Views sought on food price controls on everyday items
Households struggling with food costs could benefit from price controls on essential items under proposals published for consultation.
Fulfilling one of the commitments made for the Scottish Government’s first 100 days, views are being sought on the proposals and accompanying draft Bill. These are intended to ease cost of living pressures, particularly for lower income households who spend a greater share of their budget on food.
The consultation seeks views on the proposals and how the mechanism would work in practice, including the retailers and foods that could be included in the scheme.
Minister for Business Tom Arthur said: “Helping people with the cost of living is a top priority of this government. Our aim is to make essential food items more affordable for households struggling to pay for their weekly shop, particularly those on lower incomes.
“The consultation covers the wide range of factors we need to consider to implement a food price cap. I am committed to taking action to address food affordability that works with retailers and protects farmers and food producers.
“I have spent the last three months engaging with bodies with an interest in this and encourage everyone to have their say.”
Children with additional support needs will be supported wherever they are in Scotland through a new National Staged Intervention Model for additional support for learning that is being developed.
Education Secretary Màiri McAllan made the commitment as she set out plans to provide a nationwide approach to identifying, planning, delivering and reviewing support for children and young people who experience barriers to learning in all council areas – to ensure they receive the right support at the right time.
The newly-published route map sets out the next steps to introducing a model that will set out more clearly how support is delivered to meet the needs of children and young people in different areas.
It is being developed in partnership with local government in response to recommendations from the McManus Review of additional support for learning, and will be rolled out in phases with full implementation across all of Scotland’s 32 council areas planned for August 2028.
Ms McAllan said: “Every child deserves the best possible support that is right for their needs, regardless of where they live in Scotland so they can realise their full potential.
“A National Staged Intervention approach will help ensure that how support needs are identified, responded to and reviewed is consistent, no matter where a child or young person goes to school.
“Through this Model children and young people will receive support that is right for them, and families will have greater understanding of the support available to their child. For teachers, it means clearer national guidance being developed alongside updated training, aligned with the Model to help them support pupils with additional needs.
“We will develop the Model jointly with councils, teachers and school staff, and with children and their families, to ensure the National Staged Intervention Model delivers the support children and young people need across Scotland.”
Councillor Tony Buchanan, COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People said: “COSLA is committed to working collectively with Scottish Government to improve the outcomes for all children and young people.
“We recognise the need in particular to support children with additional support needs and are focused on building upon the strong practice that already exists and recognise that developing a national model offers opportunity to further enhance the consistency of approach our children and young people.
“Together with our professional associations and colleagues in Scottish Government, we look forward to enhancing what is working well and helping embed continuous improvement across the support framework that is available to children and families in all parts of Scotland.”
Sheena Devlin, General Secretary at the Association of Directors of Education Scotland (ADES) said: “ADES welcomes the direction of travel set out today. Scotland already has much strong practice in supporting children and young people with additional needs, and a national model offers the opportunity to build greater consistency of approach to recording and planning for our children and young people.
“We look forward to working with the Scottish Government and partners to shape the detail, ensuring the Model strengthens what is working well while improving the support framework available to children, young people and families wherever they live.”
Local authorities will share £15 million to expand and enhance breakfast club provision from today, First Minister John Swinney has announced.
The funding will help councils deliver free breakfast clubs for primary school pupils across Scotland from August 2027, giving children a healthy start to the school day and helping reduce costs for families.
The announcement follows the opening of new breakfast clubs in East Lothian, at East Linton and in Letham Mains, during the Government’s first 100 days in office, delivering on a commitment to expand access.
Ahead of a visit to a breakfast club in East Lothian the First Minister said: “No child should start the school day hungry.
“I have seen first-hand the real impact and benefits that the breakfast clubs provide to pupils, parents and teachers. They give children a healthy start to the day, helping to ensure they are ready to engage and learn in class.
“For parents and carers, breakfast clubs allow for an early drop off at school while easing the pressure on family budgets at a time when rising bills and living costs continue to bite.
“The Scottish Government is continuing to do all it can to eradicate child poverty and put more money in people’s pockets. Alongside measures such as free school meals, these free breakfast clubs will help ensure more children are supported to succeed at school, regardless of their background.”
COSLA Spokesperson for Children and Young People, Councillor Tony Buchanan, said: “Local authorities deliver a wide range of services for children and families and are best placed to understand and respond to the needs of their communities.
