The post of Traffic Commissioner for Scotland is currently vacant but I understand the role has been advertised on the UK Government’s Public Appointment website. The closing date for applications is 28 April 2025.

On 2 April, I received a letter from the Secretary of State for Transport, the Rt. Hon. Heidi Alexander MP advising that Richard Turfitt (Senior Traffic Commissioner) will cover the role on a temporary basis. I welcome Mr Turfitt’s temporary appointment to allow work to progress on improving bus services in Scotland.

On 3 April I announced the intention to bring forward a revised Heat in Buildings Bill to set a new target for decarbonising heating systems by 2045 alongside continuing work to reduce fuel poverty.

As you know, Project Willow has identified nine alternative projects that could be developed at Grangemouth including plastics recycling, bio-refining, sustainable aviation fuel and low carbon hydrogen production, demonstrating that a long term, new industrial future at Grangemouth is achievable if the public and private sector work together in the coming months to deliver.

If all nine potential projects identified in the base case were taken forward, Project Willow could create up to 800 jobs by 2040 and contribute £600-£700m in Gross Value Added, demonstrating the transformative impact Project Willow could bring to Grangemouth.

I am committed to realising as many of these opportunities as possible which is why Scottish Enterprise and the UK Office for Investment have established an Investor Taskforce to identify and attract investors with an interest in progressing the Project Willow proposals. Protecting and promoting the interests of the workers, businesses and wider Grangemouth community, remains this Government’s absolute priority.

Caledonian Sleeper currently offers accessible rooms, toilets, and designated seating areas for Persons of Reduced Mobility (PRM) in its carriages. On board ramps operated by Caledonian Sleeper staff enable passengers to enter and exit the carriages, ensuring that the facilities comply with the PRM Technical Standards for Interoperability (TSI) and UK rail safety standards.

Therefore, the Scottish Government has no plans to require Caledonian Sleeper to modify its carriages.

The Scottish Government does not record this information. The First-Tier Tribunal for Scotland, Additional Support Needs (ASN) Jurisdiction is a separate and independent body.

Yearly statistics Tribunal Forum | First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Health and Education Chamber) (from 2016 onwards) are published on the total number of applications to the ASN Tribunal in relation to additional support needs following the annual Tribunal Forum, broken down by Education Authority and high-level reason for the hearing.

ASN Tribunal Decisions are published, providing detail of each case, and can be accessed via the Tribunal website: Decisions | First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Health and Education Chamber). Not all decisions are published, based on permission from the parent / child and the education authority concerned.

The Single Building Assessment (SBA) is a comprehensive evaluation designed to assess fire safety risks associated with external wall systems in Scottish buildings. However, specific definitions for the terms (a) development, (b) building, and (c) stairs within the context of the SBA are not explicitly detailed in the definitions of the Housing Cladding Remediation (Scotland) Act 2025.

Development: The term development is not specifically defined within the SBA. Generally, in Scottish planning context, development refers to the carrying out of building, engineering, mining, or other operations in, on, over, or under land, or the making of any material change in the use of any buildings or other land.

Building: While the SBA specification does not provide a specific definition of building, it refers to in-scope buildings as those eligible for assessment under the programme.

The Cladding Remediation Programme aims to address risks in domestic multi-residential buildings that meet the following criteria:

• have at least one flat
• Have cladding
• are 11 meters or more in height
• were either
  • constructed between 1 June 1992 and 1 June 2022
  • developed between 1 June 1992 and 1 June 2022

Stairs: The term stairs is not explicitly defined in the SBA-related documents. In general construction terminology, stairs refer to a set of steps leading from one floor of a building to another.

Information on teacher vacancies is not held centrally.

In 2023-24 spending on additional support for learning reached a record high of over £1 billion. This includes a continued investment in pupil support assistants, by providing authorities with £15m each year, specifically to support schools and authorities to respond to the individual needs of children and young people.

In 2025-26, an additional £28m will be invested in additional support for learning, to support the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce at a local level. A further £1 million will be provided to support national initiatives to help recruit and train more ASN teachers.

Funding to local authorities has also been increased this year to £186.5 million, as part of our agreement with COSLA to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels.

The Scottish Law Officers are not members of the Scottish Cabinet. Consistent with long standing practice, the Lord Advocate (or, in their absence, the Solicitor General) attends Cabinet meetings whenever it is required. In practice this means when Cabinet is discussing a matter with a legal aspect, or to represent their own Ministerial interest, in particular as head of the systems of criminal prosecution and investigation of deaths in Scotland.

The following table sets out, for each of the previous 10 years, the number of occasions on which the Scottish Law Officers have attended meetings of the Scottish Cabinet.

Yes, the marine and coastal restoration plan will support delivery of policies and outcomes in the National Marine Plan, the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, the UK Marine Strategy, and the Scottish Seabird Action Plan, amongst others.