Seòmar agus comataidhean

Ministers met with stakeholders from the agricultural, food and drink, research and eNGO sectors on 27 March to discuss their views on the use of gene edited crops and products in Scotland. Stakeholders were invited to give their views on the potential impact of gene editing on crop yields, food security and future sustainability of production in response to changing climate and pest and pathogen pressure. Stakeholders also shared their views on how regulatory regimes for gene editing in other jurisdictions might affect, or are already affecting, their sectors, including potential operational and reputational impacts arising from differences in approach. Ministers are taking into account this evidence from stakeholders, alongside developments in the EU, as they consider the Scottish Government’s position.

Bursaries for independent schools are a matter for the proprietors of each institution, as each independent school is a private company. It is for the school itself to administer and provide bursaries for pupils to attend their establishment.

We continue to engage with the UK Government on this matter. My officials have been assured by the UK Government that their mailbox for school enquiries remains open. We have provided this to all Scottish independent schools, should they wish to contact them.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36866 on 6 May 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.

My officials confirmed with Network Rail that, taking account of available budgets, the refurbishment of Glasgow Central low-level platforms 16 and 17 will not take place in Railway funding Control Period 7 (CP7), which spans 2024-29. Network Rail will be responsible for determining when and if these renewals works take place, at a date beyond 2029.

There is currently no standard dataset covering the number of people being prescribed medication for ADHD in Scotland, and consequently the Scottish Government does not hold figures for this year or for previous years.

Sustrans’ Children’s Walking and Cycling Index Scotland was itself funded by Transport Scotland, and serves as good example of the Scottish Government’s continued commitment to proactively listening to young people’s voices in transport decision making.

I have welcomed the report, which demonstrates the overwhelming support for safer walking, wheeling and cycling paths that children in Scotland are asking for. When we build active travel infrastructure, we are doing so not just for today, but for tomorrow, ensuring our young people can build and then maintain sustainable transport options into later life.

Beyond active travel, the Scottish Government has completed and published Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessments (CRWIAs) since 2015, to ensure children’s rights are taken into account in all legislation, policies, and strategic decisions. CRWIAs guidance provides advice on when and how decision makers must consult or engage with children and young people where decision will impact them.

This guidance applies to Transport Scotland in the exercise of its responsibilities in transport decision making, and it’s CRWIAs are included in the list of published child rights and wellbeing impact assessments available on gov.scot under the ‘transport’ theme.

An example of this was the development of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review in 2020-21, during which Transport Scotland actively engaged with a sample of primary and secondary schools across Scotland as part of a programme to understand young people’s views on transport. In total 30 schools and 655 pupils were involved, and their feedback was included in the development and appraisal of transport options considered during the review. The experience gained from this engagement programme will help inform future transport reviews of this type.

Another example of this in practice is our recent announcement of two new concessionary schemes for under-22 year old islanders, providing unlimited free travel on inter-island ferries within Orkney, Shetland and the Western Isles from 1 April 2025, and expanding the scheme providing 4 free journeys per year to/from the Scottish mainland to 16–21 year olds from 23 June 2025.

Eradicating child poverty is the single greatest priority of this Government and we are committed to giving all of our children and young people the very best chance to succeed in life. These commitments from the Islands Connectivity Plan will help to ensure public transport is available, accessible and affordable for children and young people, and will them to travel more often, improving their access to education, employment, training, health and social activities and much more.

The Scottish Government is providing £23.4 million of funding, in 2025-26 to the Regional Transport Partnerships and their local authority partners through the Active Travel People and Place programme. One of the key areas of investment in this programme is Schools and Young People, which targets investment in behaviour change initiatives to encourage more children and young people to use active travel as a way of travelling to school. The aim of this programme is to make sustainable travel choices the most desirable way to travel for young people and families by providing the necessary interventions and adaptations that make active travel more attractive.

Information on referrals is not held centrally.

Local authorities have statutory responsibility for most secure placements and make referrals directly to the secure care services. A placement in respect of any child may only be accepted if the secure accommodation Head of Centre is confident that they can meet the needs of the individual referred child, while keeping safe all other children already in their care. The concept of any or all secure services ‘turning away’ a child has limited applicability.

In addition, the statutory criteria regulating children’s eligibility for referral to secure care are tightly drawn. A change in circumstances or a child’s own need and risk profile may mean that an alternative to secure care represents a more appropriate placement.

Secure centres have robust matching procedures in place, following the Care Inspectorate’s Admissions Guidance for Residential Services.

The Children’s Social Work Statistics 2023-24 – Secure Care Stats provide details of the number of admissions to this type of accommodation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36670 on 6 May 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 Arms' Length External Organisations (ALEO) should mirror the Local Authority’s asset transfer policy and act within the spirit of the law. In addition to those bodies listed in Schedule 3 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, Scottish Ministers may by order designate other bodies as a relevant authority. If an ALEO meets the criteria in section 78(4) and (5) of the Act, it can be designated as a relevant authority by an order under section 78(3) but this would not amend schedule 3. As there is no prescribed process by which organisations are considered for designation, each one of Glasgow City Council's ALEOs would have to be considered on an individual basis.