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Council Tax is a local tax and each local authority already has discretionary powers conferred by the existing legislative framework allowing them to provide appropriate support in such circumstances. This framework also allows councils to take individual circumstances, including bereavement, into account when deciding whether, and if so how, to vary the council tax liability of empty properties and second homes.

Further, empty properties are usually exempt from council tax where the liable person has died, and liability subsequently rests solely with the deceased person's estate. This exemption applies until a Grant of Confirmation has been obtained, and for up to six months thereafter provided the property remains unoccupied and ownership has not been transferred.

NHS Boards submitted formal proposals for walk-in services in their Board area in response to a formal commission from DG Health and Social Care on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Proposals were generated that considered the needs of local populations, taking into account local issues and circumstances.

There will be 3 pilots located in NHS Grampian, one in each of their Health and Social Care Partnership areas. NHS Grampian intend to open the Moray site in Summer, however they are not in a position to confirm the location. Further details will be announced when possible.

The Scottish Government welcomes the commitment made by the UK Government on 13 March 2026 to disregard payments under the Mother and Baby Institutions Payment Scheme. Correspondingly, reflecting our position that compensation payments can be disregarded where appropriate in the consideration of means-tested entitlements, work can progress in Scotland to consider specific disregards in respect of the Scheme.

NHS Boards submitted formal proposals for walk-in services in their Board area in response to a formal commission from DG Health and Social Care on behalf of Scottish Ministers. Proposals – and pilot walk-in centres – are at different stages of readiness and on that basis have varying levels of clarity and certainty on the Whole Time Equivalent number of staff, and staffing required.

Work is ongoing to identify the number of staff employed at all bands across the 13 phase one sites when they are up and running. As proposals for phase two sites have not yet been finalised, total numbers of staff are not available for all of the walk-in services.

The Techscaler programme does not directly invest in businesses as it is our national platform for creating, developing and scaling tech startups. The Highlands and Islands has 91 members in the region, who can access the national network of tailored education, mentorship, investment access, community infrastructure, and international opportunities available through the programme. A fuller breakdown of regional participation has recently been published in the Techscaler Annual Report 2025.

Universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for their own operational decision making, and this includes determining which courses to run.

The Scottish Government has committed to leading skills planning nationally, whilst strengthening regional approaches. We have agreed a high-level, skills planning model with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and Skills Development Scotland (SDS) to deliver this commitment. The skills priorities we will collectively identify with stakeholders will be able to inform decisions that universities make about the courses they offer.

The Scottish Government continues to engage constructively with the European Union.

A summary of meetings held by Scottish Government Ministers, senior officials and Envoys with the European Commission (including its President), the European Parliament and the Council of the European Union since 2025, is set out in the following table.

This outline is not inclusive of frequent official-level meetings, nor the hosting and attendance of events, involving Scottish Government and EU participation. It also does not cover all engagements held between the Scottish Government and member states of the EU. A list of Scottish Government Brussels office events - which routinely feature EU institution speakers and guests - is available here: Scottish Government events in Brussels: 2021 to 2025 - gov.scot

No specific analysis has been conducted by the Scottish Government on the number of Scottish-domiciled students who have enrolled in undergraduate courses in (a) other UK nations or (b) overseas because their course of choice was not available in Scottish universities.

Universities are autonomous institutions with responsibility for their own course provision

Data published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) shows that there are fewer Scottish domiciled students leaving Scotland to enter undergraduate study in the rest of the UK in 2024-25, than there were in 2021-22.

https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/sb273/figure-9

Responsibility for assessing grid stability, system inertia and generational adequacy rests with the UK Government and the National Energy System Operator (NESO), as electricity security of supply is a reserved matter.

The Scottish Government is confident that NESO, as the body responsible for system operability, will ensure that grid stability and security of supply are maintained as the energy system transitions. The Scottish Government remains engaged to plan for any challenging scenarios that might emerge and meet regularly with NESO colleagues to discuss how they are ensuring a secure and resilient energy system.

The Scottish Government has always believed full association to the 95.5 billion Horizon Europe programme was the best outcome for Scotland and we have continued to work with our EU partners to tackle challenges in areas of mutual interest. We recognise the importance of maximising participation in Horizon Europe, across all its pillars to ensure the Scottish research and innovation ecosystem fully benefits from it.

International research is a key theme in Scotland's International Education Strategy with a commitment that the Scottish Government will work with and support the sector to amplify access and opportunities through the programme. The Scottish Government is funding the £65K International Collaboration Fund for a second year in 25-26 to support the Scottish research sector at universities and research institutes to build international partnerships and capitalise on the opportunities available through the Horizon Europe programme. In its first year, it supported 25 partnerships across 13 countries.

We also continue to work collaboratively with the UK Government and the European Commission to support in the boosting of participation rates - building on successful activities, such as of the Roadshow event held in Glasgow in 2024 and showcasing the Scottish research and innovation landscape as a desirable partner.

We continue to work with the Scottish sector for regional activities, most recently the Scottish Government worked collaboratively with Scottish Enterprise on the Health Innovation event to unlock potential in Horizon Europe pillar 2 under the Health Cluster.