“This agreement provides an opportunity for local authorities to expand and enhance breakfast provision in a way which meets local need. I look forward to continuing to work together to support our children, young people, and families across Scotland.”
Further measures to eradicate child poverty will be set out by the First Minister in his Programme for Government tomorrow (Tuesday).
New social impact partnership supported by £200,000
Proposals to help cut reoffending and keep young people safe from crime and anti-social behaviour are to be developed through an innovative new partnership funding approach.
The Justice Social Impact Partnership (SIP), supported by £200,000 of Scottish Government funding, is a new way of developing and funding interventions. It brings together nine organisations – across service providers, funders and public bodies – to design three project proposals by the end of March 2027.
The Justice SIP will focus on:
creating safe spaces for young people
diverting young people from crime and anti-social behaviour
preventing reoffending and supporting reintegration into communities
Social Investment Partnerships ask investors to provide upfront funding for a project, and they are repaid based on the outcomes it achieves, allowing new ideas to be tested without financial risk to the public purse if they don’t succeed.
This work is also expected to help inform how similar funding and delivery models might be used elsewhere in government.
Neil Gray, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, said: “Preventing violence and diverting young people away from crime means working across the whole system, with police, charities, communities and investors all playing a part.
“This partnership brings together that breadth of expertise to design practical projects that give young people safe spaces and trusted adults, and support people to move away from crime and rebuild their lives.
“It builds on our existing commitment to prevention, including our continued investment in Cashback for Communities, and creates a new way of bringing funding into our communities so that early intervention work can be tested, proven and scaled.”
The following organisations form the membership of the Justice Social Impact Partnership:
The Scottish Government Social Investment Scotland The Growth Partnership The Robertson Trust YMCA Tayside Community Justice Scotland National Social Work Agency Scotland Bean Research (evaluation) University of Oxford’s Government Outcomes Lab (evaluation)
The fund will support the partnership’s work over the coming months, including technical, financial and legal expertise needed to develop robust, investable projects
Business Minister Tom Arthur has published proposals for a visa system that supports Scotland’s distinct needs.
This includes existing proposals for a Scottish Visa, Rural Visa and Scottish Graduate Visa and making the current immigration system more accessible to the needs of different sectors.
The Scottish Government has highlighted the UK Government’s closure of the Adult Social Care visa route as an example of creating an increased risk of workforce shortages and service pressures, particularly in rural and island communities.
This newly-published Scottish Government policy paper highlights the economic and social challenges the country may face if the UK Government does not take action.
While migration remains a reserved policy area, the Scottish Government has taken forward several initiatives, including the development of Scotland’s Migration Service and delivery of the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan, funding for which was increased by almost 50% this year.
Mr Arthur said: “Mirroring a trend in many countries throughout the world, Scotland has an ageing population and areas where the population is falling. This makes immigration ever-more critical in ensuring we have working-age people to fill skills gaps, sustain public services, support communities and grow the economy.
“A migration system designed around UK-wide averages – which is what we have now – cannot adequately respond to Scotland’s demographic and geographic circumstances.
“In the spirit of the Prime Minister’s public commitment to reset relationships with devolved governments, I have invited the UK Migration Minister to engage with me in constructive discussions to ensure that the immigration system is tailored to Scotland’s needs.”
Màiri McAllan Cabinet Secretary for Education, Culture and Gaelic has announced that a new initiative for the global media and creative industries will be developed for Edinburgh’s August festivals.
The new initiative will build upon Edinburgh’s unique position as a global shop window for talent, content, and creative ideas, bringing together the city’s creative ecosystem with international media industries and audiences.
Thursday’s launch event was also attended by Baby Reindeer and Half Man creator and star Richard Gadd who spoke on the importance of Edinburgh during August, as a place for new talent discovery, for ambitious work, and to progress careers.
Initial development work towards the new event was funded by Screen Scotland and completed in early summer 2026.
This work was undertaken to consider, with fresh eyes, how Edinburgh’s August festivals partner to present a new offer to the global content industries, in response to the increasingly blurred boundaries between the different creative artforms and the way creative talent, IP and ideas move fluidly between them.
Independent consultant Rowan Woods has now been appointed to lead the next stage of development, which will again be funded by Screen Scotland and delivered through The Fringe Society.
Working with the Fringe Society, Screen Scotland and a broader advisory group, Woods will consult widely across the August festivals and with producing venues, broadcasters, platforms, content creators, publishers and other potential participants and audiences to establish the shape of the new initiative and how it can best support the connection of new talent and IP to content commissioners worldwide.
