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Guidance for officials responding to parliamentary questions (PQs) and Freedom of Information (FOI) requests encourages alignment between the standard applied for both. In some instances, there may be examples where information is not available for release in response to a PQ but may subsequently be released in response to a later FOI request when that information has since become available. This may also result from the differences between the regimes, including differences in legal framework and expectations in timescale for responses.

All requests made under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA) and Parliamentary Questions are responded to on the basis of information available at the time of response.

The Scottish Government continues to support the development of our ports, and the potential for new direct freight and passenger ferry services linking Scotland to Europe.

Ministers and officials have met with the sponsors on a number of occasions regarding their proposal to introduce a new ferry route between Rosyth and Dunkirk.

I have personally engaged with interested parties, meeting DFDS and Ptarmigan Shipping in November 2025. Scottish Government and Transport Scotland officials continue to communicate regularly with the project sponsors.

The Scottish Government was still in the process of compiling and quality assuring the costs at the time of issuing the response. We routinely publish total costs approximately three months in arrears to allow all costs and expenses to be submitted, ensuring that the figures released into the public domain are accurate and complete.

The company has engaged in discussions directly with Scottish Enterprise about their current and future training needs. These discussions are ongoing, and Scottish Enterprise is proactively offering support to develop a comprehensive training plan that will address the future needs of the workforce. The company have not accessed any training support as yet.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43271 on 6 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 total cost of accommodation published here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/foi-202500498535/

This is broken down into the following rate per night:

Sao Paolo (booked for one night total) - £186.03 per night

Belém (booked for nine nights total) – £692.53 per night

A minimum stay of ten nights was required for all accommodation options security vetted by the UK Government and provided to Scottish Government for COP30. However, the Scottish Government was able to negotiate a nine night contract. A minimum-night stay is standard practice during COPs where demand for accommodation is exceptionally high, to manage logistical issues.

The Scottish Budget includes 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) to 2026-27 Budget comparisons across portfolios, including Finance and Local Government, at the request of the Finance and Public Audit Committee.

While such comparisons can provide useful context for most portfolio areas, comparing ABR to Budget for Local Government can be misleading due to the number of portfolio transfers administered at ABR or Spring Budget Revision (SBR). For example, since Budget 2026-27 was published, Parliament’s agreement to SBR will see a further £280 million of transfers into the Local Government Settlement and at least £908 million of transfers are anticipated to be processed at ABR or SBR in 2026-27.

Table 4.15 of the Scottish Budget 2026-27, ‘Revenue Funding within Other Portfolios to be Transferred In-Year’, including details of the £908 million referenced above, provides a direct like with like comparison of the Local Government Settlement in each of 2024-25, 2025-26 and 2026-27.

That table, which is unique to the Local Government Settlement, mitigates the risks acknowledged by the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre that “that comparing portfolio allocations from the Budget to allocations from the 2025-26 ABR might be misleading” by providing a consistent comparison over time.

Table 4.15 has been included in the Budget document since 2017-18 to provide a transparent and comprehensive summary of the funding allocated in the total Local Government Settlement and then subsequently published in the relevant Local Government Finance Circular. For completeness, a full breakdown of funding that has been baselined into General Revenue or Capital Grant is also provided in Table 4.16 and this funding is restated in previous years to again ensure a like for like comparison.

An estimate of funding provided to Local Government outwith the Local Government Finance Settlement is also included in Table 4.17 of the Budget as a supporting document.

In 2025-26, the Local Government Settlement was £15,035.2 million. This was set out in Table 4.12 in the 2025-26 Budget and is repeated in Table 4.15 in the 2026-27 Budget. In 2026-27, the equivalent figure is £15,686.1 million and is published in Table 4.15 of the 2026-27 Budget. The figures in both years include all the funding planned to be transferred from other portfolios, as anticipated at the time of the budget, and the detail of those transfers is set out at the bottom of Table 4.15 in the 2026-27 Budget.

Those figures represent a cash increase of £650.9 million or 4.3 per cent. In real terms, that is equivalent to an increase of £293.7 or 2 per cent. Although the real terms figures for the Local Government Settlement are not set out in the Budget document itself, they can easily be derived from the cash figures set out in Table 4.15 and replicated using an independent real terms calculator such as that published by the Scottish Parliament’s Information Centre.

As requested by COSLA Leaders, the Scottish Budget provides local authorities with full discretion over decisions on council tax, with no freeze and no cap. With over a quarter of a billion of additional General Revenue Grant in the Settlement, the Budget should enable councils to minimise any proposed increases in council tax.

Where increases in Council Tax are necessary, the Scottish Government’s means tested Council Tax Reduction Scheme continues to protect household budgets from the impact of those changes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-43288 on 6 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.

In cases where an FOI or PQ relates to one that was previously answered, officials will review the information provided in response to ensure considerations around consistency are considered.

The Scottish Government strives to be as helpful as possible in its responses to both parliamentary questions and to requests made under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). These are important and distinct routes by which Members – and in the case of FOISA, any person – may seek information from the Scottish Government.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S6W-43292 on 6 February 2026 which explains why a different approach was taken in the specific case he raised.

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 relevant Cabinet Secretary or Minister is responsible for the answer to any parliamentary question. The Lord Advocate or the Solicitor General for Scotland may also answer a written question concerning the operation of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland.

In relation to information provided by Freedom of Information requests, please see my response to S6W-43293 on 6 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.