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Eligibility for our low-income benefits for families with children, including Scottish Child Payment, is not based on income thresholds. To qualify for these payments individuals must generally be in receipt of certain reserved benefits.

Carer Support Payment is the only devolved benefit with an earnings threshold. The Scottish Government’s 2025-26 draft budget increases the earnings threshold to £196.

There are no current plans to increase the income thresholds for the Education Maintenance Allowance. This is on the basis that the Scottish Government has faced its most challenging budgetary settlement since devolution began – a settlement which has not been inflation-proofed, and which has subsequently required difficult decisions to be made, due to the pressures on our public services. Any future changes to the EMA and corresponding budget would need to be considered in this context.

In 2016, an agreement was reached between Scottish Ministers and COSLA on a new strategic funding plan for flood protection schemes. This agreement ensures that from 2016 to 2026, a minimum of £42 million per annum is allocated for flooding capital grants within the local government settlement. Information is provided below on the schemes funded under that agreement.

My December 2025-25 Budget announcement included the commitment to conduct our first five-year review of LBTT by the end of this Parliament, to support an evaluation of key aspects of the tax legislation, including the application of the ADS where exceptional circumstances and events occur.

As part of this review, officials will engage a range stakeholders and members of the public on a range of general and specific relating to the LBTT and Additional Dwelling Supplement legislation.

The upcoming review will in part look to build further understanding on the impact of the ADS where difficult or exceptional circumstances apply, as well as understanding any complexities and uncertainties for the tax system for accommodating any subsequent changes.

The review, which will commence this coming spring, will support decisions in the next Parliament on the case for any legislative changes.

Taking a partnership approach, Scottish Government, at both a ministerial and official level, engaged with a broad range of stakeholders during the development of the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan (ADAP). This engagement was led by the-then Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees, who was the lead Minister for the development of the ADAP.

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands has portfolio responsibility for the Scottish Rural & Islands Youth Parliament (SRIYP), of which the Young Islanders Network are a key member. Ms. Gougeon attended the inaugural SRIYP in November 2023, where delegates worked together to agree a series of priority statements or asks of Scottish Government. These 10 priorities (including housing, transport and skills, education and employment) strongly align with the delivery priorities outlined within the (ADAP).

Ms. Gougeon has met with the SRIYP network twice since November 2023 and remains in close contact with the Network. This includes a parliamentary event in January 2024, where SRIYP delegates were supported to attend with £20k of Scottish Government funding. The group met with relevant Ministers to present their 10 priorities, which were later discussed at a parliamentary debate hosted by Ms. Gougeon and the Deputy First Minister. Following this, an online meeting in November 2024 was hosted, where Ms. Gougeon provided an update to attendees on what action Scottish Government has taken across their 10 priorities.

I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Registration service fees are set by the Registrar General for Scotland with the approval of the Scottish Ministers under The Registration Services (Fees, etc.) (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

Fees contained within the schedules were last amended in 2010 and 2022. These regulations provide instruction for the charges associated with accessing records through the Scotland’s People website.

The fees for inspecting, searching and issuing copies of any records transmitted to the Keeper of the Records of Scotland are set by the Court of Session with consent of Scottish Ministers under the Act of Sederunt (Fees in the National Archives of Scotland) 2005.

In 2022, the Registrar General for Scotland, with the approval of the Scottish Ministers, increased the fees payable for submission of a marriage notice and submission of a notice of a proposed civil partnership from £30 to £45 per party to the intended marriage or civil partnership.

All other statutory fees have remained unchanged since 2020.

I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

NRS operates an information security governance and assurance structure aligned to ISO 27001 and HM Government security framework.

Personnel are vetted and undertake mandatory security and data protection training. NRS routinely uses data protection impact assessments to identify and address privacy risks. Regular IT Health Checks are completed and vulnerabilities remediated. Security event monitoring and alerting is in place. Risk management, asset controls and reporting processes are used to manage technology risk.

NRS has achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification and accreditation as a data processing environment under the Digital Economy Act.

Scottish Government marketing and advertising spend is published each year and can be found at https://www.gov.scot/collections/marketing-spend/ including a breakdown by media type.

The Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group undertakes an annual review of medical training establishments (the number of established training places in each specialty) and makes subsequent recommendations to Scottish Ministers around the need to expand in order to meet increased service demand and future anticipated consultant need. This annual review process has led to year on year increases in additional training places being created across multiple different specialties since 2014, including 47 new specialty training places that will be created in 2025.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) provides a snapshot of the domestic housing stock in each survey year, including the construction age, built form and primary and secondary heating system and fuel.

The SHCS currently records the following heat systems: Boiler, Community Heating, Storage Heaters, Room heaters, Warm Air Systems, Heat Pumps (with and without and MCS certificate), and Room Heater Back Boiler: no Radiators (these are systems which have a solid fuel fire with a back boiler where the back boiler is used only for heating water, and is not connected to radiators for heating the house). As these are the most common types of heating systems in Scotland.

The SHCS does not currently record heating systems, such as fuel cells, hybrid heat pumps and hydrogen ready boilers. However, we review the survey questions annually and these forms of heating will be considered for inclusion in future surveys when they become more prevalent in the Scottish dwelling stock.

Security of supply for gas and electricity is reserved to the UK government and delivered by the National Electricity System Operator (NESO) across the whole of GB, under regulation from Ofgem.

The UK has a reliable gas system that can meet demand and is well-positioned to continue to do so. The UK has a diverse supply of gas, including gas from the North Sea, Norway, and other countries, as well as a large capacity for importing liquefied natural gas (LNG). In addition, the gas industry has well established arrangements to deal with emergency situations concerning gas supply.

As we transition to a net zero energy system and reduce our dependence on fossil fuel generation, long-duration energy storage technologies, including pumped hydro storage, will play a larger role in ensuring a secure and resilient electricity system.