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A key aim of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act) is to ensure the child’s best interests are at the centre of contact and residence cases.

The 2020 Act will reform the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the 1995 Act) which is the key legislation in relation to child contact and residence. In deciding whether to make a contact order under section 11 of the 1995 Act, the welfare of the child must be the court’s paramount consideration.

The court must – taking into account the child's age and maturity – have regard to any views the child wishes to express. The court is also required to have regard to the need to protect the child from any abuse, or the risk of any abuse, which affects or might affect the child.

In advance of full implementation of the 2020 Act, the Scottish Government has convened a working group on child welfare reporters. These may be appointed in contact cases to seek the child’s views and report on their best interests. The working group will look back at changes made in the past in this area. It will also consider if further action can be taken in advance of the register of child welfare reporters envisaged by the 2020 Act being set up.

Section 9 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act) requires the Scottish Ministers to establish a register of child welfare reporters. These may be appointed by the court in cases under section 11 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 (the key legislation on parental responsibilities and rights, contact and residence) to obtain the views of the child and report on the best interests of the child.

Section 21 of the 2020 Act places a duty on the Scottish Ministers to ensure the availability of child advocacy services in contact and residence cases.

The Scottish Government is taking action in these areas in advance of full implementation:

• We have established a short-life working group on child welfare reporters that will inform further development of policy around the new register and consider how changes from a previous working group are working in practice. The first meeting of the working group took place on 20 November 2024. A note of that meeting will be published in due course.
• In relation to child advocacy services in contact and residence cases, the Scottish Government will hold discussions with key stakeholders in 2025 on what they would like to see in this area.

Implementation of the 2020 Act was discussed at the meeting of the Equalities, Human Rights and Civil Justice Committee of the Parliament on 10 December. The Scottish Government is considering commencing further sections of the 2020 Act in 2025.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring all children and young people receive high quality relationships, sexual health and parenthood (RSHP) education, which is an integral part of the health and wellbeing area of the curriculum. The curriculum is not statutory and it is for schools to decide the development and implementation of the curriculum within the overall framework. The Scottish Government expects children and young people to gain knowledge appropriate to their age and stage of education.

Education Scotland has produced Experiences and Outcomes | Curriculum for Excellence documents | Curriculum for Excellence | Education Scotland on RSHP education to provide a set of clear and concise statements about pupil’s learning and progression. This includes specific learning outcomes on respect, boundaries, which behaviours are right and wrong, what constitutes a healthy relationship. They also include learning outcomes on consent, gender stereotypes, power dynamics in relationships and where to access support if required.

To support learning and teaching of these experiences and outcomes, RSHP lesson plans are available, from Education Scotland's website, that include learning at first level (P2-P4), encouraging children to be whatever person they want to be, free from stereotypes and gender biased expectations. At second level (P5-P7), on a fair and equal life for boys and girls; on consent, where children learn abuse is wrong; and, on protecting me and abuse and relationships. And at third/fourth level (S1-S3), on sexual harassment as well as an activity on equalities and feminism.

The Scottish Government is revising the statutory teaching guidance on RSHP education following recommendations that the guidance should be updated to include, for example, appropriate guidance to ensure that consent education is age and stage appropriate and reflects the issues that are facing children and young people, especially from online influences.

The Scottish Government has also published a resource for professionals to help them support young people aged 11-18 in their understanding of healthy relationships and consent. The Healthy relationships and consent: key messages for young people - gov.scot sets out that relationships should be mutually respectful, consensual, positive, healthy and enjoyable.

The Scottish Government annual surveys continue to gather data, in order to support future assessments on microplastics in surface water. Although there is currently no internationally agreed baseline for microplastics in surface water, as referenced in S6W-24509, all our marine litter data contributes to regional monitoring across the North East Atlantic, through OSPAR (the Oslo-Paris Convention), and would contribute to any baseline developed in the future.

Further to the answers to questions S6W-01058 on 13 July 2021, S6W-23231 on 16 January 2024, S6W-23886 12 January 2024, S6W-23887 on 9 January 2024, S6W-24462 on 16 January 2024, and S6W-24509 on 23 January 2024, our microplastics monitoring programme began in the winter of 2013, and has continued to undertake annual surveys since that time.

Data from this monitoring programme enabled the initial assessment for microplastics in surface water to be conducted. This was published in Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020, which can be viewed at Microplastics in surface water | Scotland's Marine Assessment 2020.

Data from the most recently completed collection season, 2023-24, has been published, alongside data from all previous years in this series. This can be viewed at Dataset for Sources, sinks and hazards of micro-plastics in Scotland’s seas 2013-present | Marine Scotland Data Publications. The current data collection season runs from November 2024 to the end of January 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.

Responsibility for funding school libraries and the provision of school librarians is devolved to local authorities, who have a statutory duty to ensure there is adequate provision of library services. Scottish Government does not hold data on the specific funding allocated to school libraries and librarians by individual authorities.

The independent Accounts Commission have recently confirmed that the Scottish Government has provided a real-terms increase to Local Government in this year, 2023-24 and 2022-23. The 2025-26 Local Government Settlement will provide over £15 billion to local authorities, a further real terms increase of 4.7%.

At a national level, £220,000 has been provided to the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC) this financial year (2024-25) with £150,000 assigned to the School Library Improvement Fund to support creative and innovative projects within the school library sector in Scotland.

The Scottish Government has provided a total of £1.72 million to the School Library Improvement Fund since the fund was created in 2017.

The Scottish Government supports a range of SCQF-accredited courses and recognises the important role that many, like the ones referenced, play in supporting interdisciplinary learning. Such courses offer learners the opportunity to apply disciplinary knowledge and develop key skills in relation to complex, real world challenges and are relevant to future employment opportunities.

