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This is a matter for individual public bodies. This information is not held centrally.

This is a matter for individual public bodies. This information is not held centrally.

Neonatal Care pay and leave is currently a matter that is reserved to the UK Parliament and statutory guidance, including that on parental eligibility, is provided by the relevant UK department.

Local authorities are entirely separate entities from the Scottish Government. Their powers are set out in statute and, it is up to each local authority to manage its own day to day business. As such, the Scottish Government does not hold information on the provision of guidance on parental eligibility for Neonatal pay and leave.

The member may wish to contact local authorities directly for further information.

Local authorities are entirely separate entities from the Scottish Government. Their powers are set out in statute and, it is up to each local authority to manage its own day to day business, including their own parental leave policies. As such, the Scottish Government does not hold information on the provision or uptake of statutory or enhanced paternity leave and pay across local authorities.

When corporate devices are no longer required for operational use, we follow a structured and secure disposal process to ensure data protection and environmental compliance. This includes:

• Assessment: Devices are reviewed to determine whether they are eligible for redeployment, reuse, or disposal.
• Data Sanitisation: All devices are securely wiped using industry-leading data erasure software that complies with internationally recognised standards, and UK-specific requirements such as GDPR and NCSC (National Cyber Security Council) guidance. This process ensures that all data is permanently and irreversibly removed from the device, with tamper-proof erasure certificates generated for audit and compliance purposes.

Reused or Recycled: Devices not fit for redeployment are either reused or recycled. Reused devices may be sold through approved channels or donated to approved third-sector organisations. Devices offered for sale are sold at auction by a contracted supplier. The specifics of each purchaser are not tracked. Donated devices are provided to third-sector organisations for continued use where possible, although supply chain constrictions following COVID-19 have interrupted donations in some years.

Remaining devices are recycled through certified e-waste partners. As noted above, whether resold, donated, or recycled devices are only ever disposed of after being fully wiped of all data.

The following table gives a breakdown of laptop and desktop devices disposed of since 2020. The first column displays the year while the next two differentiate between laptop and desktop devices. The remaining columns show the total number of both device types either resold, recycled, or donated. The donated column also indicates the recipients of devices for that year.

All mobile phones returned for disposal are not eligible for reuse, therefore no data is available.

In 2025-26, the Scottish Government committed £975,000 to the National AI Adoption Programme, reflecting its ongoing support for the responsible and inclusive uptake of AI across Scotland’s business community.

Of this total, £290,000 will be delivered as direct grant support to businesses. This includes £200,000 for AI Transformation Grants, which are aimed at helping SMEs discover, explore and implement AI solutions that can drive significant change within their organisations. An additional £90,000 will fund AI Exploration Vouchers, designed to support businesses at the early stages of their AI journey by enabling them to test and explore potential use cases.

No funding has been allocated to loans within the 2025-26 programme. The remainder of the budget will be used to deliver a range of complementary support activities — including expert advice, engagement events and targeted outreach — to help build confidence, capability and awareness around AI adoption across the wider economy.

As set out in the response to S6W-40750, £98.6 million (98%) was spent in 2024-25. Of that, £70.1 million (71%) went to local government. The remaining £28.5 million (29%) was spent on the delivery of Fair Start Scotland, supporting the total operating costs of the Directorate for Jobs & Wellbeing Economy, and towards progressing Fair Work.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government is working with partners, including the college and university sector, to deliver the ten-year Entrpreneurial Campus Blueprint. We continue to align this work with existing policies such as Techscaler, the Innovation Strategy and the Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund to drive change. This year, we are also investing £700k to accelerate the implementation of the recommendations by funding four key projects.

Each project includes evaluation metrics, and we are also making use of existing reporting tools such as the as the Knowledge Exchange and Innovation Fund reporting undertaken by the Scottish Funding Council. Outcomes from the funded projects will be reported through established channels, including the National Strategy for Economic Transformation annual report.

There are no current plans to introduce private verification in Scotland. Local authorities are appointed by Scottish Ministers as verifiers to administer the building standards system for their own geographical area. The appointments are conditional on verifiers meeting the requirements set out in Operating and Performance Frameworks.

The Grenfell Inquiry’s Phase 2 report recommended that an independent panel consider whether or not it is in the public interest for building control functions to continue to be performed by those who have a commercial interest in the process, as is the case in England.

At outset, budget for Employability Level 2 was £102.8 million, £2.5m was transfer out to Finance and Local Government portfolio to support Employability Child Poverty co-ordinators across 32 local authorities.

1. Of the remaining budget, £98.6 million (98%) was spent in 2024-25.

2. Of that £70.1 million (71%) went to local government.