Chamber and committees

There is currently no reason for Transport Scotland officials to consider the closure of the M74 Junction 1 Kingston Interchange, which is likely to have significant adverse impacts on the wider local road network given the volume of traffic on the M74 and M8. A clear rationale for changes to the strategic transport network, such as this, need to emerge from a robust business case in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance and Transport Scotland's Guidance on the Development of Business Cases . If this change was for planning or land use change purposes, I would expect this to be initiated by Glasgow City Council.

Funding for Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Supports and Services for children, young people and their families has been distributed to each local authority area as follows:

Funding provided to NHS Boards for the delivery of Childsmile covers the full programme, and we do not separate the cost of certain aspects of the programme, such as the fluoride varnish element.

My answer to the Member’s separate question (reference S6W-26265 on 15 April 2024) sets out how much the Scottish Government has spent on the Childsmile programme in the last five years.

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 .

In the following table I have outlined the amount of grant money awarded to each board since 2007. We are unable to confirm the amount to each dental provider as it would potentially breach commercial in confidence.

Childsmile funding is provided annually to Boards through i) the Outcomes Framework and ii) direct allocation from the General Dental Services (GDS) budget.

The Outcomes Framework is a single source of funding to NHS Boards which provides for local flexibility on resource allocation to deliver clearly defined outcomes. The Framework has a strong focus on delivering strategic priorities such as prevention and reducing health inequalities.

Following years of non-recurring funding, £72 million was provided to NHS Boards in 2023-24 on a recurring basis to deliver all Outcomes, including deliverables on Childsmile. Funding for individual components of the Outcomes Framework, including Childsmile, is not separately identifiable within the total allocation and therefore no meaningful disaggregation can be provided.

In addition to Outcomes Framework funding which is provided to every Board, some Boards also receive direct programme allocations from the GDS budget to support Childsmile activities on a national and/or regional basis. Allocations provided to these Boards are therefore not indicative of activity undertaken within the geographic location given the co-ordinating role they undertake, and have not been provided in breakdown although they are included in total programme allocation.

The total value of allocations associated with Childsmile in each of the last five financial years is set out in the following table:

The current phase of Clyde Metro is being led by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, working alongside Glasgow City Council and with Transport Scotland providing support in a project assurance role.

I am advised that the multi-partner project team has been engaging with colleagues from the Trams to Newhaven project and across the private and public sector to learn from experiences elsewhere in the development of mass transit projects and ensure lessons learned and best practice are embedded within Clyde Metro’s future development.

All allocations in the Local Government Settlement are published on the Government Website at: 4 Tables and Interactive Dashboard - Scottish Local Government Finance - Green Book: 2024-2025 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The allocations for school counselling services for 2024-25 is as follows:

The M8 Woodside Viaduct is a vital element of Scotland’s motorway network, carrying approximately 150,000 vehicles daily. Installation of the temporary propping system, required to enable permanent repairs, will continue through the 2024-25 financial year. It is anticipated that the project will be Transport Scotland’s largest capital-funded transport project in Glasgow during this period.

Other significant Government-led transport projects in Glasgow in 2024-25 include the East Kilbride rail enhancement project (£54.1m for 2024-25), active travel infrastructure projects and investing in Glasgow’s City Region Deal. This response does not consider projects by other authorities e.g. Glasgow City Council.

Scottish Government policy for design quality in healthcare (DL(2010)19) looks to ensure that these elements are considered by designers and NHS Boards. This is assessed by the NHSScotland Design Assessment Process (NDAP) provided by NHSScotland Assure in conjunction with Architecture and Design Scotland (A&DS) is the vehicle for assessing design quality in NHSScotland Capital funded healthcare facilities developments and is an integral part of the Business Case process. The NDAP, along with the Sustainable Design and Construction (SDaC) requirements, ensures that a well rounded and measured assessment is made of the requirements of the objectives of each project they review.

This Wolfson Economics Prize competition of 2021 provided numerous innovative submissions in response to the problem question. Each of the runners up and the winner of the prize provided interesting responses to specific strands of healthcare design. The main themes featured in the Wolfson Economic Prize finalists are embeded in the NDAP and SDaC process to ensure sustainable, Person Centred Care.

The potential use of biodegradable barrier tape is an operational policing matter for Police Scotland. The Police Scotland Environmental Strategy 2021 sets out the context, pathway and implementation plan for reduction of energy, resource and carbon across the organisation.