I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39506 on 8 August 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 number of Scottish Graduate Entry Medicine (ScotGEM) students that graduated in the denoted years are as follows:

(a) 2023 – 46 students

(b) 2024 – 59 students

(c) 2025 – 49 students

Heating oil and liquified petroleum gas supply chains and energy price regulation are reserved matters. The Scottish Government continues to engage constructively with the UK Government on a regular basis, including on the need to ensure that all energy consumers are suitably considered and protected in matters of regulation and use of reserved policy powers.

High energy prices remain the single greatest driver of fuel poverty. The Social Tariff Working Group recommended that all fuel types should be covered by a social tariff mechanism. This should include support for those using alternative fuels with off-grid consumers treated equitably to those on-grid. This support may be more appropriately delivered via a separate scheme.

We have consistently offered to work with the UK Government to ensure that adequate support is provided to those that need it the most.

Scotland’s approach to supporting the integration of refugees and people seeking asylum within our communities is set out in the New Scots refugee integration strategy. The strategy is led jointly by the Scottish Government, COSLA (representing Scottish local authorities) and Scottish Refugee Council.

In 2025-2026 the Scottish Government is providing £3.4m funding to local authorities from the Refugees, Resettlement and Asylum Division budget. This funding is intended to support the integration of people displaced from Ukraine and the full closure of welcome accommodation except to new arrivals in 2025-26.

In addition to this direct funding, wider support is provided to local authorities across Scotland through various routes, including:

• Funding to support COSLA as a joint partner in delivering the New Scots Refugee Integration Strategy, and progressing New Scots Delivery Plan actions.
• Funding for the Refugee Support Service (RSS), delivered by Scottish Refugee Council. The RSS supports refugees and people seeking asylum to settle into communities across Scotland through providing advice, information and resources, improving access to support services and facilitating social connections.
• Funding for British Red Cross to deliver a project aimed at increasing the support available to people who arrive in Scotland under Family Reunion visas. This project includes capacity building work to support local authorities to understand family reunion processes and empower them to support people who have recently arrived under family reunion routes.

There are currently 80 Scottish registered fishing vessels and a further 21 vessels from other UK and Isle of Man administrations targeting scallops and fitted with Remote Electronic Monitoring equipment. Between 14 June 2024 and 13 August 2025 analysis has been carried out on approximately 1240 fishing voyages targeting Scallops and as a result of this analysis, two infringements are currently under investigation.

A working group, convened by the Permanent Secretary, has been working at pace since April to review relevant policies, guidance and legislation impacted by the Supreme Court judgment. This Working Group is an internal group, comprising senior civil servants from across the Scottish Government. We have engaged at both Ministerial and official level with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) as they have consulted on updates to their Code of Practice for services, public functions and associations and submitted a response to their public consultation. The EHRC code of practice will provide important guidance to organisations considering the implications of the judgment. However, work is already underway across the Scottish Government to actively consider the implications of the judgment, considering the legal framework in each area.

An interim update on the practical implications of the judgment was published by the EHRC on April 25, 2025. The EHRC is expected to submit it revised code of practice to the UK Government in the Autumn and we will engage further with the UK Government at that stage.

The Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification will be updated following the release of the next Population Estimates for Settlements and Localities in Scotland publication by National Records of Scotland. This is currently planned to be released in 2028, based on the 2026 mid-year population estimates. A revised version of the Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification will then be produced using the new settlement population figures.

The Scottish Government Urban Rural Classification 2022, based on the 2022 Census settlement population figures, was published in December 2024:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-government-urban-rural-classification-2022/

The Scottish Government recognises that Scotland’s world class university research and its key outputs of new knowledge and insights, including the researchers who contribute to this excellence, are fundamental to Scottish society, economy and the environment.

We have prioritised funding to continue to support high-quality research and innovation across Scotland, increasing the investment in HE core funding for research by £11.3m (3.6%) for Academic Year 2025-26 to £328.5m to maintain and strengthen our research excellence. This includes investing £39.1m (increase of 3.1%) in the form of the Research Postgraduate Grant, providing an underpinning of support for institutions to attract, develop and nurture the next generation of world-class research talent in Scotland. Universities can use this grant to:

• Invest in a collaborative environment for research training and development that values positive culture, inclusivity and exposure to high-quality research as central to the postgraduate research experience; and
• Secure a pipeline of skilled postgraduate researchers, including at doctoral level, and support their career development in a way that meets the needs of academia, industry and society.

We are also investing money to support a critical mass of excellence by investing in a series of Alliances for Research Challenges, Innovation Centres, Interface and Converge, providing long-term support to the research sector in driving industry engagement, leveraging investment and promoting research skills development/ career development.

At this time the Scottish Government has no plans to review or revise our funding model for doctoral level study.

The Scottish Government does not provide Scottish domiciled students with doctoral research loans.

Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of Scottish domiciled students accessing doctoral loans for universities out with Scotland.

The Scottish Government is clear that there should be no unnecessary delays in responding to patients, regardless of their location. The Scottish Ambulance Service’s 2025-26 budget is £437.2 million. This represents increased investment of £88 million from 2024-25, including additional funding to provide for prior year pay deals as well as a range of funding to support vital frontline services, including in rural and island communities.