Question reference: S7W-03415

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide a list of the projects that have received funding through the £30 million Invest to Save Fund, and how much funding has been allocated to each project.

Decisions regarding the £30 million Invest to Save Fund for 2026-27 have been made and successful applicants have been notified. Funded organisations are currently considering and confirming acceptance of their awards, including the associated terms and conditions. As this process remains ongoing, details of individual projects and funding allocations have not yet been finalised for publication.

The Scottish Government intends to announce the successful projects and associated funding allocations once the funding award process has been fully concluded.

The funded projects for 2025-26 Invest to save fund is outlined below.

Invest to Save fund 2025-26

Scottish Canals

Scottish Canals Transformation Programme. To establish a ‘Routemap’ for a new operating model for canal operations and service provision for all boating customers and visitors.

£300,000

Scottish Government (SG) Directorate for Environment and Forestry (EnFor)

Multi Agency Co-ordinated Fish Farm Consenting. The project will design and deliver a digital platform to support efficient, effective and transparent marine fish farm regulation, including the roll out of streamlined and integrated consenting of marine fish farm developments.

£261,250

SG Directorate for Justice

National Victim and Witness Gateway. To create a website where victims and witnesses can access information about their case which will incorporate live information from across the justice system.

£1,050,000

SG Directorate for Justice

Transcription Technology. To understand how new technology can be used across the justice system to more efficiently transcribe and translate information. Making the Scottish Criminal Justice the beacon of technology adopters and a justice system fit for now and generations to come.

£350,000

Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS)

Jury Management Transformation Project. To support the transformation of how SCTS engage, communicate and encourage the Scottish public to serve as jurors and uphold the integrity of the Justice System.

£901,000

SG Directorate-General (DG) Corporate

Scaling AI Automation. Scaling of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Automation as a transformation enabler across the Scottish Public Sector to deliver higher productivity and efficiency.

£4,929,713

Disclosure Scotland

Safeguarding Reform through Automation. To develop and implement automation software that will significantly reduce administrative and manual casework requirements, increasing throughput of protection services.

£898,458

Highland and Island Enterprise

The Factory, Machrihanish. The demolition of Buildings A and C at The Factory site will allow the remediated development sites to be returned to and actively marketed for potential economic re-use and community benefit purposes.

£246,400

Local Government

Aberdeen City Council
To address the increasing demands and pressures from an ageing population with complex care needs, by developing advanced digital tools to enhance care efficiency and quality, ensuring services are flexible, comprehensive, and person centred.
£1,238,627
Clackmannanshire council
Transformation Space. Under the Fairer Futures Partnership banner, developing the approach of locally driven, targeted tests of change.
£1,000,000
Glasgow City Council
Connected care-smart care homes. A Smart & Connected Social Places Programme exploring connected digital solutions to enhance public services and deliver efficiency gains in Housing and Health & Social Care.
£,100,000
Perth and Kinross Council
Delivery of Recurring Cost Savings through Improved Energy Management.
To reduce energy costs and deliver a reduction in environmental impact by generating actionable insights into where waste energy is being consumed.
£529,125
Falkirk and Clackmannanshire Councils
Work to identify and explore opportunities for financial and non-financial benefits from closer collaboration.
Amount requested £2,000,000
Local Government Single Authority Model-multiple LA’s
To ascertain the costs of delivery of integrated public services across a number of LA’s.
Amount requested £1,400,000 (£900,000 offered)

Question reference: S7W-03413

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Thursday, 17 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Ivan McKee on 24 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what estimate it has made of potential pension shortfalls resulting from its proposed public sector reforms.

Pension liabilities and future funding requirements are subject to a range of factors, including scheme membership, actuarial assumptions and workforce changes. Any pension impacts arising from workforce changes would be considered as part of the development and implementation of specific reform proposals.

Public Service Reforms are intended to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of public services and do not in themselves alter the pension benefits available through existing public sector pension schemes therefore the Scottish Government has not made an estimate of potential pension shortfalls arising from its proposed public sector reforms.

The Scottish Government will assess the workforce implications of reform proposals as they are developed.

Question reference: S7O-00337

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 23 September 2026
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 1 October 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to strengthen partnerships between Police Scotland and other public sector bodies to improve multi-agency approaches to community policing.

Question reference: S7W-03074

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much NHS Scotland has paid out in compensation settlements in each year since 1999.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-03073 on 23 September 2026, which provides both the number of NHS Scotland compensation claims managed through the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS), and the amount reimbursed in relation to those claims.

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.

Question reference: S7W-03069

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government who will be represented in the three-month period of dialogue on social care reform announced in the Programme for Government, and specifically, whether small and micro care at home providers and community organisations will have a direct seat, rather than being represented through national umbrella bodies.

The Scottish Government is committed to engaging collaboratively with local government, providers, people with lived experience, the workforce, trade unions and other key partners as this work develops.

The arrangements for this dialogue, including how different stakeholders will participate, are currently being developed. The Scottish Government recognises the important contribution that providers of all sizes, including small and micro care at home providers and community organisations, make to the delivery of care and support across Scotland, and will consider how relevant voices can be reflected as plans for engagement are finalised.

