basic or Intermediate Property Rates, taking their relief to 40%. These reliefs are capped at £110,000 per business per year.

Further, 100% relief is available to eligible retail, hospitality and leisure businesses on islands and in specified remote areas, capped at £110,000 per business per year.

Acknowledging the impact of the 2026 revaluation, the Budget introduced a Revaluation Transitional Relief to protect those seeing the most significant increases in rateable values, ensuring that the gross bills of around 60,000 properties are lower in 2026-27 than they otherwise would have been. Small Business Transitional Relief also ensures that properties losing or seeing a reduction in Small Business Bonus Scheme relief, rural rates relief, hospitality relief or 2023 Small Business Transitional Relief on 1 April 2026, do so in a phased manner.

We estimate that 96% of retail, hospitality and leisure businesses could benefit from some form of relief in 2026-27.

As a result of the decisions in the budget and the additional relief announced at Stage One of the Budget Bill, the revenues raised from non-domestic rates are estimated to be 7% lower in real terms (using CPI) in 2026-27 than pre-COVID, despite the number of non-domestic properties increasing in that time.

Six GP walk-in centres are currently operational, with the first delivered in February. Three of those are already operating seven days a week, with the remainder open on a phased basis, but all will move to full hours in due course. The intention of a phased basis opening was to deliver new services as quickly as possible for patients.

The decision to introduce an international ferry service is a consideration for the commercial ferry operator and relevant port authorities, including the timing for introducing a service.

The Scottish Government is supportive of the reintroduction of direct ferry services to Europe. Ministers and officials have engaged with a number of interested parties regarding the introduction of new ro-ro ferry services from Rosyth to Europe, and Transport Scotland officials continue to engage regularly with potential operators and Scotland’s main ports.

The Scottish Government also recently amended the Minimum Requirements for the Location of a Border Control Post through The Official Controls (Location of Border Control Posts) (Scotland) Regulations 2026. This amendment came into force on 21 March 2026 and provides flexibility by allowing goods to arrive at a point of entry and then transit to an appropriately designated Border Control Post (BCP), provided that both the point of entry and the BCP are located within the same Scottish Green Freeport zone or within the outer boundary of that Freeport. This could enable goods in scope to be processed at BCP facilities at Port of Grangemouth instead of requiring new facilities at Port of Rosyth.