Chamber and committees

896km of 2695km in Scotland is already electrified, based on ORR figures to 31 March 2024. However, 75% of ScotRail journeys are already made on electric trains. Future plans will be outlined in the refreshed Decarbonisation Action Plan.

Social Security Scotland routinely releases information on Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods including the number and value of payments.

Since the introduction of Best Start Grant School Age Payment in June 2019, £34,086,106 has been paid to eligible clients. The following table shows the total number and value of School Age Payments made over each financial years since its introduction:

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering vital public services and supporting our third sector but continues to face the most challenging financial situation since devolution.

The 2025-26 draft budget, which will be subject to the approval of the Parliament, included an allocation for the Children, Young People, Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) and Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learners (CYPFAL) third sector funds.

The following table shows the number of criminal cases reported to the Procurator Fiscal Office, Aberdeen where either the decision was made for no action to be taken or was marked for action other than prosecution in court. (Count is by case). Direct measures are an appropriate and proportionate response to lower level offending.

The Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund forms part of the broader Affordable Housing Supply Programme which is based on flexible grant funding arrangements to ensure that affordable housing projects across Scotland, which are identified by local authorities as a priority, can be supported. Local authorities should engage with a range of organisations in their localities, including public sector employers, key agencies, including Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise, as well as local businesses and registered social landlords to develop proposals for use of the fund for consideration by the relevant More Homes Division area team.

Local authorities and registered social landlords are expected to agree the level of grant required for property acquisitions through the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund with the relevant More Homes Division area team. This should reflect the types and valuations of properties being targeted for purchase, as well as likely required investment to ensure quality standards are met.

Further information on acquisitions through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, including those through the fund, is available on the Scottish Government website.

We expect to complete the due diligence in Spring 2025, prior to award of the new contract in October 2025.

The costs included in the referral to the CMA are the overall costs of providing ferry services over the coming years, which include the costs of increasing the number of vessels in the fleet, resulting in an increased charter cost to reflect the value of new assets.

Transport Scotland officials met with the Ferries Communities Board on 18 December 2024 to discuss issues related to Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services 3 contract.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-31908 on 11 December 2024. 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 welcomes the publication and thanks the Chair, Edel Harris for her work. The Scottish Government is now carefully considering these initial findings, including the areas the Chair considers may be capable of early action. A written response to the final report will be published within six months, following assessment of policy and delivery implications and the affordability of proposals.

The Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database only contains information for offences that have records of at least one prosecution under which that offence was the main crime.

The Environmental Regulation (Enforcement Measures) (Scotland) Order 2015 provides SEPA with the power to issue penalties and accept undertakings for a range of environmental offences.

The latest available information is for the financial year 2022-23 and is provided in the following table.

Number of people prosecuted for environmental crimes, where main crime, 2018-19 to 2022-23.

The assigning of a hearing for deferral of sentence is an order of the court and is recorded within the court’s interlocutor for each case.

COPFS uses a live, operational database to manage the processing of reports submitted to Procurators Fiscal by the police and other reporting agencies throughout Scotland. It is designed to meet business needs in the processing of criminal cases, rather than for statistical analysis.

Information in respect of cases brought to court is produced by the Scottish Government, using data provided both by COPFS and SCTS. These are national figures and are not produced for individual courts or Procurator Fiscal Offices.