In 2022-23 the Scottish Government provided SCQF with total funding of £44,000, and then a further £30,000 in 2023-24 to deliver its small scale Learning for Sustainability (LfS) grant fund to ensure there is a better offer on LfS-related qualifications for learners. In both financial years SCQF then allocated funding from this pot to individual projects within the overall funding amount – proposals were invited and then assessed and decided by an assessment panel involving officials and run by SCQF, based on agreed criteria. Ministers were not involved in final funding decisions to applicants.

In 2023-24 the International Sustainability Diploma, developed by the Futures Institute at Dollar Academy (FIDA), was successful in securing £6,030 of funding to support its accreditation at SCQF Level 6 and the course’s promotion to other schools and centres. The course is being piloted in approximately seven schools this year with the intention to scale it up further following this initial pilot phase.

Most recently, in 2024-25 the Scottish Government awarded the established Powering Futures programme £250,000 through the Entrepreneurial Education Pathways Fund, which aims to create an entrepreneurial overlay to their current academic qualification, allowing it to be more explicit around entrepreneurial understanding and attributes. Powering Futures supports learners to develop crucial skills for the workplace as well as gaining an understanding of sustainability.

Both qualifications focus on sustainability but differ in a number of ways. In particular, the FIDA qualification offers 24 SCQF Credit points at Level 6, while Powering Futures is awarded at 8 SCQF Credit points at Level 6.

In 2022-23 the Scottish Government provided SCQF with total funding of £44,000, and then a further £30,000 in 2023-24 to deliver its small scale Learning for Sustainability (LfS) grant fund to ensure there is a better offer on LfS-related qualifications for learners. In both financial years SCQF then allocated funding from this pot to individual projects within the overall funding amount – proposals were invited and then assessed and decided by an assessment panel involving officials and run by SCQF, based on agreed criteria. Ministers were not involved in final funding decisions to applicants.

In 2023-24 the International Sustainability Diploma, developed by the Futures Institute at Dollar Academy (FIDA), was successful in securing £6,030 of funding to support its accreditation at SCQF Level 6 and the course’s promotion to other schools and centres. The course is being piloted in approximately seven schools this year with the intention to scale it up further following this initial pilot phase.

In response to the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment, the Scottish Government committed to undertaking further work to develop a consistent, high quality interdisciplinary learning (IDL) offer that provides all young people with an experience and in time, a qualification, that is valued by employers and further and higher education. An IDL working group is bringing together relevant partners already active in this space to take this work forward, including Dollar Academy and Powering Futures.

Budget is allocated on an annual basis therefore there is no defined unspent funding arising from the pausing of the Bus Partnership Fund. The Scottish Government is pleased to announce in the draft budget that we will provide a Bus Infrastructure Fund in 2025-26.

NatureScot and Scottish Forestry are currently putting together a project plan to build on the existing Ancient Woodland Inventory to develop the new National Register of Ancient Woodlands. The scope of the project has therefore yet to be fully agreed, but in line with the priority action in the Scottish Biodiversity Delivery Plan, the Register will include locational data, a definition of the required ‘protected and restored’ condition of ancient woodlands, and a process for recording ancient woodlands that reach the required standard. In response to the component questions:

a) The inclusion of a woodland site on the Register will not automatically qualify it to contribute to the target to achieve 30% of Scotland protected and managed for nature by 2030 (the 30 by 30 target).Any site on the Register which isn’t within an existing protected area would need to be evaluated against the criteria for Other Effective Area-based Conservation Measures (OECMs) before being considered for inclusion in the 30 by 30 network. NatureScot is currently working with stakeholders – including those with expertise of ancient woodlands - to agree how the OECM criteria will apply in Scotland.

b) There are likely to be opportunities for local people, communities and interest groups to participate in the process of developing the new National Register of Ancient Woodlands. For example, it is envisaged that Guidance will be developed and tested with interested parties to enable the identification of ancient woodlands and to assess their condition. This should allow communities to deepen their understanding of and connection to their local ancient woodlands.

c) The creation of the Register will not in itself be an enforcement mechanism, however the associated condition reports will be invaluable in prioritising action to tackle negative pressures on sites, for example in relation to invasive non-native species or overgrazing.

d) The Register would not cover Tree Preservation Orders as these are not explicitly related to ancient woodlands and can cover a wide range of individually important trees, which are outwith the scope of the Register.

e & f)The Long Established Plantation Origin (LEPO) and Plantations on Ancient Woodland Sites (PAWS) categories from the existing Ancient Woodland Inventory will be taken into consideration when the Register is developed and it is anticipated that they will be retained.

g)Our Fourth National Planning Framework (NPF4) places climate and nature at the centre of our planning system and includes policy to protect our existing woodlands and trees. Local Development Plans should also identify and protect existing woodland and the potential for its enhancement or expansion.

Scotland’s volunteers make a fantastic contribution to people’s lives and our communities.

The Scottish Government provide direct funding to national and local intermediaries to support the national and local volunteering infrastructure. This includes funding for Volunteer Scotland to implement Scotland’s Volunteering Action Plan. This long-term plan seeks to increase participation and reduce barriers to volunteering for all. The Scottish Government also funds the local Third Sector Interface network who support volunteering across all 32 local authorities as well as funding youth volunteering and the Volunteering Support Fund.

Volunteer Scotland has strategic leadership of volunteering, including provision of a national advice centre and delivery of research. We very much welcome the launch, in September, of a national volunteering recruitment campaign, led by Volunteer Scotland, to address volunteer shortages. This will provide volunteer involving organisations with practical guidance and promotion materials to help attract and retain volunteers.