Chamber and committees

Following annual reviews of the number of specialty training places needed to meet anticipated future service demand and consultant need, the Scottish Government has funded the creation of approximately 850 additional posts across multiple specialities since 2014, including in clinical and medical oncology and key surgical specialties. Over the last ten years we have increased the Consultant Oncologists workforce by 46% (from 97.5 WTE as of March 2016 to 142.2 WTE as of March 2026). The number of consultants working in surgical fields relevant to cancer care stood at 1,096.1 WTE as at 31 March 2026. This is an increase of 28%, or 242.3 WTE, over the last decade.

The Scottish Government continues to monitor the deck space reservation pilot, with a working group of Transport Scotland, CalMac and community representatives due to meet in July 2026 to review progress and consider next steps.

CMAL as the procuring authority, will oversee the design and build processes and have a site team at the yard. It is for the shipyard to ensure that sufficient personnel are assigned to deliver the build in line with the agreed schedule. Guangzhou Shipyard International Co. Ltd has confirmed that there can be 20,000 persons working at the shipyard including sub-contractors across a number of projects at any one time.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. The number of vehicles of any type seized due to antisocial use is not held. The data we receive from Police Scotland is a simple count of the number and type of crimes and offences recorded. We do not hold further details as to whether any of these involved quad bikes or off-road motorcycles.

Police Scotland may be able to provide this data upon request.

As previously stated, Transport Scotland and our operating company BEAR Scotland have held discussions with various local stakeholders regarding the A84 Teith Bridge and options for active travel improvement between Doune and Deanston. Transport Scotland is working closely with Stirling Council regarding this matter.

Transport Scotland and BEAR Scotland shared the results of the modelling with Stirling Council and met with them to discuss it where Stirling Council requested that a live exercise be undertaken to directly investigate the impact on delays to vehicular traffic.

Taking account of the requirements of all modes of travel, including public transport services, it is recognised that the best form of improvement may not be amendment to the trunk road and the existing bridge. It may be more practical and effective to create an entirely new, offline facility.

Following discussions with Stirling Council, their preferred approach was to trial Option 3. This involved implementing an all-red phase at the traffic signals, allowing pedestrians to cross the bridge independently. However, this arrangement was not considered feasible under temporary conditions due to the associated safety risks.

Alternative options would lie outwith the trunk road and therefore outwith the responsibility of Transport Scotland. Progression of these would be the responsibility of Stirling Council or the Regional Transport Partnership to take forward, and Transport Scotland has suggested that the Council continue to appraise the best means of active travel connection between the two communities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-01400 on 9 July 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.

The Scottish Government has a strong track record of support for Scotland’s meat processing industry in general, including pig processing. The Food Processing, Marketing and Cooperation (FPMC) Grant Scheme has previously provided support to pig processing; details of awards given under the Scheme can be found here: Food-Processing-Marketing-and-Co-operation---Funding-Awards-2014-20-and-2021-24-Nov-2025.pdf.

In addition, the Small Producers Pilot Fund has in recent years provided resource support to explore solutions to challenges surrounding abattoirs and small producers’ access to private kill services. Over £400,000 was invested in 2025-26, and support will continue for small producers with a budget of £1m in resource and £1.5m in capital this year.

The Scottish Government’s Food and Drink Processing Scheme Scotland was open between 17 March and 15 May this year. The competitive Scheme is aimed at supporting the food and drink processing industry through capital grants and is part of a £9 million capital investment package. Applications are currently being assessed.

The Scottish Government condemns all forms of religiously motivated violence and is clear that communities affected by reported attacks targeting Muslims should feel safe, supported and resilient.

We have established strong working relationships with Muslim communities across Scotland, and we continue to engage with communities to ensure appropriate support and reassurance is in place.

We recognise the importance of ensuring that engagement reflects the diversity within affected communities. We continue to strengthen and build on these relationships and our networks to ensure these voices are heard.

Work is progressing on the next phase of Scotland’s Hate Crime Strategy, and we are taking steps to ensure that this is informed by these stakeholders. Alongside this, we will continue to consider how our engagement and resilience work can best support communities and respond to emerging issues.

We will continue to work closely with partners at both local and national level to ensure that our approach remains cohesive.

The first milestone payment was made by CMAL on enactment of the contracts in April 2026. The next milestone payment, for cutting steel for Vessel 1, is expected in December 2026.

Where reported to police, a knife-related assault within a school would typically involve two crimes being recorded – one for possessing a bladed/pointed article within a school and a second for the assault. Information is not held centrally on the volume of such incidents, as the data provided by Police Scotland to the Scottish Government for the Recorded Crime Official Statistics is a simple count of the number of recorded crimes and offences, for each local authority. Therefore, whilst both crimes in the above scenario would be counted within the statistics, they cannot be linked within the data we receive.

However, the Scottish Government collects information on staff experiences of use of weapons in schools, towards staff and pupils, through the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR).