Chamber and committees

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The statutory rail franchising framework is a matter reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government’s consistent view over many years is that there ought to be a level playing field between the private and public sector in bidding for rail franchises. Only now, having secured the necessary legislative change, are we able to consider letting franchise contracts in Scotland to the public sector.

We are now working to enable a public sector bid for Scotland’s railways in the future, as such widened competition should enhance our ability to secure passenger rail services in Scotland that deliver maximum economic and social benefit.

My immediate concern is to ensure there is no slide in the provision or quality of services, and that the interests of Scottish passengers are protected. I also want to ensure the staff involved will have their terms and conditions and pension arrangements protected, with the relevant trade unions being consulted.

I have also written to the Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP seeking representation on the newly created board to oversee the operation of the new service.

The Scottish Government is committed to reducing wealth inequality and to delivering policies which support inclusive growth. We are determined to take strong action to reduce child poverty and meet our statutory targets in terms of the Child Poverty (Scotland) Act 2017. On Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, Scotland led the way in the UK by establishing a progressive approach to rates and bands for LBTT making the amount paid more closely related to the value of the property or transaction. Our reforms to Council Tax have made local taxation fairer and more progressive. Additionally, income tax in Scotland is fairer, more progressive and raises additional funds to protect public services and support the economy.

We welcome research that helps to shed light on the causes of suicide and how better to prevent it. Scotland has seen a significant fall of 17% in the overall suicide rate over the past decade, and we have seen particular progress with the age group covered in this research. Among 15-to-34-year-olds, there has a been a decrease of 34% over the past decade. We are currently engaging with stakeholders on a draft suicide prevention action plan in order to continue this strong downward trend, and we have discussed our plan with the research’s lead author, Professor O’Connor.

These findings reinforce the importance of the vision in our Mental Health Strategy that people can get the right help at the right time, can expect recovery, and fully enjoy their rights, free from discrimination and stigma. We want a Scotland where people feel able to talk freely about how they feel and get the help they need.

There are no official data published on attempted suicide so it is useful to have new research in this complex area. As indicated in the answer to S5W-16828 on 23 May 2018, we welcome research that helps to shed light on the causes of suicide and how better to prevent it. Scotland has seen a significant fall of 17% in the overall suicide rate over the past decade, and we have seen particular progress with the age group covered in this research. Among 15-to-34-year-olds, there has a been a decrease of 34% over the past decade. We are currently engaging with stakeholders on a draft suicide prevention action plan in order to continue this strong downward trend, and we have discussed our plan with the research’s lead author, Professor O’Connor. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

As indicated in the answers to S5W-16828 and S5W-16829 on 23 May 2018, we are currently engaging with stakeholders on a draft suicide prevention action plan in order to continue the strong downward trend in Scotland’s suicide rates. We have discussed our plan with the research’s lead author, Professor O’Connor. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Serco Limited is a commercial organisation and as such, any financial information in relation to the amount of profit made from the NorthLink ferry contract is commercially sensitive.

The annual accounts of Serco Limited, Serco NorthLink Ferries parent company, are available from the following website; https://www.serco.com/investors/results-reports-events .

Our ambition is to increase the number of GPs by at least 800 over ten years to ensure a sustainable service that meets increasing demand.

There will also be significant new investment in the wider multi-disciplinary teams to support GPs.

The national health and social care workforce plan on primary care, published on 30 April 2018, sets out how we propose to support the recruitment of these additional GPs through an ambitious training, recruitment and retention programme, supported by a £7.5 million pound investment this year.

The new GP contract, backed by investment of £110 million in 2018-19 and jointly developed with the BMA, will help to cut doctors’ workload and make general practice an even more attractive career.

Our ambition is to increase the number of GPs by at least 800 over ten years to ensure a sustainable 24/7 service that meets increasing demand. There will also be significant new investment in the wider multi-disciplinary teams to support GPs. Details of how we will achieve this are set out in our Primary Care Workforce Plan that published last week.