Chamber and committees

Transport Scotland does not hold this information. However, CalMac Ferries Limited (CFL) has provided the information as they do capture the number of Commercial Vehicles carried, and the number of Commercial Vehicle lane metres used.

A table has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib Number 65902) that provides a breakdown, by individual routes and calendar year from 10 October 2024 up until June 2025, detailing the total number of Commercial Vehicles carried and the total number of Commercial Vehicle lane metres used only.

This information will now be available via the CalMac website by following the link

https://corporate.calmac.co.uk/en-gb/about-us/performance-reports/island-performance/.

The number of convictions and sentence imposed in Scottish courts where the main charge was under section 2(1) of the Air Weapons and Licensing (Scotland) Act 2015 since it came into force on 20 December 2017 to 2022-23 are as follows:

The Scottish Government recognises the significant impact that retail crime can have on businesses, employees, and communities. We are committed to working in partnership with relevant sectors to prevent offending and raise awareness of young people about the consequences of such behaviour.

While there is currently no standalone national youth education programme specifically focused on retail crime, this issue is addressed within broader preventative and educational initiatives. These include community safety programmes delivered through schools, Police Scotland’s Campus Officer’s and partnerships between local authorities, third sector organisations, and community policing teams.

More widely, the Scottish Governments Youth Justice Vision 2024-2026 promotes early and effective intervention, diversion from prosecution and a preventative approach to youth offending. This framework supports local and national initiatives that raise awareness about the harms caused by offending – including shoplifting and retail-related antisocial behaviour and encourages positive decision making among young people.

The Government continues to consider how best to strengthen preventative education and is open to exploring opportunities to incorporate greater focus on retail crime within existing programmes. We are also working with stakeholders across justice, education, and business sectors to identify effective approaches to tackling the root causes of such behaviour.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37806 on 4 June 2025.

The Care Inspectorate report data publicly on their Data Store which may be able to assist with this question or alternatively the Care Inspectorate could be approached directly for a response.

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 supported councils to eradicate unfair music tuition charges, investing £51.3 million in the policy since 2021. The most recent Instrumental Music Services Survey confirmed that more than 61,000 pupils participated in instrumental music lessons in the academic year 2022-23, which is the highest number since the annual survey began 11 years ago.

In 2025-26, Stirling Council will receive £239 million to support day to day services, which equates to an extra £15.1 million or an additional 6.7% compared to 2024-25.

It is for individual councils to make decisions about education provision in schools on the basis of local needs and priorities.

I regularly meet with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service Chief Officer and Board Chair to discuss a variety of matters including the SFRS Strategic Service Review. I last met with the Chief Officer and Chair on 19 June 2025.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) has had extensive engagement with staff who could be impacted by the Service Delivery options for change. A full 12 week public consultation will take place from the end of June where staff, stakeholders and member of the public will be given the opportunity to express their views.

SFRS takes the mental health and wellbeing of its staff seriously and have a variety of measures in place. Updates have been provided at key stages, supported by intranet resources and newsletters. Potential impacts and options have been discussed, and wellbeing support is available to all staff.

The Key Reported Road Casualties Scotland 2024 publication shows that while overall casualties decreased in 2024, the number of fatalities increased by 9%.

The following table shows the Social Security Assistance final outturn for each financial year since 2018, when the Scottish Government began to deliver devolved Social Security benefits, split by category.

The Scottish Government remains committed to implementing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service. We have invested £39 million to date on expanding access to thrombectomy. While we continue to face significant financial challenges, we are committed to further expanding the service, ensuring access is as equitable as possible.

Whilst the Scottish Government cannot currently provide a timeline for expanding the service, Scottish Government officials and NHS planners have been asked to work at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for service expansion.

We have also provided funding for thrombectomy nurse posts in spoke sites with high rates of ischaemic stroke and this will support maximising access to thrombectomy across Scotland. Procurement of a national artificial intelligence imaging tool is also underway and, once implemented, this will help improve detection of patients with strokes suitable for thrombectomy.