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The Scottish Government is committed to free school meal expansion and continues to work with partners in local government.

Officials last met with COSLA to discuss the free school meal expansion programme in July 2024.

Cabinet minutes provide a full account of actions but are not a verbatim record. As such, it is not possible to determine with certainty when or how many times a particular topic has been discussed at Cabinet. The Cabinet discusses policies which relate to education and to child poverty on a regular basis.

Information on the number of P6 & P7 pupils who are in registered for free school meals is published annually, and can be found in table 2.22 of our pupil census 2023 supplementary statistics: Pupil census supplementary statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The results from the most recent seabird census show that many of Scotland’s internationally important seabird populations are suffering from a range of pressures, including climate change, and more recently highly pathogenic avian influenza.

We take these declines extremely seriously, which is why the Scottish Government, supported by NatureScot, is developing a Scottish Seabird Conservation Strategy in partnership with stakeholders, which will drive forward and prioritise action aimed at improving the conservation status of Scotland’s seabirds and increase their resilience to climate change. Work on the strategy is moving at pace with public consultation planned for later this year.

Alongside the strategy, NatureScot is working with partners to investigate the underlying causes of these declines. These include continuing to undertake monitoring and research so that we can better understand the trends in seabird populations, the threats they face and how these can best be managed; work on biosecurity and invasive non-native species to address the risks posed by predators to breeding seabirds; and continuing to contribute to the response to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza through sampling and surveillance of wild birds.

NatureScot also continues to support Scottish Government in taking forward action to meet its commitment to achieve and maintain Good Environmental Status for seabirds. This includes delivering action to minimise, and where possible eliminate, bycatch of sensitive marine species, including seabirds, to ensure the sustainability of our fisheries, as well as supporting ongoing work to ensure the coherence of our marine protected areas network.

Much of this work is supported by funding streams, including the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund and Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund which is managed by NatureScot.

At present, there are no license requests for seabed mining in Scotland’s inshore or offshore waters.

Deep sea mining refers to the exploration for - or extraction of - minerals from the seabed at depths greater than 200 metres. Most of Scotland’s waters of this depth or greater fall within existing MPAs. Existing Conservation and Management Advice for the West of Scotland Marine Protected Area from Joint Nature Conservation Committee: West of Scotland MPA | JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation, which covers the majority or our deep waters and seamounts, advises against seabed mining in such waters.

Any licensing request relating to seabed mining within Scotland’s seas would be subject to the licensing requirements set out in the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 for inshore waters (between 0 and 12 nautical miles), and the UK Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009 for offshore waters (between 12 and 200nm), as well as statutory environmental assessment requirements and the policies set out in Scotland’s National Marine Plan, which covers both inshore and offshore waters. Consideration of any licence application would be based on best available evidence.

Scotland’s National Marine Plan 2015 sets policies for the sustainable development of our seas and marine resources. Aggregates Policy 2 states that decision makers should ensure all the necessary environmental issues are considered and safeguards are in place when determining whether any proposed marine aggregate dredging is considered to be environmentally acceptable. Any licensing request relating to seabed mining in Scotland’s seas would be subject to this policy.

The National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2), which is currently being developed, will support sustainable development of our seas, protect our marine environment, and deliver for our coastal communities. NMP2 is considering our marine economy, local communities, and the environment together by adopting a Blue Economy: A Blue Economy Vision for Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). This will help get the right planning framework in place to balance the need for protection and enhancement of the marine environment, and sustainable development of existing and emerging sectors.

The new National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2) will set out an updated planning framework to support sustainable management of our seas and is being developed with representatives from marine sectors and local communities. NMP2 will consider the requirement for any specific planning policies regarding seabed mining activities in Scotland’s seas and the need for any associated implementation guidance. The UK Withdrawal from the European Union (Scotland) (Continuity) Act 2021 ('the Continuity Act') established the five guiding principles on the environment in law; this includes the precautionary principle. These will be considered as part of the development of NMP2 planning policies. All policies in the draft NMP2 will be subject to statutory assessments to determine the potential impacts on marine sectors, communities and the marine environment and identify any mitigation measures required.

Deep sea mining refers to the exploration for - or extraction of - minerals from the seabed at depths greater than 200 metres. Most of Scotland’s waters of this depth or greater fall within existing Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Existing Conservation and Management Advice for the West of Scotland MPA from the Joint Nature Conservation Committee: West of Scotland MPA | JNCC - Adviser to Government on Nature Conservation (JNCC), which covers the majority or our deep waters and seamounts, advises against seabed mining in such waters. The Scottish Government is working closely with the JNCC on the West of Scotland MPA, this includes projects such as the Managing Impacts of Deep Sea Resource Exploitation or MIDAS Project: Library | MIDAS (eu-midas.net) Any licence applications would be considered on the best available evidence.

Scottish Government officials have attended two Four Nations meetings regarding the ban on single-use vapes within this time period, during which implementation was discussed - on 14 August and 24 July. We have corresponded with the UK Government regarding the implementation of a ban on 9 August, 26 July, 18 July, 16 July, 15 July and 11 July. These discussions have focused on our respective legislative timelines, and on preparing guidance for Business.

The Scottish Budget set out the considerable financial challenges faced for 2024-25. The Scottish Government is committed to delivering vital public services and supporting households, but also has an obligation to balance the budget each year. This requires some difficult decisions and robust spending control.

Ministers made the difficult decision to reduce the ICF budget by 5% on 8 July 2024 and stakeholders were informed on 10 July 2024.

The Investing in Communities Fund (ICF) is a multiyear communities fund that targets our most disadvantaged communities to deliver projects, services and activities that address poverty and disadvantage on their own terms. The second round of the fund invited applications addressing four areas of action:

• tackling poverty and inequality, including child poverty#x200f
• developing and sustaining place based approaches#x200f
• community-led regeneration#x200f
• ensuring a just transition to net zero#x200f

One hundred and five community projects are currently in receipt of ICF round 2 support (2023-2026), receiving a total of £27 million funding.

Link to the projects being supported https://www.gov.scot/publications/investing-in-communities-fund-round-2-approved-awards-2023-2026