The consultation will inform the shape and intent of the new initiative, including audience, dates, venues, programme and participants. This consultation phase is expected to conclude in early Spring 2027, with an initial pilot planned for August 2027.
The new initiative will build on the strong relationships that already exist between the screen industry and Edinburgh’s August Festivals, including the work of Screen Fringe, an ongoing collaboration between Screen Scotland and the Fringe Society, which supports hundreds of television and film executives to make the most of their time in the city each year.
Screen Fringe is expected to remain part of the August festivals offer to the global screen industry.
Separately, Screen Scotland has confirmed that it will establish the Lynda Myles Debate as a keynote element of the August festivals from 2027.
The debate will honour the contribution of Lynda Myles, formerly Director of the Edinburgh International Film Festival and co-creator of the Edinburgh TV Festival, and her long-standing belief in Edinburgh as a place for ambitious and rigorous debate about the future of the screen industries and wider media landscape.
The Scottish Government is providing funding support for the new event’s development via Screen Scotland, and more details will be announced in 2027.
Culture Secretary Màiri McAllan said: “We are so proud of Scotland’s screen sector and this exciting addition to the August festivals line-up will provide a new way to embrace the creativity and cultural innovation which makes our capital unique.
“As a global hotbed of emerging talent, where new voices are heard and fresh stories are told, Edinburgh will continue its world-leading offer for the television industry with the support of the Scottish Government – and will do so alongside our other Edinburgh festivals, showcasing brilliance across artforms.”
David Smith, Director of Screen Scotland said: “Edinburgh has a unique role to play in bringing together the people, ideas and creative work that will shape the future of the screen and wider creative industries.
“Every August, the city becomes a remarkable meeting place for talent from around the world, alongside audiences, producers, commissioners, artists and creative thinkers. We have an opportunity to build on that extraordinary concentration of talent and energy and create something new, ambitious and genuinely distinctive for the global industry.”
Tony Lankester, Chief Executive at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Society said: “Edinburgh’s August festivals create an unparalleled environment for discovering new talent, ideas and creative work.
“We know there is a strong appetite from people working across the global screen and creative industries to connect with that ecosystem, and we are excited by the opportunity to explore what a new offer could look like, particularly in a rapidly evolving media landscape. The development of this initiative gives us a chance to think afresh about how Edinburgh can serve the sector in August and to create something compelling for the future.”
On the announcement of the Lynda Myles debate, Lynda Myles said: “I’m deeply touched and honoured to have the debate named after me.
“It’s exciting to see the importance of ideas and discussion being recognised in the plans for the new event, especially as this was the initial intention of the creation of the Edinburgh Television Festival in 1976.”
Review aims to widen access to NHS fertility treatment
Criteria to access NHS IVF treatment in Scotland is to be reviewed.A national review will consider extending access to NHS IVF treatment to single women and couples who have children from previous relationships.
It will also look at consistency of access to fertility preservation, including access for women who have undergone cancer treatment, and at reducing waiting times for those who require donor eggs or sperm for their treatment.
Scotland currently has the most generous countrywide provision of NHS IVF in the UK, providing all new patients, subject to access criteria, up to three full cycles of treatment.
The review will also consider recent updates to clinical guidance from the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE), which recommends up to three additional NHS-funded IVF cycles for those who have not achieved a successful pregnancy after their initial three cycles.
Speaking ahead of a visit to the Edinburgh Fertility Centre at the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary, Health Secretary Angela Constance said: “Access to NHS IVF treatment should be fair, timely and reflect the way people’s lives and families look today, and delivering this review is one of our key 100 day commitments.
“The review will look closely at the current system, including waiting times for those who need donor eggs or sperm for their treatment.
“This work builds on annual Scottish Government funding, which has supported the expansion of NHS IVF treatment over the past ten years.”
Swinney: Nobody will take better decisions about Scotland’s future than the people who live here
The draft Referendum Bill has been published asking ‘Should Scotland be an independent country? Yes or No.‘
The Bill, which will be introduced into Parliament once the necessary powers are secured, was a commitment in the Scottish Government’s 100 days programme.
It sets out the question, defines the franchise for the vote, and will include a date upon introduction.
First Minister John Swinney said: “The world has changed fundamentally since 2014. So has the UK, and so has Scotland.
