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The Scottish Government’s A Fairer Scotland for Older People: framework for action contains a dedicated strand focused on activity we are undertaking to ensure people are financially secure and supported as they age. The framework and actions within it are discussed at the Older People Strategic Action Forum, of which Independent Age are a valued member.

The Scottish Government provides funding of £2.2 million, through the Equality and Human Rights Fund, to older people’s organisations and age equality projects. This funding is delivering a range of initiatives that tackles poverty among older people. A copy of the fund’s progress report can be found here Oct 23-Mar 24_E&HR Progress Report and provides details on initiatives we are delivering with this funding.

We are also tackling social isolation and loneliness by providing £3.8m over three years to 53 community projects across Scotland through the Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund that is creating opportunities for people to connect. Disabled people and older people (75+) are two of the priority groups targeted by the Fund.. A copy of the fund’s progress can be found here SIAL-2023-26-year-2-progress-report-2.pdf

As you may know, on 9 June the UK Government announced an intention to expand eligibility to the Winter Fuel Payment (WFP) in England and Wales to pensioners with an individual income of £35,000 or less per year. Following careful consideration of the options available, the Scottish Government has decided to mirror the approach taken by the UK Government for our Pension Age Winter Heating Payment (PAWHP). From this winter onwards, PAWHP will be a payment of £203.40 per pensioner household with no individual aged 80 or over, or £305.10 per pensioner households with an individual aged 80 or over. This means pensioners in Scotland will be better off compared to those in the rest of the UK.

There is other support in Scotland, through the Pension Age Disability Payment (PADP) Passport, that aims to increase independence and participation of older and disabled people. This includes Free Personal Care, access to a disabled person’s bus pass and a companion pass and although receipt of PADP does not provide automatic entitlement to a Blue Badge, eligible disabled people can apply through their local authority.

The provisions of the Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Bill will make permanent the legislative framework for virtual attendance at criminal courts first introduced over five years ago. This approach has been extensively consulted on including through the Scottish Government’s pre-legislative consultation. The responses of the Faculty of Advocates and the Law Society of Scotland to that consultation supported making these provisions permanent. The Scottish Solicitors Bar Association’s written evidence to the Criminal Justice Committee also supported the use of virtual hearings in specific circumstances such as intermediate diets and preliminary hearings.

As with any aspect of service delivery, the greater use of technology may cause difficulties to arise from time to time and justice agencies and partners engage with each other on those as they would about any matter of operational practice.

By its very nature, that is an ongoing and continuous process. Through repeated use and refinement of the technology over the last five years since the emergency legislation was introduced, practice has improved and there are adequate checks in place to minimise disruption caused by technical difficulties.

The comments by Law Society of Scotland and the Scottish Solicitors Bar Association were both made in the context of feedback around virtual custodies rather than the functioning of virtual provisions generally. Delivery partners have recognised concerns and virtual custodies have been paused pending a review including on the technological challenges experienced to date in implementation. A revised model will be explored through a working group established by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service which includes justice partners such as the Law Society of Scotland.

The Minister for Equalities and I are pleased to announce that Scotland’s first National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy for young disabled people – a joint strategy with COSLA - has now been published.

The strategy has been developed in partnership with young disabled people, parents, carers, the professionals who support them and the National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy Strategic Working Group. It calls for a co-ordinated, collaborative approach that integrates the efforts of all relevant sectors and partners. The strategy, which is also available in accessible formats, can be found here National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy for Young Disabled People - gov.scot.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) conducted a review of the emergency departments of the three main receiving hospitals in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde in 2024, and published a report on findings from the review on 27 March 2025.

Eleven recommendations from this report are of national, strategic relevance and the Scottish Government will work collaboratively with stakeholders, at pace, to implement improvements to the challenging environments recognised by HIS inspectors.

I wrote to the Chair and Chief Executive of HIS on 2 June to respond formally to each national recommendation. A copy of this letter has been published on the Scottish Government website today, Monday 30 June, which can be found here https://www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-greater-glasgow-and-clyde-emergency-department-review-response/.

The Green Jobs Fund has provided £38.7 million in grant funding.

The Scottish Government recognise that lowering the production cost of green hydrogen is a key factor in the development of the hydrogen economy in Scotland. We are supportive of innovation and technological advances that could support this aim.

The Scottish Government is committed to helping the Scottish hydrogen sector develop and grow to realise an ambition of generating 5GW of green and low-carbon hydrogen by 2030 and 25GW by 2045. Working with our Enterprise Agencies, we are actively engaging with developers to support and encourage hydrogen production projects across Scotland. Given the nascent nature of the sector, and the pace of the developing global hydrogen economy, future production capacity levels are subject to many factors and are challenging to forecast.

Four out of six key measures provided for within the Fireworks and Pyrotechnic Articles (Scotland) Act 2022, have been implemented and two have been paused, as outlined to the Criminal Justice Committee. The decisions to pause the implementation of a licensing system for those wishing to use fireworks and restricting the days on which fireworks can be supplied and used, are being kept under review. The Scottish Government is keeping abreast of developments being made by the UK Government including the consideration of the Private Members’ Fireworks Bill seeking to restrict and limit the use and sale of fireworks.

I most recently met with Minister Madders, Minister for Employment Rights, Competition and Markets alongside the Deputy First Minister of Wales, on 26 February 2025 to discuss what more can be done on firework regulations as part of our on-going discussions to address the dangerous misuse of fireworks.

Protecting children from harm is a key priority for the Scottish Government. I welcome the findings of Baroness Casey’s Audit. We are working at pace with partners including Police Scotland to assess its findings and recommendations to understand how they might apply in Scotland.

Police Scotland has advised that there are no current investigations in Scotland involving offences against children which would mirror the investigations described in Baroness Casey’s audit as being perpetrated by “grooming gangs”. However, there is absolutely no place for complacency. That is why Police Scotland are carrying out their deep dive into previous investigations of the type referred to in the Baroness Casey audit. This is expected to be completed in a matter of weeks.

It should also be noted, that as a single force, with one vulnerability database feeding local and national child protection procedures, and a National Intelligence database, Police Scotland is well placed to address the information and intelligence sharing challenges highlighted in Baroness Casey’s Audit. Police Scotland will work closely with the UK National Police Chiefs’ Council leads in Child Protection to ensure mutual sharing of best practice and learning on this issue.

The Scottish Child Abuse Inquiry currently taking place is one of the widest ranging ever undertaken in Scotland, and includes an extensive review of child protection policy and practice in Scotland. Baroness Casey’s report specifically highlights the vulnerability of children in care to sexual exploitation and is likely to be a further source of evidence for the Scottish Inquiry to draw on.

Baroness Casey’s audit will also be considered by the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group, members of which include Police Scotland and Professor Alexis Jay, as it considers opportunities to improve our response to child sexual abuse and exploitation in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has regular discussions with UK Government counterparts to identify opportunities for improved collaboration. We are committed to working in partnership with UK Ministers to tackle child abuse and exploitation.