Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment. This includes a range of Scottish Government funding such as the Parental Employability Support Fund.

Since February 2022, statistics have been reported by totality of all funds and as such, no breakdowns for Parental Employability Support are available.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support by all parents are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.

Over the course of this Parliament, the Scottish Government has invested almost £1.7bn in our Enterprise Agencies. In 2023-24, the three agencies were able to help companies unlock over £2 billion of capital investment.

As part of our Green Industrial Strategy, the Scottish Government has committed to strategic investment of up to £500 million over five years in order to leverage £1.5 billion of private investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to growing the offshore wind sector.

We continue to ensure that Scotland is seen as an attractive investment opportunity, and also refer you to Parliamentary Question response S6W-36526 on 29 April 2025 which offers further information.

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 aim of the four-day working week (4DWW) public sector pilot is to enhance collective understanding of the benefits and costs of implementing a 4DWW in the public sector.

Prior to the beginning of the pilot, there was a review of economic literature related to shorter working weeks, and this informed modelling of different scenarios for reduced hours of work across the economy. The modelling demonstrated how the impact of reduced hours could be offset by productivity gains or increased investment, consistent with the economic literature. As such, the pilot has been carefully designed and implemented in order to capture a range of evaluation metrics to assess the environmental, health and wellbeing impacts and efficiency gains, that a four-day working week could bring.

The pilot will conclude with a report on findings, which will be published in due course.

The Scottish Government will continue to provide vital assistance to enable older people to heat their homes, to help disabled people live independent lives and will keep thousands of children out of poverty. The Scottish Government is committed to doing all it can to ensure that the finances remain on a sustainable trajectory. We have delivered a balanced budget every year since 2007, while taking forward action to improve the overall sustainability of the public finances. Scottish Ministers have been clear that this Government will continue to direct resources to the most impactful interventions to support our priorities. We will continue to drive forward our public sector reform programme to maximise the efficiency and effectiveness of our public services.

The Scottish Government’s Adoption Vision Statement, published in November 2024, highlights the need for continued and lifelong support for all those affected by adoption.

Adoption support should include a range of multi-disciplinary universal and specialist services. Under the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, local authorities have a duty to assess someone’s needs for adoption support services and then provide that support.

In 2024-25, the Scottish Government provided £790,000 to organisations delivering support to those affected by adoption, including adopted children and young people and their families, adult adoptees and those working in the adoption sector. This funding has supported: a national helpline and support for adoptive families; national good practice guides on permanence; support for professionals and practitioners working in the adoption sector, as well as delivery of the Adoption Contact Register. The Adoption Vision Statement makes clear our commitment to work in collaboration with stakeholders to improve the availability and consistency of post-adoption support in Scotland.

Since 2007 we have completed ten major trunk road upgrades, including on the A830, A82, A9, and A96, improving the safety and reliability of these routes for roads users across the Highlands, Islands and beyond.

We opened new stations at Conon Bridge and Inverness Airport, and our investment in Scotland’s Railway has allowed for improved frequency and journey times on the Highland Mainline and between Inverness and Aberdeen.

Orkney and Shetland residents receive a 30% discount on ferry fares, while Road Equivalent Tariff saves passengers around £25 million per year in total.

Over 57,000 young people across the Highlands and Islands have benefited from free bus travel, with more than 9.2 million journeys made since the Under 22’s scheme launched.

Transport provision has improved, and will continue to improve, as we introduce new vessels to our ferry networks, and deliver further upgrades to key trunk roads and public transport infrastructure.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has a statutory duty set out in the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 to secure the coherent provision by the post-16 education bodies (as a whole) of a high quality of fundable further education and fundable higher education.

I can announce today that Scottish Ministers have decided that a direct award should be made to CalMac Ferries Limited. The due diligence work has concluded there is no financial, operational or legal impediment to proceeding with a Teckal-compliant direct award of CHFS3.

This is a unique opportunity to change the emphasis from a commercially driven arrangement to a public-focused service wholly directed at meeting the important and particular needs of the communities it serves. Discussions will continue with staff, island residents, businesses and communities and trade unions on the arrangements so that the new contract reflects local needs and interests. Transport Scotland is now working closely with CalMac Ferries Ltd on the necessary arrangements for commencement of the new contract on 1 October 2025. I will ensure that Parliament is kept updated about progress on those new arrangements.

Taken together with our ongoing investment in new vessels and infrastructure, this will improve the overall resilience and capacity of these services, particularly for the future, as set out in the recently published Islands Connectivity Plan.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-22819 on 23 November 2023. 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