Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government fully supports driver education as an alternative to prosecution where appropriate, understanding how these courses can positively influence behaviour and align with our long-term goal of reducing the number of people killed or seriously injured on Scotland’s roads. It’s important to note that we are not only looking to bring in speed awareness courses but a full suite of courses aimed at lower-level offences where the aim is behaviour change rather than punishment.

We have undertaken an in-depth review of all of the leading studies in this area. For example a three year evaluation, previously published by DfT, found that course participation reduced the likelihood of reoffending within six months by up to 23%. It further highlighted that the course was more effective in reducing speed reoffending than the penalty points and fines typically associated with fixed penalty notices for eligible drivers. This positive impact appeared to persist for up to three years following participation. Although a direct link to a reduction in road traffic collisions was not established, it was determined that the speed awareness courses contributed to reduced reoffending rates, and it is reasonable to anticipate that course participation encourages safer driving behaviours, indirectly lowering future collision risks.

Additionally, in 2023, the Transport Research Laboratory conducted an evaluation of the majority of National Driver Offending Retraining Scheme (NDORS) courses, which found that overall the courses are having a positive impact on the various behaviours they target.

Migration is vital for supporting sustainable communities, economies and public services in Scotland. Refugees are free to move within the UK and may do so for a variety of reasons including for work, study, family or community connections. Scotland is a diverse, multi-cultural society and it is important that all Scotland’s people are able to access the public services they need. Asylum and immigration are reserved to the UK Government, and we will continue to call for adequate resources to be provided to local authorities, particularly where increased asylum decision making places an additional burden on local services.

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice met with the Minister for Border Security and Asylum on 15 December where she raised the pressure that was being placed on certain local authorities in Scotland, especially Glasgow City Council, as a result of increased asylum decision making.

Everyone in Scotland has a right to support when they are experiencing homelessness and temporary accommodation if they need it in the short-term. Those assessed as unintentionally homeless should be offered a permanent home. We welcome efforts by the UK Government to clear the significant asylum backlog, but this must be properly planned and coordinated with adequate support and funding provided to support newly recognised refugees.

The recommendations for the new neonatal model of care are underpinned by strong clinical evidence that population outcomes for the most premature and sickest babies are improved by delivery and care in units looking after a critical mass of these babies.

The change in service delivery will bring Scotland in line with established practice across the rest of the UK and indeed the way neonatal care is delivered across the Western world.

This evidence has since strengthened with the publication in 2021 of the British Association for Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) ) Optimal Arrangements for Neonatal Intensive Care Units in the UK (2021) | British Association of Perinatal Medicine which sets out optimal arrangements for neonatal intensive care and is the recognised optimal model for neonatal intensive care in the UK.

A review of evidence was also carried out by Dr Anna Gavine, Dr Steve MacGillivray and Prof Mary Renfrew of the University of Dundee - Maternity and neonatal services: efficient evidence review. The evidence showed that outcomes for very low birth weight babies (VLBW) are better when they are delivered and treated in NICUs with full support services, experienced staff, and a critical mass of activity.

In November 2023, I asked the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Marion Bain, to review the evidence, the options appraisal report and the post COVID review.

Marion Bain confirmed the process was robust and took account of the available evidence, relevant clinical advice and confirmed that her investigations produced no concerns about the process, or the validity of the conclusions reached.

She also noted that it involved clinical experts from both within Scotland and beyond, and that the process was informed by and considered existing guidance from well-respected clinical organisations.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42711 on 7 January 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 Scottish Government recognises the importance of Mingyang’s potential investment to the growth and success of the offshore wind sector. The Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and Mingyang is a matter of public record.

The UK Government is responsible for national security, the regulation of international trade, elements of critical national infrastructure including energy, and the application of the National Security and Investment Act. The proposed Mingyang investment is subject to a national security decision by the UK Government and we await the outcome of that process.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission will publish its latest economic and fiscal forecasts alongside the Scottish Budget on 13 January 2026.

We are providing a package of support that ensures the people of Scotland will receive more help with heating costs this winter, than anywhere else in the UK. Based on the SFC’s forecasts from summer 2025, we are investing around £227 million in winter heating benefits in 2025-26, providing vital assistance to those who need it most during the coldest months of the year, with more than 837,000 payments already made to help households with heating costs this winter.

The expectation is that the mothers in threatened extreme preterm labour, or those whose babies are identified antenatally as requiring specialist care (for example neonatal surgery), will be transferred antenatally and will birth in the maternity unit alongside the NICU. The Perinatal Network has been leading some work, and recently published guidance on identification and obstetric transfer in these circumstances.

Where babies have to be moved our specialist neonatal transport service ScotSTAR has 20+ years of experience of moving babies in specialised ambulances with incubators and neonatal staff.

ScotSTAR and the wider Scottish Ambulance Service are working to ensure that capacity is aligned to the future demands related to the new model of neonatal care and will be feeding into the Task and Finish group around the resources required to do so.

In addition, the Scottish Government contracted healthcare planning support from RSM UK to undertake the detailed modelling and capacity planning work, to inform local implementation plans. The approach to this work has included data collection and modelling alongside engagement with both operational and strategic stakeholders, to validate data, generate and test planning assumptions.

Activity and capacity data was collected from each of the eight units included within the model scope, as well as Public Health Scotland (PHS) and, Scottish Specialist Transport and Retrieval (ScotSTAR) / Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS). The report was published in May 2024.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38434 on 17 June 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 Scottish Government is proud of its strong housing and homelessness rights. We want to ensure everyone in Scotland has access to a safe, warm and affordable home, whether they are homeowners or tenants in the private or social rented sectors.

People relocate for diverse reasons, including moving closer to relatives, seeking job opportunities and/or escaping difficult situations. Our official statistics capture whether homelessness applications come from households who live in the local area; have a local connection with another area of Scotland; or have no known connection to any authority in Scotland. Of the 34,067 households that were assessed as homeless in 2024-25, the overwhelming majority (94 per cent) already had a connection to the local area or to Scotland.