Chamber and committees

Table 1 below provides the gross teaching funding allocations per Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) place in college in cash and real terms (2022-23 prices), since 2007-08. Please note that data between the periods of 2007-08 to 2012-13 and 2013-14 to 2022-23 are not directly comparable due to a change in methodology of how FTEs in college were calculated.

The Scottish Government has no plans to review policies in relation to placing young people in adult mental health wards.

NHS Boards use the Admission to Adult Mental Health Wards for under 18's Guidelines which were published in 2020, alongside discussions with the young person and their family, to make the most appropriate decision regarding the treatment and support that a young person requires.

The guidelines make clear that we expect children and young people who require inpatient care to be looked after in age-appropriate facilities. There may be occasions when it isn’t possible for a young person to be admitted to a specialist child and adolescent bed – for example, a crisis admission out of hours where there are concerns for the young person’s safety, or the young person and their family have a preference for an admission to a local adult ward. On occasions where young people are placed within an adult ward this will be monitored and reviewed regularly to ensure that the young person is receiving the most appropriate treatment and care.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the steering group, made up of Disabled People’s Organisations, to co-design the new Disability Equality strategy. The group met several times in 2022 and are focused on developing responses to the challenges and obstacles disabled people face.

The group last met in April 2023 and a further meeting is planned for June 2023. It is anticipated that the strategy will be published on the conclusion of the co-design process.

Our current focus with the Disabled People’s Organisations is the development of an Immediate Priorities Plan that will respond to the negative impact of the cost of living crisis on disabled people. This plan will be published in the Summer. A publication date for the Disability Equality Strategy will be determined following the work on the Immediate Priorities Plan.

(a) There were 149 admissions of under 18s to secure accommodation during 2021-22. Details of those placements can be found in the Children’s Social Work Statistics Scotland: 2021 to 2022 .

(b) The Scottish Prison Population Statistics 2021-22 show the establishments where under 18s were held. This is detailed in the following table:

The Scottish Government alongside the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service fully supports Firefighters Memorial Day and the opportunity it gives us all to reflect and remember firefighters across the world who have lost their lives in keeping communities. Bill Kidd MSP also raised a members debate on 4 May in the Scottish Parliament at which many members made moving contributions to recognise Firefighters Memorial Day. Scotland’s communities are lucky to have such dedicated and professional firefighters, who stand ready to put their personal safety at risk to save others.

CalMac Ferries Limited have provided details that the repair to the Isle of Arran exhaust leak in April 2023 incurred a cost of £1,212.54.

This cost was included within their vessel maintenance budget.

The Scottish Government plans to publish a draft of the next Climate Change Plan in November 2023, with a final version due by March 2025.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-17036 on 4 May 2023. 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

Collaboration and engagement is a cornerstone of all transport activity and there is community engagement at all levels of transport decision making. My predecessors and I, and Transport Scotland officials have engaged and will continue to engage with communities in developing and implementing strategies and on specific projects, such as the Islands Connectivity Plan and Project Neptune, and will continue to do so in the future.

For example, Transport Scotland recently chaired an Uig Resilience meeting on my behalf on 27 March 2023.

Whilst local transport issues are the responsibility of local authorities, Transport Scotland, my predecessors and I, have engaged and will continue to engage constructively with local authorities where proposals or projects are considered to have a potential impact on transport assets and services owned and/or provided by Scottish Ministers.

As the Bank is a non-departmental public body, ministers meet with the Chair and senior officials on a regular basis. These meetings address the Bank’s progress against its strategic aims and how its investment activity across its three missions can support government priorities.

The First Minister met Chair Willie Watt and new CEO Al Denholm on 2 May This was an introductory meeting.

A full list of all ministerial engagements and when they have met the Bank can be found here: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)