Chamber and committees

Flexipass products are designed to provide discounted multi-journey travel for regular users of the Caledonian Sleeper, offering ten single journeys valid across the network within a twelve-month period. Current products provide flexibility and are available in both Classic and Club accommodation.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce resident-only allocations or protected room availability within the Flexipass scheme. Any such proposal would need to balance the interests of regular Highland-based passengers with those of other passengers, while ensuring efficient use of available accommodation and maintaining the financial sustainability of the service. However, officials will continue to engage with Scottish Rail Holdings and Caledonian Sleeper regarding customer experience and the attractiveness of the Flexipass product.

HM Inspectorate of Prisons for Scotland (HMIPS) health and wellbeing standard 9 is an important measure of the delivery of healthcare in prisons. Inspection of this Standard in Scottish prisons is undertaken by Healthcare Improvement Scotland, as part of the HMIPS inspection process, with their published reports identifying both good practice and areas for improvement.

Responsibility for the delivery of prison healthcare services rests with NHS Boards, and workforce planning, staffing arrangements and associated budgets are managed locally. Information of the type requested may therefore be held by the relevant NHS Boards.

As set out in the SPS Framework Document 2024, SPS Collaborative Working Framework Document - July 2024.pdf, the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Chief Executive, Linda Pollock is accountable to the Scottish Ministers for the economic, effective and efficient operation of Scottish Prisons.

SPS takes incident management and learning extremely seriously. During and after the incident at HMP & YOI Polmont, SPS adjusted staffing levels with support from other establishments, and the prison was running a full regime the following day. SPS undertakes formal learning after serious incidents for both security and operational staffing.

The safety of staff is of utmost priority for SPS. A range of services are available for all SPS staff both in preventative protection and for those who may experience workplace stress or are affected by traumatic incidents. This includes specialist training for incident management, workplace risk assessments, Occupational Health, confidential counselling and specialist trauma support, alongside Mental Health First Aid training and wellbeing and resilience support.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-04625 on 6 November 2026. 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.

Scottish Government officials have been in contact with Barclays regarding the reported job losses and potential implications for Scotland.

The Scottish Government published impact assessments as part of its 2023 consultation on Council Tax for second homes and long-term empty homes and non-domestic rates thresholds for self-catering accommodation, including an Island Communities Impact Assessment screening summary.

The Council Tax (Variation for Unoccupied Dwellings) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2026 provide local authorities with flexibility to determine the Council Tax treatment of second homes and long-term empty homes in their area.

Local authorities are independent bodies, democratically elected and accountable to their local electorate. Responsibility for developing and implementing a local policy on Council Tax charges for second and long-term empty homes therefore rests with the relevant local authority. It is for each Council to determine its policy and to consider the local impacts of the choices it makes, including what consultation or assessment is appropriate when developing and implementing that policy.

As such, local authorities are relevant authorities under the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018 and it is for each authority to consider whether local decisions require an Island Communities Impact Assessment or any other assessment of impacts on local communities.

The Scottish Government has published guidance to support Councils in exercising their discretion which is available online at Local government finance circular 6/2026: council tax on second and long-term empty homes guidance - gov.scot. This sets out the relevant legislative framework and provides guidance to local authorities on applying their discretion to reduce or increase Council Tax liability for second and long-term empty homes. It also notes that local authorities may use Housing Need and Demand Assessments and Local Housing Strategies to inform the development of Council Tax charging policies.

The guidance encourages local authorities to consider local housing need, the local economy and tourism, public services, community impacts, hardship and the circumstances of individual owners when deciding whether and at what level to apply a premium.

As decisions on whether to apply a premium, and at what level, are matters for individual local authorities, it is for those authorities to consider local evidence and undertake any assessments they consider necessary to inform their decisions. The Scottish Government does not supervise individual local authorities’ exercise of these powers and it would not be appropriate for the Scottish Government to intervene in a Council’s local policy decision.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a national assessment specifically identifying resource implications relating to the composition and size of prison healthcare teams. However, through regular engagement with NHS Boards and prison healthcare teams, requirements relating to workforce capacity, recruitment, retention and service demand are discussed. NHS Boards are responsible for assessing local workforce requirements and ensuring that prison healthcare services are appropriately resourced to meet the needs of the populations they serve.

The Scottish Government has not made any assessment under the Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal, regarding the plans for a data centre development at Chapelcross. Any future request, if received, would be considered in line with growth deal objectives and the relevant statutory planning requirements.

A record of ministerial engagements can be found on the www.gov.scot website; this includes any meetings between myself and the Scottish Prison Service.

As set out in the SPS Framework Document 2024, SPS Collaborative Working Framework Document - July 2024.pdf the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Chief Executive, Linda Pollock is personally accountable to the Scottish Ministers for the economic, effective and efficient operation of Scottish Prisons.

In line with this accountability, the Chief Executive provided ministers with regular verbal and written updates throughout and following the incident at HMP & YOI Polmont.

I am grateful to the Chief Executive and SPS staff for their swift and effective operational response, which brought the incident to a safe conclusion and helped minimise further harm, disruption and risk to staff, those in custody, the establishment and the wider prison estate.