The Scottish Government has been working with CoSLA to look at options for removing non residential care charging. Given pressures being faced across the system, this has focussed on financial analysis but has also included modelling on potential increases in the number of people accessing social care should charges be removed.

The Scottish Government understands concerns regarding the withholding of cost information for publicly funded care home places under claims of commercial confidentiality. While commercial interests are protected under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), such exemptions are subject to a public interest test. While respecting legitimate commercial interests, the Scottish Government encourages public authorities and care providers to adopt best practices in information sharing

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025. 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 S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025. 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

Since 2009, the Scottish Government has provided almost £3.3 million to support the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz programme.

The programme promotes and embeds learning about and remembrance of the Holocaust. Since 2009, 5,595 Scottish students have participated in the project as well as 660 Scottish teachers.

395 schools or 76% of all eligible schools from across Scotland’s 32 local authorities have participated.

sportscotland, our national agency for sport, continues to engage strategically with local authorities and island communities to identify opportunities to deliver improved local facility provision for sport and physical activity.

The Scottish Government recognises the commitment required from young athletes to develop and pursue their sporting ambitions, appreciating that this can place additional demands on athletes and families, such as time and money. Sportscotland’s Athlete Travel Award Scheme (ATAS), run in partnership with Shetland, Orkney, Western Isles and Highland local authorities, is a key programme that helps to support athletes with those specific challenges. Successful applicants to the ATAS scheme benefit from up to £1,500 to support travel and accommodation costs, gaining better access to competitive and developmental opportunities.

The Scottish Government has also made significant investment to ensure that ferry fares are affordable, including the introduction of Road Equivalent Tariff (RET), a 50% discount on school bus fares, and, from 23 June 2025, an extension to the existing 4 free journeys per year scheme to include 16 to 21 year olds.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

There are currently no plans at present to update The Prison and Young Offenders Institutions (Scotland) Rules 2011.

SPS focus remains on addressing the current population pressures across our estate as we will continue to work with the Scottish Government to achieve a sustainable long-term position concerning the management of the rising prison population in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 2025. 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 is working with COSLA to explore possible options for removing non-residential social care charges within the current budget settlement as part of ongoing social care improvement and reform activity.

Under Scots law, there are established legal avenues for addressing concerns arising from deaths in the prison estate.

The Inquiries into Fatal Accidents and Sudden Deaths etc. (Scotland) Act 2016 requires a Fatal Accident Inquiry (FAI) to be held where the deceased was in legal custody at the time of death. This requirement arises unless the Lord Advocate is satisfied that the circumstances of the death have been sufficiently established during the course of another formal investigation, such as a criminal investigation. FAIs are designed to establish the circumstances of a death and to consider what steps might be taken to prevent other deaths in similar circumstances, including identifying any defects in systems or practices that contributed to the death.

Additionally, individuals employed by Crown bodies can be prosecuted for health and safety offences. There are also relevant statutory offences that could apply following a death in custody, most notably, corporate homicide under the UK-wide Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007, for which the Scottish Ministers, via the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), could potentially be held criminally liable.

There are currently no plans to bring forward legislative proposals in this area given the existing Parliamentary timetable.

In consultation with the Lord Advocate, I have commissioned an independent review of the FAI system to focus on improving the efficiency, effectiveness and trauma-informed nature of investigations into deaths in prison custody. The review will also identify the specific barriers that families face in engaging with the process and propose concrete solutions to shortened timescales. From 7 April 2025 close family members who are involved in deaths in custody FAIs also now have access to non-means-tested legal aid.