Chamber and committees

The Freight Facilities Grant (FFG) is intended to bring about a number of benefits from the removal of freight from roads to other modes of transport. These include environmental and social effects including improved public health through reduced local air pollution; increased road safety through reduced volumes of heavy vehicle traffic; improved traffic flows through reduced congestion; and lower overall emissions from moving freight from heavy goods vehicles to lower-emitting forms of transport.

The Scottish Government has spent the following amount in relation to judicial reviews. We are unable to provide a breakdown by case name due to GDPR considerations. Some case names will be in the public domain because the judgments have been published with the full name. However, some cases have been name anonymised and others will not be in the public domain due to being disposed of without a judgment.

As Scottish Government functions have increased and matured, the volume and complexity of outsourced legal work has also evolved. This work is procured and we are now utilising the third iteration of a framework providing Legal Services to the Scottish Government and the wider public sector. The current Legal Services Framework is divided into 6 Lots by subject matter:

The information requested is not held centrally by Scottish Government.

As Scottish Government functions have increased and matured, the volume and complexity of outsourced work has also evolved. This work is procured and we are now utilising the third iteration of a framework providing Legal Services to the Scottish Government and the wider public sector. The figures provided in the table set out how much the Scottish Government has spent through those frameworks and the breakdown of costs to each legal firm. We do not centrally gather information on the department spend as there is no business requirement to do. We have interpreted the question as legal costs incurred for outsourced legal work.

Accountable Officers are in place to ensure that public money is used efficiently and effectively in line with guidance published in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM). The SPFM provides guidance on the proper handling and reporting of public funds.

The Scottish Government has no functions in relation to the windfall tax. The oil and gas fiscal regime - including the Energy Profits Levy or "windfall tax" - are wholly reserved to the UK Government, as are decisions on how to spend the revenues raised.

As with all decisions on the use of public funding the authorisation to meet costs would be cleared at the appropriate level within the organisation.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34203 on 27 February 2025. 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

The Scottish Government recognises the difficulties facing the audiology sector, as highlighted by the Independent Review of Audiology services, which reported in August 2023. Audiology is now being considered as a clinical priority area, and improvement work is being progressed through the National Planning and Delivery Board led by the Chief Operating Officer – NHS Scotland. This has necessitated re-phasing of our commitment on community hearing. We will continue to work with the NHS, Third Sector, private providers and those with lived experience to identify and inform an appropriate model of community care for any future service.