Chamber and committees

Information on Ministerial engagements is routinely published on the Scottish Government website and can be found at: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot. Minutes of Ministerial meetings are not published routinely.

I last met with the BBC on 27 January 2025 for an introductory meeting with the new BBC Scotland Director. This meeting was arranged at my request to explore how the BBC can improve its support for Scotland-based productions and grow our broadcasting sector. The First Minister had an introductory meeting with the new BBC Scotland Director on 20 February. I have no future meetings currently scheduled with the BBC.

Over the last five years, several matters within my portfolio have been discussed with the BBC, including: plans and opportunities in Scotland; the BBC’s annual report and reports published by the regulator, Ofcom; the Media Bill and subsequent Media Act 2024; the BBC’s delivery of programmes and skills training; and the BBC’s provision of services and plans to grow the broadcasting sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Biodiversity Strategy sets out a range of ‘conditions for success’ required to ensure its Strategic Outcomes are achieved, including securing the necessary investment. The Biodiversity Investment Plan is therefore an important element of our Strategic Framework for biodiversity, setting out actions we will take to improve the flow of investment into nature restoration projects. The Biodiversity Investment Plan was published on 26 February 2025 and is available at https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836910640.

Scotland was the first country in the world to run a dedicated Year of Young People in 2018. It aimed to inspire Scotland through our young people by celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and on the international stage.

During Year of Young People 2018 the Scottish Government made a commitment to give young people in Scotland greater opportunities to have their voices heard and listened to by decision makers.

That commitment has been honoured. Last year, Scotland became the first country in the UK and the first devolved nation in the world to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into its domestic law. Among the rights in the UNCRC is the right for all children under the age of 18 to express a view in relation to decisions that affect them, and for their views to be given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity.

As set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, we are committed to ensuring that children and young people across Scotland have access to actively participate in decision making processes, which directly affect them. We recognise the importance of meaningful and robust engagement with children and young people so that they are empowered, involved and included. This means working in partnership with them, their representative organisations and other public bodies, to ensure that their voices are central to informing policy that is child friendly, youth led, inclusive and representative.

In addition, recognising the shared responsibility to respect and protect children’s rights and embed child rights practice into all of our everyday work, the Scottish Government has published non-statutory guidance on Taking a children's human rights approach: guidance to assist this work.

The Scottish Government’s own commitment to meaningfully engage with children and young people is demonstrated by the annual meetings between children and young people and the Scottish Government Executive Team and Cabinet. These provide an opportunity for decision makers at the highest level of government to hear to the voices of children and young people and understand the issues that matter most to them.

Work since 2018 has also included initiatives to celebrate the contribution that young people make to society. This has included the Scottish Government’s Saltire Awards, which celebrate youth volunteering, and the Young Scot Awards, which celebrate the outstanding achievements of young people in Scotland.

There are therefore no current plans for future Themed Years, or to repeat another dedicated Year of Young People. Instead the Scottish Government will continue to celebrate the contribution that young people make, strengthen their voices, and importantly ensure their views continue to be heard directly by decision makers.

The powers required to legislate in respect of company acquisition and ownership are reserved to the UK Parliament.

Growing the economy has been identified as one of the Scottish Government’s four strategic priorities. Our approach to growing Scotland’s economy requires balance. It is important that we focus on both strengthening Scotland’s domestic industries and ensuring our economy is open and internationally focused. Attracting foreign investment that aligns with our values and supports our net-zero goals helps create jobs and prosperity for Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises the economic importance of the Scotch Whisky industry, with over 150 distilleries, employing around 20,000 full time equivalent staff and exporting £5.4 billion worth of products globally.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials have a close and collaborative working relationship with the Scotch Whisky Association, and have regular engagement with them to discuss areas of mutual interest and explore how best to support the sector.

Our 2025-26 budget includes funding of over £300 million for heat and energy efficiency measures. This includes for the Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme which is a significant driver of heat pump installations. Since April 2023, the scheme has supported the installation of over 4,000 heat pumps and paid out over £50 million of funding for these measures.

The Green Heat Installer Engagement Programme supports businesses to become accredited in the installation of heat pumps, while the New Build Heat Standard will boost heat pump demand for new build properties.

We are considering issues raised in response to our Heat in Buildings Bill consultation and will confirm next steps as soon as practicable.

The Scottish Government remains committed to restricting the sale of horticultural peat as part of its commitment to environmental protection and climate change mitigation. We continue to work with gardeners, growers, environmental organisations and the UK and devolved governments to understand and overcome challenges, including those imposed by the UK Internal Market Act, as we explore all legislative options to implement effective restrictions as soon as feasible.

The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining public finances on a sustainable trajectory. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public services is a key strand of the Public Service Reform programme, which reports to Parliament on a regular basis.

Accountable Officers for all public bodies or portfolio within the Scottish Government have a personal responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the finances under their stewardship and for the economic, efficient and effective use of all related resources. This includes being personally answerable to Parliament for the exercise of their functions. This is set out in the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 and the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

The Scottish Government has no plans to incur the costs associated with the establishment of a new executive agency to duplicate the work already being undertaken by Accountable Officers and Ministers.

The role of the National Specialist Services Committee (NSSC) is not to "sign off" procedures. Instead, it provides oversight and governance for the commissioning of new specialist services and networks, reviews potential decommissioning of existing services and undertake an annual prioritisation process in relation to service business cases for development.

Numbers of prioritised procedures by NSSC are provided below:

a) Prioritisation by NSSC for the last 10 years:

Scottish Government are committed to providing an additional £250 million over the current parliamentary term to reduce drug deaths and improve the lives of people who use drugs and alcohol.

The increase in funding of £2.5 million to the alcohol and drugs budget announced in the budget revision will allow us to go further and build on our National Mission on Drugs. £1 million of this will specifically support work by Aberlour to support women in the peri-natal period. This additional funding will allow more women and infants to receive the support they need during this crucial period. £1.5 million is for broader alcohol and drug services and will allow us to support even more people to achieve their own recovery. Details of how the additional 2025-26 funding will be invested will be communicated in due course.

The Scottish Government will continue to pursue effective deer management that will help secure our climate and nature objectives, on land owned by the Scottish Government and other land. This includes changes that are being made to deer legislation through the Natural Environment (Scotland) Bill, implementing recommendations of the Deer Working Group, and progressing deer management priorities set by the Strategic Deer Board.