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The constraints under which the Scottish Government operates in this area limit what we can request Scottish public bodies or businesses to do. We cannot lawfully impose a blanket ban on companies based solely on the fact that they are on the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights database (“UN Database”). Specifically with regard to public contracts, any action we take must be compliant with national UK and international law such as the WTO Agreement on Government Procurement, of which Israel, like the UK, is a signatory.

What we can do – and have done for the original UN Database - is instruct public bodies to take the UN Database into account in their case by case due diligence. The Scottish Government wrote to Scottish Public Bodies at the time of the publication of the original UN Database, instructing them to take it into account when carrying out their routine human rights due diligence and asking them to provide information on any relationships they had with companies on the Database. The then Minister for Business, Trade, Tourism and Enterprise subsequently wrote to identified companies in June 2022, asking what they were doing to cease the specific activities which had led to their inclusion on the Database.

Following the publication of the revised Database, the Scottish Government has been assessing the options available to it. The revised Database did not add any new companies, and none of the small number of companies identified by Public Bodies through the previous exercise were removed.

Prior to the UK General Election, it was expected that the already tight legal constraints affecting the Scottish Government and Public Bodies in this area would increase, due to the then UK Government’s Economic Activity of Public Bodies (Overseas Matters) (EAPB) Bill.

However, a definitive view could not be taken at that time as the Bill was still subject to amendment. The Bill subsequently fell following the announcement of the General Election. The Bill falling, however, does not change the fact that the Scottish Government is still very constrained in what action we can take, and we are currently considering next steps.

The Scottish Government’s response to FOI 202200290245, on 24 March 2022, sets out the responses from, and any potential issues identified by, the Public Bodies who responded to Scottish Government correspondence asking them to consider the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Database of companies involved in certain activities relating to settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (“UN Database”) in carrying out their human rights due diligence.

The Scottish Government’s response to FOI 202200334471, issued on 9 February 2023, provides the correspondence between the Scottish Government and all companies identified as having a relationship with a Scottish public body, in relation to what they were doing to cease the activities that had led to their inclusion in the UN Database.

In December 2023, given the extremely challenging capital funding position, NHS Boards were instructed to stop any project development spend and instead direct capital budgets towards maintenance of the existing estate and essential equipment and digital replacement. Boards were notified that the Scottish Government does not anticipate starting construction of any new project over the next two years at least.

We are working with all health boards to develop a whole-system infrastructure plan which reflects on the needs for the whole of Scotland and will support continued safe operation of existing facilities and well as determination of longer-term investment priorities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23571 on 13 December 2023. 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 Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government’s statement to Parliament on 3 September outlined the challenging financial situation faced by the Scottish Government following the UK Chancellor's July statement. She confirmed that spending controls are in place to make sure the entire SG budget is being managed prudently. These additional controls set out that any activity undertaken, or commitment made, that generates expenditure in 2024-25 must only proceed if it is truly essential and unavoidable. “Unavoidable” means if the Scottish Government would otherwise breach its legal obligations, or fail to provide essential support to emergency situations, or cause significant economic damage across Scotland. The scale of the savings required means that these exceptional measures are being applied across the whole Government, with all policy areas having to think about what this means for them.

Whilst I had originally set out the intention to make Changing Place Toilets funding available across financial years 2024-25 and 2025-26, reductions in the mental health budget mean we are no longer able to launch the fund in the current financial year. Instead, funding will be reprofiled into future years. I remain committed to increasing the numbers of Changing Places Toilets across Scotland and we are continuing preparatory work to enable the launch of the Fund.

On the 3 September 2024, the Scottish Government pre-budget fiscal update outlined savings measures of £115.8m in the Health and Social Care budget, with funding redirected to support emerging pressures within Health and Social Care, not used for wider SG spending.

A breakdown of the savings can be found at: Scottish Government Pre-Budget Fiscal Update: Letter to Finance Committee - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government expects the cost of cladding remediation work to be met through a combination of responsible developers assessing and remediating their own buildings, consequential funding from the UK Government, and a devolved Building Safety Levy. This effectively matches the funding approach that the UK Government is taking in England.

Scottish Ministers have said they will spend the equivalent value of the £97.1 m received in consequentials on cladding remediation at the time it is appropriate to spend it.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23569 on 13 December 2023. 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.

PriceWaterhouseCoopers LLP were commissioned by Scottish Ministers to carry out this independent assessment. The findings of this assessment have been shared with the Economy and Fair Work Committee.

The document has been published online: Economic Contribution of Grangemouth Refinery | Scottish Enterprise (scottish-enterprise.com).

We remain committed to delivering a Just Transition Plan that reflects the needs of the industrial site operators, workforce and the wider community and anticipate the launch of a draft plan for consultation in the coming months.

We will update the Parliament on the Grangemouth Just Transition Plan in due course.