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The Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), the source of the Businesses in Scotland publication, is not a public register. The IDBR is a statistical register, built from a range of survey return data, administrative data and estimated data.

The IDBR data are held by the Scottish Government on behalf of the United Kingdom Statistics Authority and are classified as ‘personal information’ according to the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The 2007 Act requires that the Scottish Government must not disclose the personal information, held on behalf of the United Kingdom Statistics Authority, unless directly authorised by the UK National Statistician. Authority will only be given in exceptional circumstances.

Asking businesses permission to publish the information they return on a named basis would very likely result in reduced overall response rates. Additionally it may affect the quality of the data response.

Information on businesses in Scotland is publicly available from the Companies House register. A downloadable snapshot containing basic data for live companies on the Companies House register is available at:

https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/en_output.html

The rules on local connection were changed in November 2022 to give homeless households – like other households – choice and control about where they settle. The SSI in November 2022 stopped referrals of homeless households between Scottish local authorities on the basis of their local connection. Referrals to England and Wales are still permitted and the SSI did not change local connection rules for refugee households. The rules covering refugee households who have just left asylum accommodation are set out in the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003.

Homelessness statistics on local connection following changes to the legislation remain stable with 3% of households seeking homelessness support in an area where they do not have a local connection. The evidence to date shows that people are exercising choice about where they want to live as the legislation intended. We continue to monitor the flow of people moving in and out of each local authority area to inform our understanding of the impact of the legislative change.

The duties that local authorities owe to homeless refugee households were not affected by the November 2022 changes to local connection. It is section 7 of the Homelessness etc.(Scotland) Act 2003, passed by the last Labour / Liberal coalition which outlines that the time spent in Home Office asylum accommodation does not establish a local connection for newly recognised refugees, as the household has not had any choice about where they lived while accommodated by the Home Office. If a household receives a positive asylum decision while living in asylum accommodation in a Scottish local authority and presents as homeless, they cannot be referred to the local authority where they were accommodated by the Home Office on the basis of local connection.

Conversely, Section 199 (6) of the Housing Act 1996 states that a local connection is established if a person was at any time provided with accommodation in that district. This means that people granted refugee status in England and Wales are found to have established a local connection with the authority/authorities where they have resided in asylum accommodation – despite having no choice in where they were placed. This limits where they can make a homelessness application in England and Wales.

A decision by the UK Government in December 2022 to clear the backlog of legacy asylum claims resulted in an increased number of refugee households seeking support, with this increased pressure being most acute in Glasgow. More recently, the Home Office decision (27 August 2025) to end the temporary extension of the move-on period for single adults is likely to exacerbate the pressures being faced by local authorities. The Scottish Government supports the call from Glasgow City Council that the UK Government must provide adequate funding to allow local authorities to support newly recognised refugees and communities.

Scottish Ministers do not want to roll back the rights of homeless households and do not intend to make any further changes to local connection legislation at this time.

The Scottish Government is working with law enforcement partners such as Police Scotland, the National Cyber Security Centre as well as the financial industry in combatting fraud.

Police Scotland has established a cyber and fraud specialist division to enhance their response in Scotland, working with UK law enforcement and partner agencies. They will develop capability through cyber and online training, ensuring support and guidance for officers and staff. We encourage everyone to report suspicious sites to NCSC using the reporting tool on their website. We also encourage anyone who believes they have been the victim of a crime to contact Police Scotland.

Partners will continue to share knowledge and learning around fraud activity. Fraud is committed by a broad range of criminals, from domestic lone actors to complex international organised crime groups.

As recommended in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), Transport Scotland continues to work with Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), Glasgow City Council and other regional partners in the development of Clyde Metro. Transport Scotland is undertaking a project assurance role on the Clyde Metro, which is led by SPT, working alongside Glasgow City Council.

The ongoing stage of development, known as the Case for Investment, includes consideration of access to Glasgow Airport and will inform decisions around network and mode selection. This work is well underway and is currently anticipated to be complete in 2027.

SPT are undertaking on-going engagement with Renfrewshire Council throughout the on-going design development stage and it is anticipated that future engagement will include discussion on the AMIDS South transport links project.

As of 3 September 2025, the Scottish Government no longer has a policy prohibiting the use of public funds to support the manufacture of munitions.

The King’s and Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer (KLTR) has an administrative function only and he does not hold or own property which has fallen to him as bona vacantia or ultimus haeres.

The KLTR already publishes a list of properties which have fallen to the Crown as bona vacantia which are (or were) suitable for consideration through the KLTR’s Ownerless Property Transfer Scheme (OPTS). These properties, including those currently under consideration within the Glasgow City Council area, can be viewed on the KLTR’s website at: Cases | KLTR.

The OPTS was launched in March 2024. During this process, the KLTR circulates information on properties to public bodies, local authorities and communities to ascertain if there is a local interest in taking ownership. The OPTS then provides for the property to be transferred to the applicant at a nominal value where there is a public interest in doing so. OPTS Guidance can be viewed on the KLTR’s website at: OPTS Guidance | KLTR

The KLTR’s website also includes a list of estates which the KLTR has administered (or is presently administering) which appear to have fallen to the Crown as ultimus haeres in the absence of a will or identifiable heirs. This can be viewed at Find an estate | KLTR

Whilst the Scottish Government are aware that Ballantine Casting Ltd is going through liquidation, we were not notified in advance of commercial decisions to appoint the liquidation. The business is not account managed by Scottish Enterprise. The individuals affected by these decisions are always our main priority and the Scottish Government will do everything in its power to help those affected through our initiative for responding to potential redundancy situations, Partnership Action for Continuing Employment (PACE). PACE will work with the liquidators [Johnston Carmichael] to offer direct support to affected employees.

As our national economic development agency, Scottish Enterprise has engaged extensively with Bruntwood SciTech over a number of years, both in relation to the Met Tower development and, most recently, to explore alternative proposals and investments in Glasgow and elsewhere. Scottish Enterprise is not aware of any current plans that the company has to secure an alternative location in the Glasgow area, but stands ready to support should that position change.