Seòmar agus comataidhean

The majority of funding to Scotland is not ring-fenced by the UK Government, with decisions on how money is spent in Scotland made through the Scottish Budget process including in-year Autumn and Spring budget revisions.

In line with the principles of the Verity House Agreement, the Scottish Government does not ring fence funding it provides to local government.

The 2025-26 budget delivered record funding of over £15.1bn for Local Government, who are responsible for the enforcement of existing legislation on underage sales, illicit tobacco and vapes. This a real terms increase of 5.5 per cent.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the UK Government on community benefit and shared ownership policy and continues to press for a mandatory scheme for mature onshore technologies, alongside a robust GB-wide voluntary framework for emerging technologies.

Artificial grass pitches play an important role in the delivery of sport and physical activity across Scotland, helping the nation to lead more active, healthy lives.

The Scottish Government works with Welsh and UK Governments under the preliminary Common Framework on Chemicals and Pesticides, to identify and address chemical issues across Great Britain under relevant regulations, including UK REACH.

Microplastics was identified as a priority issue for consideration under the UK REACH restriction process in 2021. We agreed with UK Government and Welsh Government that an evidence project would be undertaken, led by Defra, on the risks and possible mitigation measures for the use of intentionally added microplastics in Great Britain.

Following the publication of the report earlier this year, we are still in discussions with Welsh Government and UK Government on next steps.

The Scottish Government has not had any recent discussions with UK Ministers regarding whale and dolphin hunts in the Faroe Islands, although officials do have engagement on this and other matters.

International negotiations and membership of organisations such as IWC are a reserved matter for the UK Government. However we fully support the UK Government and International Whaling Commission (IWC) in seeking to secure a permanent worldwide ban, and in continuing to call on all countries who practice any form of whaling, to cease these operations and enforce the worldwide ban.

International negotiations and membership of organisations such as International Whaling Commission (IWC) are a reserved matter for the UK Government. However, the Scottish Government is fully committed to the protection of iconic marine wildlife such as whales, dolphins, and porpoise. We therefore fully support the UK Government and IWC in seeking to secure a permanent worldwide ban, and in continuing to call on all countries who practice any form of whaling, to cease these operations and enforce the worldwide ban.

As part of the annual UK-Faroe Islands fisheries negotiations, officials continue to work with the UK Government and raise this topic with Faroe Islands officials.

As outlined in the UK/ Faroe Islands Fisheries Framework Agreement ‘The Contracting Parties shall cooperate with a view to achieving the objective of ensuring the long-term conservation and sustainable use of marine living resources and, in doing so, safeguarding the ecosystems in which these resources occur’

As part of the annual fisheries agreement, when Faroese vessels fish in the UK waters they must comply with all relevant UK/Scottish legislation. This includes compliance with legislation governing Marine Protected Areas and Future Catching Policy, and the protection of cetacean populations.

We recognise the pressures facing the college sector, which have been set out clearly by both Audit Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), and I will continue to work collaboratively with the college sector on those challenges.

Despite the challenging financial climate during the current financial year, the Scottish Government is investing more than three quarters of a billion pounds in our 24 colleges to support a wide range of skills and qualifications, including apprenticeships. The most recent SFC allocations provided a 2.6 per cent increase in teaching funding for 2025-26 and an increase of almost 5 per cent in capital maintenance to help colleges to invest in the learning experience of students and in the skills that Scotland needs for the future.

a) As a result of the Government’s investment and our approach to the education system, 93 per cent of young people who leave school go on to positive destinations such as work and further training, 9 months after the of the school year.

b) Faced with the most unprecedented financial pressures since devolution, we have maintained a responsive and agile college workforce, which is critical for adapting to evolving demands and ensuring long-term sustainability. Throughout recent periods of challenge and change, college staff across Scotland have upheld a strong reputation for professionalism, adaptability and commitment to learner outcomes.

c) Decisions made by the UK Government since the financial crash in 2008, and their overall austerity policy position since 2010, continue to have a profound and negative impact on the finances available to the Scottish Government, the economy, and to the college sector. In recent years this challenging scenario has been exacerbated by increased national insurance costs, high energy costs and high inflation. Rising national insurance contributions have added over £11 million of extra cost on to our colleges. The Scottish Government is seeking to mitigate the impact of these costs by providing an additional £5.5 million in this current financial year, but the added costs to our public sector from increased national insurance contributions are not helping us to realise our potential for economic growth.

The Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) provides guidance for the public on how to exercise their access rights responsibly. Having a fire or BBQ is an activity covered by access rights in certain circumstances. However, the circumstances are limited and the SOAC clearly sets out when and where it would not be considered responsible to have a fire, including:

• when - such as periods of high or extreme fire risk; and
• where - such as in woodlands, on peat soils, and on farmland;

and guidance on how to have a fire responsibly.

NatureScot, the National Access Forum (NAF) and the national Visitor Management Co-ordination Group also undertake other activity to promote responsible behaviour with respect to fires and BBQs, such as:

• A fires messaging framework to ensure national consistency in messaging which includes very clear “no fires” at times of high or extreme fire risk.
• Fires and BBQs in the outdoors guidance for managers, rangers and land managers
• Media campaigns annually promoting the SOAC and fires messaging at times of high or extreme fire risk.

Scottish Fire and Rescue Service and the Scottish Wildfire Forum also provide Wildfire Danger Assessments which help prioritise communication and engagement activity.

We are responding to investor interest which has identified data centre sites that utilise our renewable energy sources while exploring opportunities to recycle waste heat from these facilities into the wider community. While data centres are very large consumers of energy, Scotland’s abundant renewable energy generating capacity presents an opportunity for the country to become a leader in green data centres. Local authorities will assess any planning application for data centres in the first instance. As a matter of law, all planning applications must be determined in accordance with the development plan, unless material considerations indicate otherwise. Application of planning judgement to the circumstances of an individual situation remains essential to all decision making, informed by principles of proportionality and reasonableness. Should Scottish Ministers be asked to make a final decision, then similar processes would be observed.

The Scottish Government will be sending a delegation to Brazil led by myself, alongside three supporting officials. The Scottish Government’s key priorities include engaging with partners to strengthen subnational climate cooperation, promoting Scotland’s domestic climate and energy achievements as well as our successful climate justice and loss and damage programming and advocating for greater recognition of states, regions and devolved governments within global climate policies and processes and for the scaling up of good quality climate finance that meets the needs of the most vulnerable.

My visit to COP30 will include engagement with Regions4 and Under2. This will deliver on our Programme for Government commitment to lead on climate action internationally, using our leadership roles in Regions4 and Under2 to bring devolved governments together to agree ambitious actions.