Chamber and committees

Six Long Term Conditions Advisory Groups were established under the previous Government in March 2026. Advisory Group 5 focused on Long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis/ chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/ CFS) and other post-infectious/ post-viral conditions.

The Advisory Groups provided recommendations by 7 May 2026 for the new government to consider. We are grateful for the work of all six Advisory Groups in developing their recommendations.

It is for Scottish Ministers to decide whether and to what extent any of the recommendations become government policy. We are carefully considering the Advisory Groups’ recommendations to inform our way forward for long term conditions. Our Programme for Government for 2026-27 will be put to the Parliament in due course.

Services that provide specialist support to male survivors of domestic abuse, addiction services and mental health services are independent of Scottish Government and as such, responsibility for staff training rests with their boards. As such, the Scottish Government does not hold information on the specific training delivered by individual services.

The Scottish Government provides funding to Men’s Advice Line, SACRO’s FearFree Project, AMIS, The Scottish Domestic Abuse and Forced Marriage Helpline, ASSIST, and the LGBT Domestic Abuse project. We encourage anyone experiencing domestic abuse to seek help.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01615 on 5 August 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01615 on 5 August 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01615 on 5 August 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.

The Scottish Government will deliver the reforms necessary to support the introduction of a three-year job guarantee for teachers.

Development of the detailed proposals is at an early stage and Parliament will be kept updated as this work continues.

The Domestic Abuse (Scotland) Act 2018 provides for an offence of abuse of a partner or ex-partner which criminalises psychological, as well as physical, abuse. The Act defines abuse as behaviour which a reasonable person would consider likely to cause the victim to suffer physical or psychological harm where the accused either intends to cause such harm or else is reckless as to whether their behaviour would be likely to result in such harm.

The Act provides an illustrative definition of abusive behaviour which includes behaviour which is abusive and which has as its purpose, or which a reasonable person would think would be likely to have the effect of:

• isolating the victim from friends, relatives or other sources of support;
• frightening, humiliating, degrading or punishment the victim.

As such, depending on the facts and circumstances of the case, the offence can be used to prosecute someone who engages in smear campaigns or reputational abuse of their partner or ex-partner. In other cases, it may be possible to prosecute such behaviour using offences such as threatening or abusive behaviour with a domestic abuse aggravation where the offence is committed by the victim's partner or ex-partner.

Police Scotland and the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) are operationally independent of the Scottish Ministers and are responsible for any guidance in place for police and prosecutors.

Victim support organisations have long-standing experience in dealing with victims who have suffered different forms of coercive and controlling behaviour and can tailor their approaches in offering support depending on the specific circumstances of any given case.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01615 on 5 August 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.

The Scottish Government recognises the concerns from both faith groups and heritage organisations following the decision of the UK Government to close the UK-wide Listed Places of Worship Grant Scheme. As soon as we were aware of this decision we strongly encouraged the UK Government to rethink their policy position.

We have engaged with key stakeholders, and Historic Environment Scotland to understand the implications for Scotland's listed places of worship. The previous scheme enabled eligible organisations to recover the equivalent of VAT incurred on repairs and maintenance, and its closure may increase costs for congregations undertaking essential works. We are aware that many places of worship face financial pressures, and we continue to assess potential options for support.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01271 on 21 July 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.