Chamber and committees

Language is fundamental to all aspects of refugee integration. The findings of the British Council study, Language, Learning and Belonging: Practice, Policy and Refugee Voice, reinforce the importance of supporting language learning as a key element of successful integration. The Scottish Government will continue to work closely with partners to develop the next New Scots Delivery Plan, ensuring that key priorities, including language education continue to be addressed. Lived experience involvement in the New Scots Core Group, which is chaired by Professor Alison Phipps, who is also one of the co-authors of this report, ensures that the voices and contributions of New Scots are at the centre of this work.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital role that independent and community sector care at home providers play in delivering high-quality care and support across Scotland.

As social care reforms are developed and implemented, we will continue to engage closely with providers, people with lived experience, local government and other partners to explore opportunities to create a more cohesive, sustainable and effective social care system. The Scottish Government is approaching this work with an open mind and no specific measures have been ruled in or out at this stage.

Consideration of how best to support a diverse, sustainable provider landscape, including independent and community sector providers, will be considered as part of this ongoing work. Any specific measures will be considered as reform proposals are developed.

Social housing waiting lists are not managed by the Scottish Government. Social housing is housing owned and managed by public authorities (mainly councils) and housing associations (registered social landlords or RSLs). Social housing landlords should review their housing lists regularly to ensure that they have accurate and up-to-date information about their applicants, this helps applicants receive the correct priority for housing efficiently.

The following table provides the number of NHS Scotland compensation claims managed through the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS), and the amount reimbursed in relation to those claims, from 2015-16.

Earlier reporting recorded the number of reimbursements rather than claims. As a claim can result in more than one reimbursement, the two measures are not directly comparable.

The information requested requires further collation and verification. I will write to the member as soon as this work is complete, and a copy of that correspondence will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 66908).

The 13,500 figure is not a recent proposal and the UK Government has not provided an updated plan.

As the Care Inspectorate is an independent non-departmental public body, it operates at arm’s length from Government. The Care Inspectorate therefore issues its own guidance independently from the Scottish Government to maintain its role as an impartial and objective regulator.

The 13,500 figure referred to is not a recent proposal. While UK Government Ministers have indicated that they continue to pursue a policy of widening dispersal across the UK they have not provided an updated plan to set out any current targets.

The Scottish Government is clear that Scotland is committed to playing our part in supporting people seeking asylum. That includes participating in asylum dispersal by taking a proportionate population share, and this needs to be managed effectively by the UK Government through engagement with local authorities and devolved public services. The UK Government also needs to provide necessary funding to ensure that people and communities can be supported at all stages of the asylum process.

The Scottish Government recognises the significant contribution that independent and voluntary sector care at home providers make to Scotland's social care system and to local communities. As at 31 December 2025, there were 77,080 people employed in housing support/care at home services in Scotland, three quarters of whom were in the voluntary (41%) and private (33%) sectors, supporting local employment and the delivery of care and support in communities across the country.

Independent and voluntary sector providers play an important role in delivering care and support services, contributing both to local economies and to the resilience and sustainability of community based care.

As set out in the Programme for Government, the Scottish Government will undertake a period of intensive dialogue with local government and other partners to inform consideration of future social care reform options. The Scottish Government is approaching this work with an open mind and no decisions have been taken on specific reform proposals. Any future proposals will be developed in consultation with relevant partners, including providers and people with lived experience.

The £2 bus fare cap which is now operational in the Highlands and Islands and Strathclyde areas is available to all, not just residents, and is supporting everyday and leisure journeys in these areas, while encouraging greater use of public transport and contributing to our climate objectives. While there are no plans to limit passenger eligibility for the bus fare cap scheme, monitoring of a number of factors including passenger uptake and operational costs will help to inform the development of a national scheme.

In order to be eligible for the National Concessionary Travel Schemes, individuals must be resident in Scotland. These Scotland-wide free bus travel schemes provide access to free travel on registered local and long- distance bus services for everyone under 22, 60 and over and with an eligible disability. With over 3 million journeys every week, these schemes are helping people across Scotland cut costs for essential, every day and leisure travel, making sustainable travel a more attractive option and supporting people with the cost of living.