The Scottish Government was concerned to hear about the withdrawal of funding from the Notre Dame Centre. We recognise that the potential closure of the Centre as a result will be causing concern for the children and families that use its services. Scottish Government officials have received assurances from the Integrated Joint Board that alternative services will be available and transition plans put in place for those currently using the services provided by the Centre.

Although it is for the IJB to make decisions about the local provision of services they fund, we expect these decisions to be made in consultation with the communities in which they are based. The Scottish Government also expects the IJB to consider the impact this may have on those that use the Centre, particularly vulnerable users, and on other services which may be asked to step in.

The Scottish Government and the whole of the public sector faces a very challenging situation as we continue to manage our finances through the current financial year, in 2025-26 and beyond.

Operating within a fixed budget, we have had to manage Scottish public finances in the face of higher inflation and cost of living pressures, making tough decisions to protect the most vulnerable in society.

As part of the Scottish Government 25/26 budget, Food Standards Scotland (FSS) was given a flat budget. FSS have notified the Scottish Government of a pressure due to increased staffing and delivery costs and the Scottish Government will work with FSS to manage the pressure. This has included the set-up of the FSS policy forum with relevant policy teams across Scottish Government to provide a co-ordinated response to the issues FSS face and facilitates the exchange of soft intelligence and problem solving.

Scottish Government have also committed to review the allocated budget in year.

In 2020 3 cases were referred to the Procurator Fiscal by Food Standards Scotland and one in each year for 2021,2022, 2023 and 2024. In four of the cases the principal charge was reported as culpable and reckless conduct, a serious crime at common law in exposing others, and the public in general, to a significant risk to life or health. Two other cases reported were reported by FSS over the relevant period, but have not been included in the statistics as they relate to animal welfare offences which do not fall within the definition of food crime.

No meetings were held with organisations or stakeholders to discuss the case of For Women Scotland Ltd v The Scottish Ministers prior to the Supreme Court judgment as it is not appropriate for the Scottish Government to comment on live legal proceedings.

Following the Supreme Court ruling on 16th April, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice spoke with Scottish Women’s Aid, Rape Crisis Scotland and Engender on 17 April and the Women’s Rights Network on 22 April to discuss the judgment. The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice also offered a meeting to For Women Scotland on 17 April, but they declined the invite. Subsequently, a new invite has issued and both organisations are in discussion regards a date to meet.

The Scottish Government has no specific plans to carry out a national alcohol needs assessment at the moment, but recognises the benefits of needs assessments to help develop our strategic priories for improving care and support for people impacted by alcohol.

Local areas currently rely on their own specific needs assessments, which we encourage them to undertake. The forthcoming UK-wide clinical guidelines for alcohol treatment will also underline the benefits of local needs assessments.

We are currently engaging with partner organisations including delivery bodies and the voices of those with lived and living experience to identify actions that will help develop and deliver future recovery focused systems of care.

The Scottish Government is constantly working to ensure that local services fully assess local needs to identify unmet need. Some hospitals run alcohol care teams already but there is a need for wider coverage .

This approach has been shown to improve outcomes for people and so we are encouraging local areas to establish teams like these wherever appropriate.

The publication of the UK Clinical Guidelines for Alcohol Treatment later this year will provide local areas with clear guidance to ensure appropriate pathways and treatment services are available for those who need support.

As part of the 2020-21 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government introduced the Green Jobs Fund, an investment of up to
£100 million aimed at supporting new and increased opportunities for green job creation across Scotland.

The Green Jobs Fund supported businesses and their supply chains to help them better transition to a low carbon economy. The support provided by the fund, all of which was capital, aimed to create green employment through investment in equipment, premises, and research and development.

Since its creation, between the Enterprise Agencies and Scottish Ministers, the Green Jobs Fund has provided £38.7 million in grant funding to support 122 projects. Figures provided by the recipients of these awards estimated that these projects will support up to 7354 jobs over the life of the individual projects.

The Green Jobs Fund has been discontinued. In addition to financial pressures associated with its continuation, the Fund formed a relatively small part of the Scottish Government’s broader investment in the transition to net zero. This includes many institutions, funding packages and investment vehicles which provide advice, support, and financial assistance for businesses at the forefront to building Scotland’s green economy.

The Green Industrial Strategy provides further strategic direction on how such investment supports the development, growth and scale-up of existing and new businesses seeking to take advantage of the global opportunities of the transition.

The requirement to provide evidence of letting to assessors to ensure compliance with the thresholds for self-catering holiday accommodation to be included in the valuation roll was introduced from April 2022 to counter a known tax avoidance tactic for second homes.

Assessors undertake annual audits to ensure that self-catering accommodation entered on the valuation roll meets the statutory requirements to be classed as non-domestic property. To provide clarity to self-catering accommodation providers on these requirements, and to provide greater certainty regarding the consequences of failure to meet the requirements, a statutory deadline to respond to requests for evidence was introduced from 1 April 2024. If evidence is not provided to the Assessor by the deadline, or if it is insufficient to establish if the requirements have been met, the Assessor must remove the property from the valuation roll under the current statutory framework.

The Scottish Government has no immediate plans to alter the rules for self-catering properties, however we do keep all policies under review and routinely engage with stakeholders on any issues with the operation of the system and associated legislation.

Statutory responsibility for decisions about the learning estate, including mothballing, rest with local authorities. The Scottish Government issues guidance to support local authorities’ implementation of their statutory responsibilities.

As the First Minister stated on 24 April, we are reviewing current guidance on the mothballing of schools and nurseries to provide greater clarity on whether it is an appropriate action to take. Scottish Government officials have regular engagement with local authorities and their representative bodies on a range of issues, including mothballing, and Ministers are considering a range of local government and stakeholder views on mothballing through the review process.

We will update Parliament further on this work in due course. While the review is underway, the existing guidance on mothballing (which is included in the Statutory Guidance on the Schools Consultation (Scotland) Act 200) remains in place.

Statutory responsibility for decisions about the learning estate, including mothballing, rest with local authorities. The Scottish Government issues guidance to support local authorities’ implementation of their statutory responsibilities.

As the First Minister stated on 24 April, we are reviewing current guidance on the mothballing of schools and nurseries to provide greater clarity on whether it is an appropriate action to take. Scottish Government officials have regular engagement with local authorities and their representative bodies on a range of issues, including mothballing, and Ministers are considering a range of local government and stakeholder views on mothballing through the review process.

We will update Parliament further on this work in due course. While the review is underway, the existing guidance on mothballing (which is included in the Statutory Guidance on the Schools Consultation (Scotland) Act 200) remains in place.