Seòmar agus comataidhean

Support has been provided to the Comrie paths project through Transport Scotland and its delivery partner Walk Wheel Cycle Trust (formerly Sustrans). The sum of £171,788 has been awarded across three separate projects;

Invermilton to Baird’s Monument: £78,038

Baird’s Monument to Crieff: £56,250

Comrie link: £37,500

These projects provide improvements along National Cycle Network Route 775 between Comrie and Crieff, which supports and contributes to the all abilities path corridor.

In addition to this Perth and Kinross Council has received £796,000 funding through the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund Tier 1 and £132,313 through the Local Authority Direct Award for Active Travel in 2025-26, both funds allow the Local Authority autonomy to invest in the region.

The Scottish Government does not hold the regional dataset that underpins the National Energy System Operator’s modelling of data centre demand in its 2025 Future Energy Scenarios (FES) publication.

NESO does not break down the FES data centre demand data further, to be able to show the location-specific scenarios of data centre demand.

Decisions on Budget are made in the context of the prevailing economic conditions and government priorities. We have had to consider how best to target support within limited finances but also acknowledge that it is no longer possible to directly compare tax rates between Scotland, England and Wales due to differences in the tone dates used to derive Rateable Values. The move to three yearly revaluations and a one-year tone date was also a recommendation of the Barclay Review and was warmly welcomed by the business community and all parties in the Scottish Parliament.

The implication of that recommendation is that the tone date in England and Wales of 1 April 2022 will less accurately reflect up-to-date market and business conditions than the 1 April 2023 tone date adopted in Scotland. Different tone dates and by extension different impacts on Rateable Value growth, merit different decisions on tax rates and do not necessarily translate to higher liabilities.

By way of example, shops are expected to see an increase in total rateable value of 6% in Scotland and 10% in England. Hotels’ total rateable value is expected to rise by 28% in Scotland but 79% in England, while for pubs this is 15% in Scotland but 30% in England. For restaurants the overall increase is expected to be 8% in Scotland while the total rateable value increase of restaurants and cafes in England is expected to be 15%.The policies set out in the Scottish Budget reflect the impact of the revaluation in Scotland not the revaluation in England.

The draft Scottish Budget 2026-27, announced on 13 January, ensures the estimated revenues raised from non-domestic rates in 2026-27 will be 6% lower in real terms measured by the Consumer Price Index than pre-COVID despite the number of properties on the valuation roll increasing in that time. It sets out a decrease in the three non-domestic property rates for 2026-27, including a 3.5% decrease in the Higher Property Rate, from 56.8p to 54.8p. This delivers a broadly revenue-neutral revaluation over the revaluation cycle in real terms.

Since the beginning of the Ukraine conflict the Scottish Government has urged businesses in Scotland to, where possible, cut ties with Russia. We fully support the UK Government’s sanctions regime against Russia and apply additional discretionary economic measures, whereby the Scottish Government and its economic agencies will not support trade and investment activity with Russia.

The case of Seapeak, and their role in transporting Russian liquified natural gas (LNG) to European countries, was previously raised in the Scottish Parliament on 4 September 2024 by Patrick Harvie MSP (S6O-03656).

That same month I raised the case of Seapeak in a letter to the then UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and encouraged the UK Government to take all possible action to ensure the effectiveness of the UK’s sanctions regime in exerting pressure on the Russian regime.

All Enterprise Agencies – Scottish Enterprise, Highland and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise – also confirmed at that time that they did not have a relationship with Seapeak, and have recently reconfirmed that they continue to have no ongoing relationship with Seapeak.

I understand that the EU has since adopted, on 23 October 2025, further sanctions including a ban on Russian LNG imports, applying to long-term contracts from January 2027, with earlier termination of short-term contracts. The UK, on 12 November 2025, announced its intention to introduce a maritime services ban on Russian LNG, to be phased in over 2026 in coordination with the EU.

This should affect what is permissible for UK companies to do in regards to Russian LNG, and I will be writing to the UK Government to ask for further clarity on this in due course.