“While people living in the UK endure flatlining living standards and the economic damage caused by Brexit, countries all around us are enjoying a higher quality of life and have more wealth to invest in their public services – often without a fraction of the abundant resources and economic strengths that Scotland enjoys.
“In May, the largest number of pro-independence MSPs in history voted to support the call for powers to hold a referendum on Scottish independence to be devolved to the Scottish Parliament.
“This draft Bill is simple, straightforward and direct. It proposes a clear, unambiguous question, sets out who can vote in the referendum and, once agreed, will include the date. It provides people with certainty. What is now needed is the UK Government to respect the voice of the Scottish people and Parliament and transfer the necessary powers.
“Scotland is ready. The Scottish people are ready. It is time the UK Government delivered.
“I will have more to say about Scotland’s constitutional future in the coming weeks. Fundamentally, nobody will take better decisions about Scotland’s future than the people who live here. That future belongs to the people of Scotland – and no one else.”
Next steps announced for National Performing Company
A new National Performing Company will be set up to champion Scotland’s traditional music sector.
A public consultation has now been launched seeking views on how such a flagship organisation will raise the profile of Scottish folk music around the world.
Early feedback is being sought from the traditional music community and wider audiences to understand priorities for future support of the sector and what a national performing company might look like.
First Minister John Swinney held a reception for the trad music sector at Bute House this week and attended the Sound of Scotland folk music showcase at Edinburgh’s Queen’s Hall.
The Scottish Government has also launched an online survey to gather views and Culture Secretary Mairi McAllan will chair a roundtable with leaders in trad music.
A National Performing Company for traditional music will be the sixth to be formed in Scotland, joining the National Theatre of Scotland, Scottish Opera, Scottish Ballet, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the Scottish Chamber Orchestra.
The First Minister said: “Traditional Scottish music has a unique, rich sound reflecting our history and regional diversity. It connects our past to our present and is loved across Scotland and around the world.
“That is why I pledged that in the first 100 days of this government we would make progress on forming a National Performing Company to protect the legacy of trad music and help it to thrive. Giving it the same platform to other performing arts will support established and emerging talents to grow.
“If you are a local performer, group or organisation from anywhere in Scotland, please let us know how this can work best for you, representing and supporting traditional music.”
According to a VisitScotland survey in 2024, almost four in five Scots (79%) said Scottish traditional music gave them a sense of cultural connection, while 88% believed it is important that it is preserved for future generations. Music businesses in Scotland reported a turnover of £27.4 million in 2023.
Fairness at the heart of how Scotland adapts to a changing climate
Communities hit hardest by wildfires, flooding and drought will have a stronger voice in shaping Scotland’s climate resilience with the establishment of the third Just Transition Commission.
The Commission brings together 15 experts in public health, economics and community engagement to advise Ministers and ensure resilience measures reach those who need them most. It will engage directly with workers, rural communities and vulnerable groups to shape costed recommendations for government.
Running until 2031, the Commission will focus on adaptation, reflecting the increasing toll extreme weather is taking on people’s daily lives, while working to ensure the costs and benefits of adaptation measures are shared fairly.
The Commission will also support a just transition to net zero. It will advise on the impact of decarbonisation on jobs and industry, including in Scotland’s offshore energy sector, and work with businesses, unions and communities to help shape a fairer, greener economy.
Minister for Business Tom Arthur said: “The invaluable advice that previous commissions have provided have helped shape policy on areas including on Grangemouth and informed the creation of just transition indicators within Scotland’s Climate Change Plan.
“Communities hit hardest by climate change are often the ones least equipped to deal with its effects. This Commission will make sure that the people facing the greatest risks are at the heart of how we build resilience.
“Solutions to adapting to and tackling climate change must be proportionate, appropriate and effective as we work together across all sectors of society to build a greener and fairer economy.”
Co-chair Professor Dave Reay said: “Climate change is the biggest risk multiplier for inequality this century.
“Our role as a Commission is to show how, with a bold and innovative approach, we can still succeed in reducing our emissions and adapting to climate impacts in a way that builds a Scotland that is truly resilient in terms of our society, our economy, and the infrastructure we all rely on.”
Co-chair Satwat Rehman said: “Since 2019 the Just Transition Commission has worked hard to put a strong focus on how different communities are experiencing Scotland’s climate transition, and how we can do better.
“We need to address existing inequalities and proactively tackle the risk of new forms of injustice being created as our climate and our economy are reshaped.
“We will build on those insights and keep pushing our government to act with the urgency this moment requires.”
