Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40144 on 10 September 2025. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40144 on 10 September 2025. 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 rules on local connection were changed in November 2022 to give homeless households – like other households – choice and control about where they settle. The SSI in November 2022 stopped referrals of homeless households between Scottish local authorities on the basis of their local connection. Referrals to England and Wales are still permitted and the SSI did not change local connection rules for refugee households. The rules covering refugee households who have just left asylum accommodation are set out in the Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003.

Homelessness statistics on local connection following changes to the legislation remain stable with 3% of households seeking homelessness support in an area where they do not have a local connection. The evidence to date shows that people are exercising choice about where they want to live as the legislation intended. We continue to monitor the flow of people moving in and out of each local authority area to inform our understanding of the impact of the legislative change.

The duties that local authorities owe to homeless refugee households were not affected by the November 2022 changes to local connection. It is section 7 of the Homelessness etc.(Scotland) Act 2003, passed by the last Labour / Liberal coalition which outlines that the time spent in Home Office asylum accommodation does not establish a local connection for newly recognised refugees, as the household has not had any choice about where they lived while accommodated by the Home Office. If a household receives a positive asylum decision while living in asylum accommodation in a Scottish local authority and presents as homeless, they cannot be referred to the local authority where they were accommodated by the Home Office on the basis of local connection.

Conversely, Section 199 (6) of the Housing Act 1996 states that a local connection is established if a person was at any time provided with accommodation in that district. This means that people granted refugee status in England and Wales are found to have established a local connection with the authority/authorities where they have resided in asylum accommodation – despite having no choice in where they were placed. This limits where they can make a homelessness application in England and Wales.

A decision by the UK Government in December 2022 to clear the backlog of legacy asylum claims resulted in an increased number of refugee households seeking support, with this increased pressure being most acute in Glasgow. More recently, the Home Office decision (27 August 2025) to end the temporary extension of the move-on period for single adults is likely to exacerbate the pressures being faced by local authorities. The Scottish Government supports the call from Glasgow City Council that the UK Government must provide adequate funding to allow local authorities to support newly recognised refugees and communities.

Scottish Ministers do not want to roll back the rights of homeless households and do not intend to make any further changes to local connection legislation at this time.

The Scottish Government provides an annual grant to Scottish Mountain Rescue, which they distribute onwards to all of Scotland’s volunteer mountain rescue teams including Glencoe and Cairngorm which are not affiliated with Scottish Mountain Rescue, according to an agreed and established formula. Information from Scottish Mountain Rescue on the funding that each team has received in the last 5 years is set out in the following table:

While the impacts that AI will create are not yet fully understood, the Scottish Government will develop improved methods for assessing the potential impact of AI on jobs in Scotland, recognising the urgent need to understand both the risks and emerging opportunities in a rapidly evolving labour market.

The Inter-Departmental Business Register (IDBR), the source of the Businesses in Scotland publication, is not a public register. The IDBR is a statistical register, built from a range of survey return data, administrative data and estimated data.

The IDBR data are held by the Scottish Government on behalf of the United Kingdom Statistics Authority and are classified as ‘personal information’ according to the Statistics and Registration Service Act 2007. The 2007 Act requires that the Scottish Government must not disclose the personal information, held on behalf of the United Kingdom Statistics Authority, unless directly authorised by the UK National Statistician. Authority will only be given in exceptional circumstances.

Asking businesses permission to publish the information they return on a named basis would very likely result in reduced overall response rates. Additionally it may affect the quality of the data response.

Information on businesses in Scotland is publicly available from the Companies House register. A downloadable snapshot containing basic data for live companies on the Companies House register is available at:

https://download.companieshouse.gov.uk/en_output.html

In the Highlands and Islands region, there are currently 9 Historic Environment Scotland sites which are temporarily closed. Within the Highlands and Islands region, there are no Historic Environment Scotland sites which are permanently closed.

The temporarily closed sites are:

Aberdeenshire Council:

Glenbuchat Castle

Huntly Castle

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar:

Kisimul Castle

Highland Council:

Castle of Old Wick

Moray Council:

Bishops House, Elgin

Dallas Dhu Distillery

Orkney Islands Council:

Eynhallow Church

Tormiston Mill

Shetland Islands Council:

Scalloway Castle

Any further queries from the member regarding the day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including information relating to any repair and maintenance works of any specific site, are best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland.

Scottish Government is working closely with industry to refresh the Life Sciences Strategy for Scotland 2025 Vision which was published in 2017. The new strategy will set out ambitions for the Life Sciences in Scotland from 2025 - 2035 and is expected to be published in the Autumn of this year.

The Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS) offers support for targeted land management options such as Moorland Management, which benefits a range of moorland habitats including peatland and upland heath. This option can complement the capital works delivered through Peatland ACTION. This enables land managers to access support for preparatory and post-restoration activities that safeguard long-term outcomes.

In addition to the £250 million committed to restore 250,000 hectares of degraded peatland by 2030, primarily through Peatland ACTION, over £3.8 million capital funding is estimated to have been provided through 327 contracts to benefit peatland restoration since AECS launched in 2015.

Additionally, from 1 January this year, new requirements have been added to the Good Agricultural and Environmental Conditions (GAECs) which farmers and crofters must meet to receive agricultural funding. This has prohibited a range of activities on peatlands and wetlands to prevent damage, in recognition of the important role they play in storing carbon.

The realisation of the Vision for Agriculture and the new four-tier framework will seek to strengthen alignment between our outcomes of nature restoration, climate change mitigation and adaptation, and a just transition, alongside continued high-quality food production.

To grow Scotland's economy, we must make full use of our potential workforce and remove barriers to employment.