All answers to Oral 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/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament

The large majority of roads in Scotland form part of the local road network, therefore, it is primarily Local Authorities who are responsible for ensuring inclusive access to their network. However, the Scottish Government remains committed to improving accessibility to enable everyone to be able to walk, wheel and cycle. This is both through the funding we provide and a suite of guidance and best practice documentation for those delivering infrastructure.

In April 2025, the Scottish Government published ‘Guidance on Inclusive Design for Town Centres and Busy Streets’, co-produced with disabled people, and other stakeholders, which highlights best practice for co-production and working with disabled people to design inclusive spaces. Most recently, Transport Scotland has also developed Equality Impact Assessment training for Local Authorities, which has been endorsed by the Mobility and Access Committee Scotland.

For the design and construction of new projects on the trunk roads, Transport Scotland produces ‘Cycling by Design’ and the ‘Roads for All’ guidance, which requires the use of inclusive design in the construction, operation and maintenance of road infrastructure and aims to create environments which can be used by everyone regardless of age or disability. Transport Scotland has also sought to highlight best practice and provide practical advice in addition to the requirement to undertake Equality Impact Assessments.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43556 on 10 February 2026. 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 does not have a position in relation to this issue as Food Standards Scotland (FSS) has policy responsibility for general food labelling in Scotland and as such Scottish Ministers are advised by FSS on such matters.

FSS does not have published formal guidance on low and no alcohol claims.

Currently, the general requirements in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 on the provision of food information to consumers (FIC) apply and stipulate that all food information must be clear, accurate and not mislead the consumer. Therefore, the product’s label should also include the abv or state that it contains no alcohol. The name of the food, net weight and alcoholic strength must also appear in the same field of vision although businesses have some flexibility in how this is done.

By way of background, The Food Labelling Regulations 1996, revoked in 2018, previously set out the detail of certain descriptors and the alcohol by volume level associated with each. For the claim alcohol free, this was no more than 0.05% alcohol by volume.

As the body with policy responsibility for these regulations, FSS has confirmed that there is currently no plan to review the current food labelling requirements in respect of alcohol content or expand the list of substances classed as allergens.

Harnessing the economic opportunities of AI is crucial for Scotland’s economic growth, global competitiveness, and the well-being of its people. This importance means Scotland cannot afford to fall behind in both its adoption and development, while also maintaining high ethical standards.

Policies in relation to AI are being, or have been, developed across the Scottish public sector, which is not one body, and which operates within a variety of different policy, strategic and regulatory contexts. Individual public bodies, including NHS boards, the Scottish Prison Service and Police Scotland, are responsible for governing and managing the use of AI within their own organisations, in line with existing legal, ethical and governance requirements.

Recent work undertaken by the Scottish Government indicates that a number of policy areas are either developing or strengthening approaches to the use of AI in policy development and public service delivery.

The Scottish Government will continue to support the responsible use of AI across the public sector, ensuring it aligns with public sector values, transparency and accountability.

Based on Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS)projected 2025 values and Registers of Scotland sales data, it is anticipated that between 13,500 and 17,800 properties will fall within the two new high-value property bands. It is estimated that this will generate between £12 million and £16 million in additional Council Tax revenue each year. The Scottish Government will meet the cost of this targeted revaluation, ensuring that councils will benefit directly from the additional revenue raised.

Support for people with postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) is provided by NHS Boards, and the Scottish Government expects Boards to deliver high-quality, safe and effective, person-centred care. Support is often provided in primary care, with referral to secondary care if required to rule out other causes of symptoms or to provide management care.

NHS Inform also provides accessible public information on PoTS, including symptoms, causes, diagnosis and approaches to management, helping patients and families to better understand the condition and support self-management alongside clinical care: Postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS) - NHS.

PoTS UK offers information and advice on managing and living with PoTS, including self-management, mental health support and medication guidance. Their resources are available at: Managing PoTS - PoTS UK.

STARS (the Heart Rhythm Alliance) also provides information and resources to support patients and families living with PoTS: Postural Tachycardia Syndrome (PoTS) – STARS – UK (heartrhythmalliance.org).