Question reference: S7W-03076

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how much NHS Scotland has paid out in settlement agreements in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government has been monitoring settlement agreement proposals since 2014-15, which is the first reporting year for which NHSS settlement records are available. The last year for which this data is available is 2025-26. The cost to NHS Scotland each year during this period is given in the following table.

Year (1 April – 31 March)	Total Cost (£)
2014-15	895,134
2015-16	574,568
2016-17	780,502
2017-18	1,209,500
2018-19	727,974
2019-20	316,389
2020-21	724,161
2021-22	759,536
2022-23	501,885
2023-24	1,627,403
2024-25	886,140
2025-26	1,745,460

Question reference: S7W-03078

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many referrals for treatment outwith Scotland have been made to (a) NHS providers and (b) private healthcare providers in each year since 1999, broken down by NHS board.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) releases statistics, as part of the monthly Stage of Treatment (SoT) publication, covering waits for new outpatient appointments under the 12-week standard, and for inpatient and day case admissions covered by the 12-week Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG). The latest statistics are published up to 31st July 2026 and can be found using the link below:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/stage-of-treatment-waiting-times/

Quality assured data relating to the number of additions and removals to the waiting list outside of Scotland for a new outpatient appointment, or for inpatient and day case admission, have been published since 31 December 2012 onwards and can be found using the links below.

https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/40088/newop_jul26-data-file-up-to-30-june-2026.xlsx

https://www.publichealthscotland.scot/media/40087/ipdc_jul26-data-file-up-to-30-june-2026.xlsx

It is important to note that there are minimal data quality checks carried out on the location of treatment. Neither Scottish Government or PHS hold accurate information on the number of referrals to NHS commissioned independent sector providers outside of Scotland.

Question reference: S7W-03075

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many settlement agreements have been signed by NHS Scotland in each year since 1999.

The Scottish Government has been monitoring settlement agreement proposals since 2014-15, which is the first reporting year for which NHSS settlement records are available. The last year for which this data is available is 2025-26. The number of settlements signed by NHS Scotland each year during this period is given in the following table.

Year (1 April – 31 March)	Total Number
2014-15	30
2015-16	25
2016-17	36
2017-18	24
2018-19	33
2019-20	26
2020-21	23
2021-22	33
2022-23	27
2023-24	43
2024-25	38
2025-26	82

Question reference: S7W-03072

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Alison Thewliss on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government what specific measures within the social care reform process will support entrepreneurship and business sustainability among independent and community sector care at home providers.

The Scottish Government recognises the vital role that independent and community sector care at home providers play in delivering high-quality care and support across Scotland.

As social care reforms are developed and implemented, we will continue to engage closely with providers, people with lived experience, local government and other partners to explore opportunities to create a more cohesive, sustainable and effective social care system. The Scottish Government is approaching this work with an open mind and no specific measures have been ruled in or out at this stage.

Consideration of how best to support a diverse, sustainable provider landscape, including independent and community sector providers, will be considered as part of this ongoing work. Any specific measures will be considered as reform proposals are developed.

Question reference: S7W-03073

Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Edinburgh and Lothians East, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
Date lodged: Wednesday, 09 September 2026
Current Status: Answered by Angela Constance on 23 September 2026

To ask the Scottish Government how many compensation settlements have been signed by NHS Scotland in each year since 1999.

The following table provides the number of NHS Scotland compensation claims managed through the Clinical Negligence and Other Risks Indemnity Scheme (CNORIS), and the amount reimbursed in relation to those claims, from 2015-16.

Earlier reporting recorded the number of reimbursements rather than claims. As a claim can result in more than one reimbursement, the two measures are not directly comparable.

	Number of Claims			Value £m
Financial Year	Clinical	Non-Clinical	Total	Clinical	Non-Clinical	Total
2015-16	200	56	256	49.57	3.23	52.81
2016-17	297	89	386	37.46	2.79	40.25
2017-18	219	42	261	31.87	1.88	33.74
2018-19	218	37	255	35.80	3.94	39.73
2019-20	202	52	254	34.32	3.65	37.96
2020-21	242	35	277	59.94	1.66	61.59
2021-22	320	81	401	105.97	3.27	109.24
2022-23	294	102	396	52.58	2.99	55.56
2023-24	250	75	325	43.67	3.66	47.33
2024-25	187	58	245	56.87	5.99	62.86
Total	2,429	627	3,056	508.04	33.05	541.08

CNORIS operates a £25,000 deductible, with individual NHS Boards responsible for claim costs up to this amount. The figures presented therefore reflect amounts reimbursed through the Scheme above the applicable deductible.

The information is presented at an aggregate level to protect claimant confidentiality and is broken down between clinical and non-clinical compensation in line with established reporting arrangements.

The number and value of claims in any one year do not necessarily relate to incidents that occurred in that year, as claims can take a number of years to conclude. A small number of high-value claims can also significantly affect the amount paid in any one year.

Further information on claims made through CNORIS is available in the CNORIS Annual Reports published by Public Services Delivery Scotland:

https://www.nss.nhs.scot/legal/clinical-negligence-and-other-risks-indemnity-scheme-cnoris/access-annual-reports-for-the-scheme/.

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Question reference: S7W-03415

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