Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government has no jurisdiction over the flying of flags in Scotland. It is for Local Authorities to ensure that schools meet the requirements of the Equality Act 2010 in relation to these matters.

All children and young people in Scotland are entitled to receive the same level of access to NHS-delivered services, regardless of which school they attend.

Decisions around fees for hospital education services are a matter for local authorities and NHS Boards to consider in conjunction with independent schools. Where fees are applied, we would expect the independent schools to offer families the financial support needed in instances where there is a charge for the education services on offer.

Schedule 3 (Transfer of staff, property etc to Qualifications Scotland) Section 2 (Transfer of staff) of the Education (Scotland) Bill as passed sets out that all employees assigned to the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) at the point of Qualifications Scotland being established, will transfer to Qualifications Scotland in line with the Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) (TUPE).

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39113 on 29 July 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 wrote to the Economy and Fair Work Committee on 25 June 2024 to confirm that a market testing exercise for Glasgow Prestwick Airport was underway. Scottish Ministers’ longstanding position is that the airport should be returned to the private sector at the appropriate time and opportunity. This must be to an organisation with the commitment and capability to operate businesses directly relevant to GPA.

Any decision to sell GPA must represent value for money for taxpayers and be informed by what is right for the long-term success of the business and its contribution to the local and Scottish economy. I am unable to comment on the structure of any transaction that returns GPA to private ownership or any conditions that would apply post-sale completion.

The process is ongoing and I will update Parliament when a significant development has been made.

Freight Facilities Grant for 2025-2026 opened to applications on 7 April and closed on 1 May. Any company which wants to move freight by rail or water rather than by road and which is proposing to invest in new freight handling facilities in Scotland or re-invest in existing facilities in Scotland was able to apply for an FFG. Applications were considered against published criteria on what is and is not eligible under the scheme.

Applicants will be informed of the outcome of their bids shortly. Payment of grant to any successful applicants will be made no later than 31 March 2026.

I have regular meetings with the Chief Constable where discuss relevant issues. Whilst this is an operational matter for Police Scotland, we have discussed the impact that mental health issues have on officers. most recently at our meetings on 27 February and 30 April 2025.

Minutes of these meetings can be found at:

Police Scotland and Scottish Government meeting: February 2025 - gov.scot

Police Scotland and Scottish Government meeting: April 2025 - gov.scot

Information is not held centrally on the full range of individual characteristics that Police Scotland collect in their crime recording system. Further advice may be available from contacting them directly through the office of the Chief Constable. It is an operational matter for Police Scotland to determine the specific categories of information gathered and recorded, in the pursuit of their duties.

Whilst this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, I welcome Police Scotland’s commitment to supporting officers after critical incidents.

Scotland’s police officers and staff do a challenging job and I also welcome the Chief Constable’s commitment to workforce wellbeing. I am pleased that in addition to the provision of Trauma Risk Incident Management assessments and Occupational Health counselling, Police Scotland has invested £17 million to enhance welfare provision. This included a new 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and direct access to occupational health services, where officers suffering psychological or physical trauma can be supported.

The Scottish Government’s Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics reports data on people convicted in Scottish courts. This data is drawn from a subset of Police Scotland’s Criminal History System, with only the minimum information required for statistical reporting and publication received. Alongside any crime(s) committed and the main sentence given, this includes data on a convicted person’s date of birth (used to calculate age at sentencing) and sex. In some cases their Local Authority of residence is also known. Although breakdowns by crime (main charge), sentence (main penalty), age (at sentencing) and sex are included in the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland bulletin, there is currently no published disaggregation of those convicted of child sexual abuse and exploitation.