Meeting of the Parliament

Portfolio Questions Constitution, External Affairs and Culture, and Parliamentary Business Pauline McNeill S6O-04640 1. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of Scotland participating in a UK-wide fan-led review of the live music industry, in light of the recent UK-wide survey of the industry. Rachael Hamilton S6O-04641 2. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recent report by Scottish Borders Council on the future of Live Borders, regarding any impact on cultural services, community engagement and libraries across the Borders. Jeremy Balfour S6O-04642 3. To ask the Scottish Government how it is working with the music sector to enable up-and-coming artists to hold concerts in Scotland. Tess White S6O-04643 4. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will undertake a review of Historic Environment Scotland before the end of the current parliamentary session. Bill Kidd S6O-04644 5. To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the impact of Brexit on Scotland’s international relationships. Patrick Harvie S6O-04645 6. To ask the Scottish Government what it anticipates the impact will be on the Scottish film and TV industry of the US President’s intention to impose tariffs. Michael Marra S6O-04646 7. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions the constitution secretary has had with ministerial colleagues regarding its constitutional strategy, including in relation to its reported call for full fiscal autonomy. Evelyn Tweed S6O-04647 8. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide further details on how its planned museums capacity and support programme will support local and regional museums and galleries. Justice and Home Affairs Bob Doris S6O-04648 1. To ask the Scottish Government how the justice system aims to support women who experience financial and economic abuse from a partner. Sue Webber S6O-04649 2. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to reports that shoplifting crimes have increased by 89% since 2020. Murdo Fraser S6O-04650 3. To ask the Scottish Government what recent discussions it has had with Police Scotland in relation to its policy on the recording of non-crime hate incidents. Craig Hoy S6O-04651 4. To ask the Scottish Government what discussions the justice secretary has had with the Lord Advocate regarding the costs of defending unsuccessful legal cases in the Supreme Court. Elena Whitham S6O-04652 5. To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on what further action it can take in the current parliamentary session to tackle abuse against women and girls. Emma Roddick S6O-04653 6. To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to recent reported figures indicating higher than average drug driving offences in the Highlands and Islands. Martin Whitfield S6O-04654 7. To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to address the reported lack of access to legal aid in rural regions. Edward Mountain S6O-04655 8. To ask the Scottish Government what its position is on how Police Scotland shares information with other statutory bodies about vulnerable individuals. followed by Ministerial Statement: Impact of UK Government Decisions on Scotland’s Social Care Sector followed by Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: Review of Additional Support for Learning and Implementation of Mainstreaming Miles Briggs S6M-17524 That the Parliament notes the Audit Scotland report calling for a fundamental review of planning and resourcing of additional support for learning in Scotland; recognises concerns over declining numbers of additional support workers and classroom assistants; highlights the need to understand the rise in pupils with additional support needs to better target resources and training; calls on the Scottish Government and local authorities to deliver a new model of support alongside the NHS Education for Scotland trauma-informed practice training on neurodivergence and autism; expresses concern over changes to attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism diagnosis pathways removing children from child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) support without suitable alternatives, and calls on the Scottish Ministers to undertake a national review into the implementation of mainstreaming policy and the availability of specialist additional school places across local authorities. Maree Todd S6M-17524.3 As an amendment to motion S6M-17524 in the name of Miles Briggs (Review of Additional Support for Learning and Implementation of Mainstreaming), insert at end “; agrees that all children and young people should receive the help that they need to thrive, and thanks Scotland’s hard-working teachers, support staff and the wider education workforce for all that they do every day to support pupils.” Pam Duncan-Glancy S6M-17524.1 As an amendment to motion S6M-17524 in the name of Miles Briggs (Review of Additional Support for Learning and Implementation of Mainstreaming), insert at end "; notes that the Scottish Parliament's Education, Children and Young People Committee found that the 'overwhelming view' of evidence was that 'the principle of the presumption of mainstreaming is laudable and should be supported' but that the gap between the policy intention and its implementation is 'intolerable' and must be addressed; believes that parents and carers of young people with additional support needs (ASN) should not have to fight for everything that their child needs; regrets that, years on from the Morgan Review, there has not been enough progress; believes that teacher workload and the lack of availability of other support services and staff that young people with ASN need have contributed to a system that is overstretched, and calls on the Scottish Ministers to urgently bring forward a comprehensive strategy to increase the ASN and pastoral care workforce, restore access to vital support services, and create a specific ASN parents forum to feed directly into policy." followed by Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party Debate: Protecting Scotland’s Oil and Gas Industry Douglas Lumsden S6M-17525 That the Parliament recognises the importance of reducing emissions in a way that is credible, costed and publicly supported; regrets the absence of a clear, deliverable plan for achieving net zero, particularly in relation to the future of Scotland’s energy sector and industrial base; condemns the Scottish and UK governments’ ideological opposition to oil and gas, nuclear power and a balanced energy policy; calls on the UK Government to end its policy of issuing no new oil and gas licences; notes with deep concern the economic and employment impacts of the closure of the Grangemouth refinery and recent job losses at Harbour Energy in Aberdeen; further notes that the increase and extension of the UK Government’s Energy Profits Levy has had a damaging effect on investment in the North Sea; argues that current Scottish Government policy on nuclear, oil and gas is having a detrimental effect on energy prices and energy security; points out that Great British Energy is a gimmick that will do nothing to bring down bills, and condemns the explosion of electricity infrastructure across the Scottish countryside, and calls on the Scottish Government to adopt a pragmatic, pro-growth energy strategy that supports the workforce, secures investment, delivers affordability and ensures energy reliability and national competitiveness for the future. Gillian Martin S6M-17525.3 As an amendment to motion S6M-17525 in the name of Douglas Lumsden (Protecting Scotland’s Oil and Gas Industry), leave out from "regrets" to end and insert "notes with deep concern the economic and employment impacts of the closure of the Grangemouth refinery and recent job losses at Harbour Energy in Aberdeen; further notes that the increase and extension of the UK Government’s Energy Profits Levy, by the previous and current UK administrations, has had a damaging effect on North Sea investment, including on the transition; believes that a just transition must support workers and that the transition to net zero must deliver tangible benefits for consumers, communities and the wider economy; argues that the voice of communities must be heard in this process; condemns the anti-climate rhetoric of the Conservative Party, which ignores the reality of the impacts of climate change, and calls on the UK Government to fully fund and support the Acorn/Scottish Cluster carbon capture project and demonstrate that, unlike the previous UK administration, it supports this vital scheme for jobs in Grangemouth and the north east of Scotland." Michael Marra S6M-17525.1 As an amendment to motion S6M-17525 in the name of Douglas Lumsden (Protecting Scotland’s Oil and Gas Industry), leave out from first "condemns" to end and insert "recognises the UK Government’s commitment to a sustainable long-term energy mix, including increased renewable sources, new modern nuclear generation as well as continued oil and gas production for decades to come; notes the loss of jobs at Grangemouth and recently announced job losses at Harbour Energy, which re-emphasise the need for a just transition plan including the immediate publication of the long-delayed Scottish energy strategy; commends the creation of Great British Energy as a publicly owned energy generation company, headquartered in Aberdeen, which will help to deliver energy security, build supply chains, create thousands of jobs across the country and reduce energy bills over the long term; welcomes the £200 million of funding committed to the Grangemouth transition as part of a clean energy future to power Scotland’s economy and communities, and calls on the Scottish National Party administration to drop its ideological opposition to nuclear power." followed by Urgent Question Sue Webber: To ask the Scottish Government for what reason the MV Glen Rosa will now not be delivered until the second quarter of 2026, with costs estimated to increase by up to £35 million. followed by Decision Time followed by Members' Business — S6M-16920 Kenneth Gibson: Marine Conservation Society Publishes 2024 State of our Beaches Report That the Parliament welcomes the publication of the Marine Conservation Society 2024 report, State of our Beaches, which compiles data gathered through the organisation’s year-round citizen science initiative, Beachwatch; acknowledges that Beachwatch was launched in 1994; believes that it provides one of the most detailed datasets on marine litter across the whole of the UK; applauds the 4,000 volunteers who attended beach cleans across Scotland in 2024, including in the Cunninghame North constituency, which represents a 25% increase in volunteers compared to 2023; notes that they removed over 10,000 kg of litter from Scotland's beaches in 2024, consisting of around 527,000 separate items; expresses concern that, on average, 204 items of litter were found for every 100 metres across Scotland's beaches, which represents a 7.2% increase on 2023 and is higher than the UK-wide average of 170 items per 100 metres; understands that 22,000 wet wipes were found on Scotland's beaches in 2024, and that drinks-related litter was recorded on 95% of surveyed beaches; acknowledges that marine litter not only harms what it sees as Scotland’s beautiful coastline, but can also damage marine habitats; notes the view that reducing marine litter will require not only behavioural changes, but also a range of policy changes, including the introduction of circular economy measures and the phasing-out of single-use plastic items, and further notes calls for the Scottish Government to continue its work alongside key stakeholders to drive down marine litter across Scotland's beaches.