Chamber and committees

The evacuation of people from their homes in the event of a fire is an operational matter for SFRS. SFRS have appropriate training and equipment in place to evacuate anyone who requires it.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40140 on 24 September 2025. The assessment of condition is being prepared in line with our duties, and will include the impact of human activity and pressures on the marine area. 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.

We are aware of our duties under Section 5 of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010, and the National Marine Plan 2 is being constructed using a robust and transparent evidence base. The assessment of condition is being informed by existing evidence and date, including but not limited to Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020 (SMA2020) and data which informed our 2024 review of the NMP.

An agreement in principle to support the Nexo Championship was discussed between VisitScotland and DP World Tour at this year’s Genesis Scottish Open, which took place 10-13 July. The final decision to support the event was taken following contract review and negotiations that same month.

The tournament was a late addition to the DP World Tour schedule, announced midway through the season on 6 May 2025. It followed the cancellation in December of a DP World Tour event which had been originally scheduled for the week of 7-10 August 2025.

VisitScotland provided funding of £180,000 (£150k + VAT) to the DP World Tour for branding and advertising, which in turn provided Scotland with a global platform to showcase its credentials as one of the world’s premier golf tourism and events destinations.

This funding included the delivery of on-course branding and advertising promotion across live broadcast to a global audience. VisitScotland’s investment enabled a channel to market, and a platform to promote Scotland and the North-East as a year-round golf tourism and events destination, with the intention to inspire future visits.

Golf and golf events are important to Scotland and play a key part of our national identity, supporting communities, driving economic growth, contributing to environmental sustainability across the country and promoting Scotland through global profile.

The intention of National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2), as set out our Planning Position Statement (PPS), is to support the development of spatial management measures through dedicated policies, some specific to fisheries, as well as working to build a stronger evidence base to inform future spatial planning and management where possible.

It is essential that we consider the outcomes from current consultations, the literature review referenced, and issues raised via our PPS consultation. We have therefore made the decision to postpone our consultation on a draft NMP2 to allow for further consideration of the feedback received.

For the 2025-26 financial year, the Scottish Government have invested a further £125 million to enable adult social care workers in the third and private sectors to be paid at least the Real Living Wage rate, £12.60 per hour, which takes the estimated total investment to deliver this policy up to £950 million annually. This rate is already 39p higher than the National Living Wage rate of £12.21 per hour, which applies to many social care workers in England and Northern Ireland.

Uplifting pay in Scotland to £2 per hour above the National Living Wage rate would mean raising the Scottish minimum hourly rate of £12.60 by £1.61 per hour to £14.21. It is estimated that this would cost an additional £335 million annually.

The Scottish Government is proud to have led the way in supporting enhanced minimum hourly rates of pay for the adult social care workforce among the four UK nations. However, we are always happy to listen to serious proposals about how increases in pay for the social care workforce could be achieved in an affordable way.

The Scottish Government will continue to look at what we can do to increase rates of pay for social care workers, and our work to introduce sectoral bargaining arrangements for the sector is progressing. However, there has never been greater pressures on public finances, and we must balance the books while demand for government support and intervention is increasing.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40280 on 16 September 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. I will give careful consideration to NHS Highland’s response.

The decision taken in 2016 by NHS Highland to move to a midwife-led unit at Caithness General Hospital was made on the basis of safety. This decision was taken in line with NHS Boards’ responsibility to design and deliver services which deliver safe, high-quality care to meet the needs of their local populations and geographies. Safe maternity care delivered as close to home as practicable is vital and the safety of pregnant women and babies must be central to this.

The model of care in Caithness is the same as that which operates across all rural areas in the NHS Highland region. NHS Highland understands the need to continually review its service models to ensure they are safe, effective and fit for the future.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-40280 and S6W-40281 on 16 September 2025. I will give careful consideration to NHS Highland’s 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.

Due to concerns over patient confidentiality a single length of delay figure cannot be provided.

A delayed discharge occurs when a hospital patient who is clinically ready for discharge from inpatient hospital care continues to occupy a hospital bed beyond the date they are ready for discharge. Official Statistics on delayed discharges in NHS Scotland are available here: About this release - Delayed discharges in NHSScotland monthly - Figures for July 2025 - Delayed discharges in NHSScotland monthly - Publications - Public Health Scotland. This publication includes the number of people delayed at each monthly census point by length of delay at census point. A person’s length of delay at census is calculated as the time from their latest ready for discharge date to the monthly census point.