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The Scottish Government recognises there is a gap in protection for seasonal workers and it is something we are very keen to address as urgently as we can.

We are working to gain a better understanding of what is required from the Scottish Government.

All points raised and all routes will be considered to ensure we utilise what will be the best path to take to introduce new standards.

Data on the number of coordinated support plans by sector and local authority between 2007-2024 are published in the Pupil Census supplementary statistics: Pupil census supplementary statistics - gov.scot

Statistics prior to 2007 are not available.

Specific data on breakfast provision expenditure from Pupil Equity Funding in schools is not held centrally.

Since Pupil Equity Funding’s introduction in 2017-18, over £1 billion has been allocated to Scotland’s schools, empowering headteachers to take the best approaches that suit the needs of their pupils, including using it to support breakfast clubs, to improve readiness to learn and help close the poverty-related attainment gap.

Across the country we continue to trust and empower Scotland's headteachers to use this extra funding to support their pupils - whether through extra support staff, family link workers or through breakfast provision, for example. The PEF Report, published in May, highlights some of the ways Headteachers are investing Pupil Equity Funding to improve outcomes for children impacted by poverty. Within this report there are various examples of schools using PEF to support a breakfast club, such as Easter Carmuirs Primary School’s “Breakfast for All” programme, as well as Castlemilk High School’s work on studying during breakfast clubs.

We are also investing £3 million to expand and enhance breakfast club provision across Scotland through our Bright Start Breakfasts fund – which supports 20,000 children across 490 breakfast clubs to get a healthy start to their day and put more money in family’s pockets by delivering real savings.

The following table gives the number of households who received support through the Warmer Homes Scotland (WHS) scheme in the financial year 2024-25, broken down by local authority area.

The Scottish Law Commission published its report on mandatory owners’ associations on 11 December 2025. The Scottish Government will now fully consider the contents of this report before setting out the next steps.

Funding for local government is distributed to councils on the basis of a needs-based formula agreed with COSLA on behalf of all 32 local authorities. Any changes to that funding, including new funding or changes to distribution, are subject to formal financial governance processes through the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Officers’ Settlement and Distribution Group (SDG). SDG recommendations are then subject to political sign-off from Scottish Ministers and COSLA Leaders.

This mechanism allows for the costs of targeted interventions to be shared across Local Authorities if Leaders accept recommendations from SDG to do so.

Similarly, in the past the Scottish Government has sought to prioritise funding for specific Local Authorities to reflect unique situations or circumstances or to recognise their contribution to the roll-out of national policies such as Ukraine resettlement funding. However, it is important to note that targeting of funding in this way can be at odds with the principles set out in the Verity House Agreement.

The vast majority of funding to Local Government is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. Should councils wish to work together to share costs on a regional or national basis, they are at liberty to do so outside the auspices of SDG.

Local authorities must use the financial resources available to them as efficiently as possible to ensure the best possible value. How this is done is a matter for each council.

The Scottish government has provided local government in Scotland with record funding of over £15.1 billion, an increase of over £1 billion or 5.5 per cent in real terms compared to 2024-25. Decisions on the use of reserves for specific services are rightly the responsibility of councils to take where it is prudent and sustainable to do so.

The Scottish Government will continue to work in partnership with local government to address the challenges facing councils and ensure we are operating sustainable people centred public services that communities expect and deserve.

The final Retail Industry Leadership Group meeting of this year took place on the morning of 26 November, prior to the announcement of the UK budget, so no discussions took place at that time. However, we anticipate this will be a topic of discussion at the next ILG meeting, taking place in the first quarter of 2026.

The Tax Advisory Group (TAG)’s most recent meeting took place on 21 October 2025, prior to the UK Government’s budget on 26 November 2025. The group’s final meeting of this Parliament is expected to take place in early 2026.

The minutes for TAG meetings are published at Tax Advisory Group - gov.scot

Ministers regularly discuss matters of importance including budget priorities and the views of stakeholders in the run-up to the Scottish Budget. As is normal, decisions on non-domestic rates policy for 2026-27 will be set out in the Scottish Budget on 13 January 2026.

Legislation and regulations relating to electricity networks are reserved to the UK Government, with the National Energy System Operator (NESO) responsible for the strategic approach to the development of the electricity system across Great Britain.

The Scottish Government has no powers to direct network companies to prioritise one technology or route over another when developing their build plans.

Network companies are regulated by Ofgem and when developing project proposals they must give due consideration to their license obligations, which require them to be economic and efficient in respect of costs to the consumer.