Chamber and committees

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The ‘Local CommUNITY Voices project’ was funded to enable SCOREScotland to engage with diverse local Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities, raise their awareness of community planning changes such as the new Localities; build their capacity to engage with services and to play their civic role; build/strengthen local partnership approaches to addressing prejudice and hate crime, offer family advocacy and support to facilitate reporting, rebuilding trust and seeking social justice in order to enhance community safety, promote equality and community cohesion.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Enhance (increase) the Capacity of BME individuals/groups to engage with service providers and re-design services
• Enhance the capacity of BME people to move the prevention of racism agenda forward in the South West of Edinburgh
• Family Advocacy and Support

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The Faith in Community Dundee project was funded to:

1. Develop the Fairness Conversation – involve faith communities, ethnic groups, people with protected characteristics in the Fairness Conversation in Dundee.

2. Increase community cohesion – through training (developing womens’ volunteer roles/skills sharing within faith community projects) and building partnership working.

3. Develop current and new initiatives to increase community cohesion - the Wonderbox Initiative and other faith community initiatives.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Faith communities, and other protected characteristics, have increased participation in city-wide Fairness Conversations and can better influence local and city-wide actions.
• Improve community cohesion through increased skills and knowledge within faith communities, leading to more effective community engagement.
• Improve community cohesion through increased capacity of, and engagement with, faith community projects in areas of multiple deprivations.

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The "Music – A Language for Social Change" project was funded to support Limelight music to work to address discrimination, social isolation and limited life choices experienced by individuals with impairments. These challenges would be met through: continued development of musicians with impairments & provision of employment opportunities; provision of recreational music programmes for individuals with impairments experiencing social isolation; and facilitating the self-representation and self-determination of individuals with impairments.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Increase in employment, training & educational opportunities for individuals with impairments.
• Reduce social isolation experienced by young people and adults with impairments
• Improve self-representation of individuals with impairments

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

A swift yet satisfactory conclusion is essential to minimise impacts on Scottish Water customers, both in the near term and for the future. The Scottish Government continues to urge all parties to continue negotiations in good faith to find a solution which is within the spirit of the Government’s public sector pay policy; is affordable to Scottish Water; and represents a fair offer to Scottish Water’s employees. It is for Scottish Water and the Joint Trade Unions to agree a settlement which is fair and affordable.

This information is available from the Office of Rail and Road statistics portal, published on its website. The Member may wish to access the following link, which will provide the information requested: Passenger rail usage | ORR Data Portal

The procurement process for the replacement Intercity rail fleet is ongoing. Releasing any details related to the live procurement would substantially harm economic interests of ScotRail, thus affecting the Scottish Government’s ability to secure a good value for public purse.

Information on the procurement of a replacement Intercity fleet has been published on the Public Contracts website and can be found here: View Notice - Public Contracts Scotland

As set out in answer S6W-38475 on 17 June 2025, over the last ten years the Consultant Radiologist workforce has increased by 27.7% (from 304.5 WTE as at March 2015 to 388.9 WTE as at March 2025). Consultant Radiologist vacancies have decreased by 3.4% over the last year to 22.4 WTE as at March 2025, which is a vacancy rate of 5.5%.

The Scottish Government continues to invest heavily in radiology training. We are currently funding around 190 specialty training places in clinical radiology, including 78 extra places which have been added since 2014, based on modelling and future workforce need. This enable doctors to train and enter the workforce following completion of training - which takes a minimum of 5 years. Clinical radiology specialty training programmes have been filled at 100% in Scotland from 2014 to 2024, with 230 resident doctors successfully completing the training in this period.

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 Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The Parents’ Project was funded to build on the People First’s Parents’ Group work in reducing the discrimination experienced by parents with learning disabilities and supporting parents to participate in, and engage with, services and society. The project would employ a part-time development worker to support a self-advocacy group of parents with learning disabilities (Parents’ Group), provide individual advocacy, support parents to provide training and participate in strategic planning fora.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Parents with learning disabilities are more aware of their rights and responsibilities and have increased confidence and skills both in parenting and in contributing to training and policy
• Parents with learning disabilities have access to more information in appropriate formats, helping them to engage with services, participate in society and be the best parents they can be
• Professionals have an increased awareness and understanding of the issues for parents with learning disabilities, they are more likely to adopt a supported parenting approach in line with current policy so parents with learning disabilities experience fewer barriers to exercising their right to family life.

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The Scottish Older People's Assembly (SOPA) project was funded to support the Scottish Older People's Assembly to use inclusive communication in different towns to;

• partner with Scottish Council on Deafness, Retired Police Association and Trading Standards Scotland, hold 3 facilitated conversations with older people with sensory impairment and physical impairments to examine experience of hate crime and fear of crime, and inform Lord Bracadale’ review of hate crime legislation and the Scottish Government’s Justice department to increase public confidence, reduce fear of crime and strengthen community engagement and resilience.
• partner with Trust Housing Association (Equalities), Citizens Advice Scotland and Faith in Older People, facilitate 4 conversations with older people from minority communities to examine their experience of health and social care services and improve their chance of receiving effective healthcare appropriate to their needs and have fewer inequalities in their life.
• partner with Women’s Aid, Action on Elder Abuse Scotland, RNIB and Soroptomists International, facilitate 6 conversations with the older LGBTI community to hear about their experience of domestic violence and elder abuse, and prevent ill health, improve their chance of receiving better coordinated support and being less isolated and lonely.

The specific outcome to be achieved was:

• Older people with sensory and physical impairment, and from the minority communities will be supported to better influence policy and service developments and be recognised for their contributions.

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund initially ran from 2017 to 2020, and was then extended to October 2021 due to the impacts of covid-19. It was superseded by a revised funding programme: the current Equality and Human Rights Fund.

The Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund was used to fund projects that would contribute to one or more of four outcomes:

• Discrimination against people who share protected characteristics is reduced and multiple discrimination is addressed so that barriers to participation are reduced.
• People covered by hate crime legislation experience lower levels of hate crime.
• People and communities are supported to participate in and engage with services and civic society; their contribution is recognised, and community cohesion is increased.
• Current imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life, including education and employment are addressed to better reflect our communities

The Making It Work project was funded to support Scottish Association of Sign Language Interpreters (SASLI) in its work as the only government funded organisation in Scotland specifically working towards monitoring, supporting and developing the profession of sign language interpreting and associated functions, SASLI aims to broaden and develop its scope to meet legislative, demographic and societal changes. The project would focus on developing new pathways to validate skills, protecting user communities through driving up and maintaining professional standards will increase accountability to deaf and deafblind people.

The specific outcomes to be achieved were:

• Deaf people have a greater choice of appropriately skilled and registered communication support professionals, making possible effective communication and inclusive participation in daily and public life and in educational/learning environments.
• Deaf people have a greater choice of appropriately skilled and registered communication support workers, to ensure effective learning and inclusive contribution in educational/learning environments.
• Deaf and deafblind people are trained and employed to provide training to enhance skills of communication support professionals
• The SASLI Register includes a specific category to recognise deaf people who have developed life and work skills through their lives. This replaces the need of accredited qualifications to encourage recognition and value of skills gained through life and not through education pathways.

The Fund was managed on a day to day basis on the Scottish Government’s behalf by Impact Funding Partners initially and then Inspiring Scotland. You can find a Final Progress Update report for the Fund summarising its impacts here: Promoting-Equality-and-Cohesion-Fund-Final-Report-Jan-Sep-2021-for-SG-publication.pdf