Decisions around the Scottish Government’s Budget are being considered over the coming months. The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Universities Scotland on developing a framework for the sustainability of universities, including considering future funding needs.

Through our International Education Strategy, we are committed to strengthening global connections through education and research exchange, in working collaboratively with our world leading universities and colleges, while promoting Scotland as a destination to live, work, and study.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Money laundering is investigated by Police Scotland alongside other partners including His Majesty’s Revenue and Customs and the National Crime Agency.

The Deal publishes both Annual and Quarterly Performance Reports to Governments and the City Region Cabinet, which are publicly available and report on delivery of the Deal.

Our investment has delivered significant outcomes to date including 34.9 hectares of enhanced public realm, more than 68 kilometres of new cycling and pedestrian routes, and over 63 hectares of vacant and derelict land reclaimed. At the tenth anniversary last year, partners announced that £880 million of follow-on investment has been secured.

Further benefits, including jobs, will be assessed as projects are completed and evaluated.

The Scottish Government has not carried out an assessment of the prevalence of organised crime in small retail businesses.

The Scottish Government works with members of the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce (SOCT) to detect and disrupt organised crime in Scotland. I chaired a meeting of the SOCT on 13 November where members heard an update from Police Scotland and other law enforcement partners on Operation Machinize followed by a presentation from Trading Standards officials on organised crime on the high streets.

Operation Machinize was launched by law enforcements partners in England earlier this year. This was in response to growing intelligence reports that some retail premises are being used for money laundering and other criminal activity. These include vape shops, Turkish barbers, mini-markets and other cash-intensive businesses, which can be fronts for organised crime. The second phase, which included Police Scotland and other partners based at the Scottish Crime Campus, took place during the month of October and has achieved some successful results.

The Scottish Government regularly liaises with the UK Government and law enforcement partners about money laundering.

As I referred to in my answer to S6W-41770 on 24 November 2025, Operation Machinize has had successful results in relation to disrupting activity within shops that are being used for money laundering.

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 Scottish Government assesses value for money and accountability on all City Region and Growth Deal projects. Each project must develop a robust business case, aligned with HM Treasury’s Green Book which is reviewed by Government officials to ensure it delivers social and economic benefits, is deliverable and sustainable. The economic case of each project business case in particular must demonstrate associated cost-benefit and value for money assessments.

Accountability rests primarily with regional partners, who are empowered to identify, manage and deliver projects which deliver economic growth opportunities within their geographical areas. A strong governance framework underpins each Deal which includes locally elected member oversight and regular performance reporting at quarterly and annual junctures with Government officials where progress is rigorously reviewed.

The Scottish Government also provides oversight via co-chairing the Scottish City Region and Growth Deals Delivery Board, ensuring appropriate scrutiny and oversight of this £3.4 billion programme of investment.

The Scottish Government is clear that we will not reintroduce tuition fees. Access to higher education must be based on the ability to learn, not the ability to pay. State funded tuition is a collective investment in our society and economy.

Within the clear and steadfast policy on free tuition, we are working closely with the University sector to understand and adapt to external factors, such UK immigration policies, while strengthening the sector’s national and global impact and reputation.

As outlined in the Programme for Government, we are committed to further regional devolution through Regional Partnerships. We see empowering regions as a key lever to strengthen Scotland’s economy – and we will provide more detail on how we plan to do that before the end of this parliament.

The Scottish Government currently provides Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) with £341,250 core grant funding per year through the Children and Young People Early Intervention Fund to support Members of the Youth Parliament (MSYP) to become confident and resilient young people and develop the skills they need to influence change and reach their full potential. They also receive £30,000 for their role in supporting MSYPs to meet with the Scottish Cabinet and Executive team once a year.

My officials have sought reassurance from the SYP about its child protection and safeguarding procedures in the context of the management of these grants. In September 2025, SYP provided reassurance that they work continuously to strengthen their safeguarding guidelines and procedures in line with evolving national child protection policies.

Scotland hosts world-class research and innovation, with each of our unique universities conducting cutting edge, collaborative research across a broad range of disciplines. A suite of innovation activity occurs within Scottish research organisations and businesses. This generates a wide range of economic, societal and environmental impacts, and means we are highly successful in leveraging competitive funds from other sources. Recent analysis was undertaken by Elsevier on Scotland’s research and innovation performance.

The Scottish Government remains committed to research, which sits at the heart of a number of our key policies and strategies, such as NSET, the National Innovation Strategy and the International Education Strategy. We continue to support high-quality research and innovation across Scotland, increasing the investment in HE capital (which includes funding for research) to over £368m – an increase of 3.2% (or over £11m) for AY 25-26. We also continue to fund a portfolio of knowledge exchange and innovation investments, including the Innovation Centres, Interface and Alliances for Research Challenges (ARCs), and funding supporting international research collaboration.

Decisions around the Scottish Government’s Budget are being considered over the coming months. The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Universities Scotland on developing a framework for the sustainability of universities, including research activity.