³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

The Scottish Government has had a range of discussions with a number of stakeholders regarding implementing the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, including on alternative models.

The Scottish Government is committed to working across Scottish society, and the Scottish Parliament, to guard against the threat of polarising forces and ensure we empower people who feel distant from politics or on the margins of society.

The recent Gathering was an important milestone in this work – bringing together more than 50 leaders to assess the robustness of Scotland’s democratic system and examine the root causes that might undermine shared values. It secured a commitment, across civic, faith, and political leaders, to foundational principles which will guide our collective response and to working in a shared endeavour to give life to these principles. But this was only ever a starting point.

As set out in Programme for Government 2025-26, Scottish Government will now work with partners to develop specific, targeted actions in response to these issues, including:

• Developing counter interventions to the threats to our democratic system.
• Creating positive relationships and engage people across society on the issues.
• Working with partners to engage their own networks to strengthen democratic.
• Using the Scottish Government’s convening power to advance the dialogue around, and progress the solutions to, the issues identified.

Further detail on the outcomes of this work will be provided in due course.

The judgements and issues in the Scottish Government’s Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan are informed and influenced by ongoing developments in the UK Government’s energy policy and recent court decisions. We are taking sufficient time to analyse and reflect on those developments and their impact on Scotland.

Scotland’s valued and highly skilled offshore oil and gas workforce must be at the heart of a just transition, therefore the Scottish Government is not awaiting a final policy position from the UK Government to take action. We have been supporting workers with the powers available to us, and will continue to do so. We are working with industry partners on an Energy Skills Passport, and with UK Government to develop a Regional Skills Pilot scheme for Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire. Through our Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray we have invested £9.7 million on skills interventions, including the Skills Passport, a Digital Innovation Lab, and an Energy Skills Transition Hub which will open later this year.

We welcome this report from the Just Transition Commission. I set out the Scottish Government response to this report in my ministerial statement on Tuesday 3 June, confirming that we accept the headline recommendations in principle. Ahead of further just transition planning, we need clarity on the UK Government’s intentions in a range of key reserved areas, including the future regulatory and fiscal regimes for North Sea oil and gas and support for the Acorn CCUS project.

We continue to provide support to the region, including through the new £8.5 million round of the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray, our £125 million investment in the Aberdeen City Region Deal as well as up to £26.3m for the Energy Transition Zone through the Energy Transition Fund.

The Scottish Government is clear in its support for a just transition for Scotland’s valued oil and gas sector, which recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments and energy security.

No concerns were raised at any point.

The recruitment and deployment of police officers is a matter for the Chief Constable. The Scottish Government has increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £14.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013, with £1.64 billion being invested this year. Scottish Government funding in 2024-25 enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception and Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales.

The Chief Constable has made it clear that she intends to bring the frontline of policing to its strongest possible position and that frontline strength goes beyond an overall officer headcount to focus on the whole policing workforce. Police Scotland’s three-year Business Plan 2024-2027 sets out an ambitious programme of workforce modernisation, reducing back-office duplication and creating capacity to deal with new and emerging threats. The current Police Scotland workforce figures indicate that the total policing workforce stands at 22,482 (FTE).

The operation of Police Scotland, including staffing, is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is supported by the Scottish Government to shape the workforce in response to operational needs. Police Scotland’s 2024-25 Annual Policing Plan outlines a future model focused on strengthened community policing. As of 31 March 2025, there were 16,553 FTE officers and 5,929 support staff, totalling 22,482 FTE. The Chief Constable has confirmed that the 2025-26 budget will maintain officer numbers between 16,500 and 16,600. We are increasing policing investment by £90 million this year, bringing total funding to a record £1.64 billion.

Costs for The Gathering were met from within relevant portfolio budgets which include budget cover for a range of day-to-day spend, including events and engagements.

The forthcoming draft Climate Change Plan will set out our pathway to net zero over the plan period of 2026-2040, in a way that is just and fair. Our plan will also set out the estimated costs and benefits of the policies and proposals within.

The plan will be subject to, and published alongside, a suite of impact assessments which ensure policies and proposals are informed by evidence and consider their potential effects on individuals, businesses, and communities. These published impact assessments will include, amongst others, an Equalities Impact Assessment (EQIA) and an Island Communities Impact Assessment (ICIA), which ensure our policy drives progress towards our National Outcomes, statutory targets and commitments within the Policy Prospectus.