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The Highland Council’s report of handling recorded 1,047 representations: 746 objections, 314 in support, and 9 neutral.

Separately, the Scottish Government has received a total 411 individual written representations in relation to the proposed development. A detailed breakdown of how many are in support or opposed is not available; however all relevant matters raised will be taken into account through the decision-making process.

In addition, petitions opposing the proposal have been submitted to the Scottish Government, including from: Not Coul (currently over 92,000 signatures), the Scottish Greens (around 4,500), and RSPB (around 11,000).

The Community Needs Assessment (CNA) methodology recognises how crewing levels, working hours and crew location influence service design. For each assessment, the relevant operator will be asked to check that crewing information used to inform an understanding of current service delivery on each route is accurate. Equally, for the generation and appraisal of options to address identified transport connectivity needs, the methodology recognises the importance of ensuring that these are deliverable, including the impact on personnel of options that would mean a change in the route service level. At appropriate stages in the assessment, further input and validation from the operator, including from crew, port staff and their representatives, will be needed to ensure that the outputs from the assessments are based on a full understanding of how the services are delivered and the operational impact of any changes.

For example, for the Cowal Community Needs Assessment published in September 2024, crew and trade unions were briefed on the future options for Gourock-Dunoon ferry services and fed back on the report before decisions were made on implementation. Crew were then instrumental in supporting the development of new draft timetables to meet the requirements of the CNA prior to consultation on those with the community.

As of 8 December 2025, the Oil and Gas Transition Training Fund has received 818 applications since its launch in July 2025.

Local authorities are responsible for developing and delivering flood protection schemes, supported by Scottish Government funding.

The 2015 Flood Risk Management Plans contained 42 flood protection schemes. 40 were initially eligible for funding. 9 were removed because they were no longer required, subject to alternative arrangements or failed to meet progress deadlines.

The total grant funding provided to these 9 schemes is £28.31m. This includes £22.973m provided to Falkirk Council for Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme. GFPS remains under development, but subject to alternative funding arrangements.

Flood protection schemes can have impacts on individuals, communities and the environment, and require careful and thorough planning. Like all infrastructure projects, it can take many years for flood schemes to progress from option appraisal to completion.

Please see table for 10 schemes that are in progress below;

The review of the carbon levy commenced in summer 2025. The review is being led by the Scottish Governments Travel Management Team in consultation with Scottish Procurement and Property Directorate, Directorate for People and the Office of the Chief Economic Advisor. External stakeholders include CTM North Ltd and Enterprise Rent-a-Car ltd.

The levy is a corporate policy which applies to travel undertaken by core Scottish Government staff. If the recommendations of the review are taken forward, they will be published internally. No external publication is planned.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

A range of checks are carried out before the release of a prisoner is authorised including but not limited to, an identity check of the person, confirmation of liberation date and a check for any known outstanding warrants.

A liberation in error occurs when an individual is released from a Scottish Prison Service establishment without lawful authority.  This situation typically arises due to an administrative or procedural mistake, such as incorrect interpretation of documentation, miscalculation of sentence dates or incorrect data sharing from other partners.

When such an error is identified, the Scottish Prison Service works in partnership with Police Scotland and the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to ensure the individual is returned to custody as soon as possible.  Once notified, it is the responsibility of Police Scotland to execute any live warrants.

The following table provides the numbers of total liberations, liberations in error and those still not returned to custody since 2021-2022, up to and including 5 December 2025. 

As you can see from the above table, over the period 2021 to 5 December 2025 there are a total of five individuals who have been liberated in error from prisons who have not returned to prison custody. The reasons for these non-returns are outlined below:

*All liberations in error are subject to review by the Warrants Administration Group (WAG), at which point the data may change depending on the outcome of the review. 

Asylum is reserved to the UK Government, this includes the provision and allocation of asylum accommodation and support to those who would otherwise be destitute while waiting for a decision on their asylum application.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of people seeking asylum placed in each local authority area. The UK Government publishes some data relating to the number of people seeking asylum which may be helpful. This is available on the UK Government website: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

Most refugees who arrive under refugee resettlement schemes arrive directly to local authorities, where accommodation has been identified in advance alongside consideration of local service capacity. UK Government statistics indicate that 361 refugees have been resettled to Scotland under UK refugee resettlement programmes from October 2022 to end September 2025; quarterly statistics are published on the UK Government website in table Res_D01: Immigration system statistics data tables - GOV.UK.

The Homelessness etc. (Scotland) Act 2003 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. The legislative changes made on 29 November 2022 did not change local connection rules for newly recognised refugee households. Rather, the changes prevent one Scottish local authority from referring a homeless household to another Scottish local authority where they have a local connection. This change was made to give people in housing crisis the freedom to settle where they choose in the same way as other households in Scotland, with access to the support they need.

The Scottish Government is committed to doing all we can, with our limited economic powers, to mitigate the impact of ExxonMobil’s decision to close the Fife Ethylene Plant. The Minister for Public Finance attended a meeting with Fife Council, UK Government, local employers, and trade union representatives on 24 November. I also convened a summit on 25 November which included Fife Council, key industry stakeholders, union representatives, colleges and MSPs to establish what targeted action can be taken to secure a prosperous future for the site and its workforce.

Going forward, the Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with all stakeholders with the aim of securing a long-term and sustainable future for Mossmorran. Fife Council have confirmed that they will lead the proposed taskforce; and the Scottish Government has committed to fully participating in this.

The Scottish Government has been clear: the UK Government must take further action to mitigate the impact of ExxonMobil’s regrettable decision to close the Fife Ethylene Plant. The First Minister has written to the Prime Minister expressing his dissatisfaction with the complete lack of action from the UK Government, and reiterated the need to act now when they met on 5 December.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42331 on 16 December 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-42335 on 16 December 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.