Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32072 on 7 January 2025.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

It is incumbent on ScotRail and Scottish Rail Holdings to demonstrate that aims set out it their proposals to adjust the opening hours of some of ScotRail ticket offices can be achieved.

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

This is an operational matter for NatureScot. I have asked the Chief Executive to write to you to provide the information requested.

The Scottish Government has increased revenue funding for inter-island connectivity by £8.6 million in 2025-26, including extending free ferry travel between islands to under 22s. Provisional local authority allocations are included in Annex E of Local Government Finance Circular 10/2024.

Comparisons of 2024-25 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) to 2025-26 Budget are misleading in the context of local government funding as the 2024-25 ABR includes an agreed transfer of £13.9 million. This transfer will also be processed at the 2025-26 ABR, increasing the Inter Island Connectivity funding included in table 4.14 of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget from £36.4 million to £50.3 million.

Our commitment to reform is not a single programme; it is a cross system approach with a focus on strategic priorities which we set out in the Budget. This work is being progressed through multiple and interconnected work-streams and requires a whole-of-government approach.

There are 5.8 civil servants working in the team that is leading the core public service reform programme.

It is deeply concerning that there have been two recent incidents involving buses colliding with low bridges, and I wish to express my best wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured. Both incidents are currently under investigation.

While vehicle safety is a reserved matter that is dealt with by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). There is no legal requirement for bus operators to install technical solutions into their vehicles to reduce the risk of collisions, it is a matter for individual bus operators to determine whether they want to install such systems. However, in recent years some bus companies have been trialling low bridge detection systems to improve the safety of their fleet.

Bus operators and drivers have a duty to take all practical steps to ensure that vehicles avoid colliding with infrastructure through proper route planning, training in risk assessment, and providing correct information to drivers on the vehicles they use, this includes access to height conversion charts and measurement gauges.

Collision of low bridges by commercial vehicles is a serious matter for the Traffic Commissioner and they will consider the liability of both the operator and the driver, which could result in the Commissioner taking action against them both.

Since June 2022 the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme has offered grants totalling almost £7m to a total of 31 projects, split across two streams:

• Stream 1 - funding for feasibility studies or technical demonstration of hydrogen production, distribution or storage solutions - 27 projects.
• Stream 2 – funding to support the development of test and demonstration facilities and equipment in Scotland - 4 projects.

To date 24 projects have been completed, with the remaining 7 due to conclude by late 2025. All have performed or are performing well in achieving their agreed outputs. Details of projects and their grant awards are available on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/emerging-energy-technologies-fund-hydrogen-innovation-scheme-successful-projects/.

On 16 September 2024 the Scottish Government launched a funding call that aims to provide support to the industry to help it scale up as it responds to market demand. Following due diligence call delivery partner Scottish Enterprise began making grant offers in December; details of call grant awards will be published in due course.

The Scottish Government welcomes IBD UK’s latest report, Crohn’s and Colitis Care in Scotland: A Vision for Change, and is grateful to the organisation for its work in this area.

We are committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, are able to access the best possible care and support. The 2025-26 Budget, if approved by Parliament, will provide £200 million to help reduce waiting times and improve capacity. This will help ensure no one waits more than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or inpatient/day-case treatment by March 2026.

Our Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan has so far delivered four mobile endoscopy units across Scotland, providing 5-6 additional endoscopy rooms, and a Dyce facility to provide additional endoscopy procedures for NHS Grampian (ceasing December 2024). The additional mobile endoscopy units have supported patients to be clinically prioritised for endoscopy, ensuring that a range of conditions, including IBD, are diagnosed and managed timeously. Additionally, the national endoscopy surveillance framework, introduced in February 2022, has been implemented in all Health Boards.

We have also funded the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP) with a specific workstream continuing to promote improvements in IBD care which is being taken forward through the MPPP’s National Gastroenterology Speciality Delivery Group (SDG). They have developed a national IBD pathway for NHS Scotland which is due to be published imminently. The Gastroenterology SDG is also developing a lower gastrointestinal pathway which will provide primary care guidance about testing and diagnosis for people with IBD and Coeliac Disease in Scotland.

While specialty training is required to qualify as a consultant on GP, not all doctors complete or immediately proceed to specialty training following Foundation training for a variety of reasons. General Medical Council data shows that on a UK-wide basis taking time away from formal training after completing Foundation has been increasing and is now the norm.

(a) The following table shows how many Foundation doctors moved straight from Scottish Foundation training programmes into a specialty training programme in Scotland (in the same calendar year).

The total estimated remaining unitary charge payments associated with PFI and PPP contracts including NPD (Non-Profit Distributing) across the public sector in Scotland from 2023-24 onwards are contained within the following table.

This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I have asked their Chief Executive, Adrian Gillespie, to contact you directly with a response.