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Section 9 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act) requires the Scottish Ministers to establish a register of child welfare reporters. These may be appointed by the court in cases under section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the key legislation on parental responsibilities and rights, contact and residence) to obtain the views of the child and report on the best interests of the child.

Section 21 of the 2020 Act places a duty on the Scottish Ministers to ensure the availability of child advocacy services in contact and residence cases.

The Scottish Government is taking action in these areas in advance of full implementation:

• We have established a short-life working group on child welfare reporters that will inform further development of policy around the new register and consider how changes from a previous working group are working in practice. The first meeting of the working group took place on 20 November 2024. A note of that meeting will be published in due course.
• In relation to child advocacy services in contact and residence cases, the Scottish Government will hold discussions with key stakeholders in 2025 on what they would like to see in this area.

Implementation of the 2020 Act was discussed at the meeting of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of the Parliament on 10 December. The Scottish Government is considering commencing further sections of the 2020 Act in 2025.

The Scottish Government recognises the critical importance of providing the current and future workforce with high-quality lifelong skills – either acquired through new learning or upskilling and reskilling – and the pivotal role this plays in our plans to unlock Scotland’s green potential. Scotland is already leading the UK in delivering a green jobs revolution, with colleges and universities acting as key anchor points for research, innovation, and training, which will be reflected in the Biodiversity Investment Plan.

We are currently scoping our approach to a review of the Scottish Biodiversity List and will engage with stakeholders on the review. However, our initial view is that public consultation on a revised list would provide limited additional input on what is a fairly technical matter, and is not therefore necessary. Public consultation is not obligated under the relevant legislation and we do not consider that it will add meaningfully to the planned policy development.

There is no place for harassment or abuse in any form in our schools. We published a national framework for schools to help tackle sexual harassment and gender-based violence in March 2024. This framework helps to support schools both to prevent gender-based violence from occurring, and to respond appropriately when it does occur. To support its implementation, in September 2024 Education Scotland ran an information session on the framework for school staff. As part of that, they sought feedback on areas where more bespoke training may be helpful. We will commission an independent review of the framework to establish positive practice and further areas for improvement, before the end of this parliamentary session.

Misogynistic behaviour was identified as an emerging trend within the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research 2023. The relationships and behaviour in schools action plan contains a number of commitments to address this, including Action 10: Children and young people are supported to develop healthy relationships and behaviours, grounded in tolerance and respect. Delivery of this action is supported by our ongoing investment in the school-based peer education programme, Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP), which was awarded £156,000 funding for 2024-25 to tackle gender stereotyping and attitudes that condone violence against women and girls. Earlier this year, Education Scotland, who operate the programme, developed a new MVP scenario on misogyny. In addition, through our Delivering Equally Safe fund, we are also continuing to fund Rape Crisis Scotland’s national sexual violence prevention programme Equally Safe at School which is aimed at local authority secondary schools across Scotland.

As one of the five main drivers of biodiversity loss and a barrier to nature restoration, the Scottish Government takes the control of invasive non-native species (INNS) seriously and we work with a range of partners to minimise their negative impacts.

The Scottish Plan for Invasive Non-Native Species Surveillance, Prevention and Control is a key component of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Delivery Plan which was published on 27 November 2024. We are currently working alongside NatureScot and a range of stakeholders on developing the Scottish Plan for INNS and we intend to publish it during the summer of 2025.

The Plan will build on the actions contained within the GB INNS Strategy on which we are already working closely with the UK and Welsh governments. It will set out in more detail what we intend to do to tackle INNS and will ensure that resources are better focused on preventing and tackling INNS where possible.

Hydrogen creates significant economic opportunities, supporting a just transition, high-quality jobs, and investment while meeting the growing demand in Europe, particularly Germany, for Hydrogen as a green and secure energy source.

Our Equally Safe strategy makes challenges the notion that violence against women and girls is inevitable or acceptable and emphasises the importance of challenging attitudes that underpin violence against women and girls.

We know that it is important that men and boys are seen as part of the solution and that they are involved in the work of prevention. This is why, we continue to fund projects such as White Ribbon Scotland to work with men and boys on the issue through our Delivering Equally Safe fund. I was pleased that my colleague, Mr Hepburn, was able to speak at their recent event which they hosted alongside Zero Tolerance on Wednesday 11 December. It was an important opportunity to highlight the importance of engaging with men to tackle VAWG, and to reinforce the Scottish Government’s commitment to engaging men within our work to prevent violence against women and girls.

We continue to take forward a range of actions in schools to address gender based violence and sexual harassment. For example, Equally Safe at School, Rape Crisis Scotland’s national sexual violence prevention programme and Mentors in Violence Prevention, a peer education programme that gives young people the chance to explore and challenge the attitudes, beliefs and cultural norms underpinning gender based violence, bullying and other forms of violence. We have also published a national framework for schools to help tackle sexual harassment and gender-based violence.

Additionally, within our recently published Equally Safe Delivery Plan, we have committed to developing a public engagement approach to raise awareness of the scale and impact of VAWG.

The Scottish Government is committed to its ambition of delivering 5GW of renewable and low-carbon hydrogen production by 2030, as outlined in our Hydrogen Action Plan. This target harnesses Scotland’s renewable energy potential to produce green hydrogen, supporting domestic decarbonisation and positioning Scotland as a leading exporter.

Delivery of healthcare and the NHS is devolved and therefore work on the safety of and continuous improvement in maternity services in Scotland is the responsibility of the Scottish Government. The National Maternity Safety Ambition was launched in 2015 by the Department of Health and Social Care and applies to maternity services in England only. Officials and professional advisors meet regularly with colleagues across the UK, including from the Department of Health and Social Care in England, to discuss priorities across the UK, such as the Mothers and Babies: Reducing Risk through Audits and Confidential Enquiries across the UK (MBRRACE-UK) and to better understand work underway across each of the four nations.

The National Maternity Safety Ambition in England was launched in 2015. Delivery of healthcare and the NHS is devolved and the Sottish Government is committed to continuous improvement in maternity safety across Scotland, working in partnership with NHS Boards and clinicians and service users, to deliver the best and safest care for mothers and babies. The Scottish Government’s Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) Perinatal strand (formerly MCQIC), part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), was established in 2009 to improve outcomes and reduce variation in maternity services by providing safe, high-quality care for all. The aims of the programme are to reduce stillbirths; understand variation in caesarean birth rates; improve the recognition, response and review of the deteriorating woman, and to reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity.

The Scottish Government has also commissioned HIS to develop standards for maternity services, to support consistency of service design and delivery across Scotland. We continue to work with NHS Boards, clinical leaders, the third sector and national partners to develop our approach in the Scottish context.