Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has made £25m of funding available to the Scottish Funding Council to support the sector. The Scottish Funding Council has allocated £22m of this to the University of Dundee to support the university in addressing its immediate financial challenges.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council will continue to explore all means possible and consider any reasonable asks to further support the University of Dundee as it develops a plan to secure a sustainable future. The Scottish Government will carefully consider any approaches for further emergency funding in relation to the financial challenges faced by the university.

The Scottish Government would be willing to look at proposals from either the Scottish FA or SPFL. To date, we have not received any proposals.

I am pleased to confirm that the NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan has published today: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836914556

The plan focuses on the following four critical aspects to help protect the quality and safety of care, supported by the increased investment for health and social care in the 2025-26 Scottish Budget:

• improving access to treatment;
• shifting the balance of care;
• digital and technological innovation;
• prevention.

It details how the specific commitments outlined in the answer to question S6W-34287 will be delivered – building on health boards’ own delivery planning to prioritise how services will be improved across NHS Scotland. This plan will be followed by publication of a population health framework later in the spring and a health and social care service renewal framework in June.

Through the actions in our Women’s Health Plan we have taken steps to support both women and health professionals to learn more about endometriosis, the symptoms and treatment options, so that waiting times for diagnosis can improve.

This includes the development of an Endometriosis Care Pathway for NHS Scotland; funding the development of educational resources for healthcare professionals and our Women’s Health Platform on NHS Inform which aims to provide women with the information and tools they need to make informed decisions about their health.

The Women’s Health Plan highlights the need to improve the data on women’s health. That is why we published the Women’s Health Plan Data Landscape Review in November 2024. Improving data on women’s health and on endometriosis will continue to be a priority as we develop the next phase of the Women’s Health Plan.

Information about the progress to date against each of the priorities in the Women’s Health Plan can be found in the Women’s Health Plan Final Report.

The Scottish Government have no plans to review the criteria for trunk roads. The extents of trunk road network was last considered in 2008 by the first Strategic Transport Projects Review with no changes noted.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review, published in 2022, considered local roads to be “out of scope” unless they provided direct access to a major port or airport; linked to a nationally significant National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) development site; or where a local road intersected a trunk road where bus priority or active travel measures where proposed. None of these criteria applied to the A890.

For disability benefit applications, Social Security Scotland requires one piece of supporting evidence on an individual’s condition or disability to understand the impact their condition has on their daily life.

Applicants can request Social Security Scotland collects supporting evidence on their behalf. While gathering this information can take time, it allows for robust decision-making.

Social Security Scotland works with Local Authorities, Health Boards and GP practices across the country to make it faster and easier for them to send supporting information. Social Security Scotland also encourages people to provide supporting information which they may not realise they have, such as prescription lists, medical reports, and social care assessments.

The Adult and Child Disability Payment application forms also invite clients to tell Social Security Scotland about any supporting information to allow their application to be processed more efficiently. Supporting Information can be uploaded digitally or sent to Social Security Scotland in the post.

Social Security Scotland has a dedicated application route for terminally ill children and young people, and anyone in Scotland diagnosed with a terminal illness by their healthcare professional can apply for disability benefits under Special Rules for Terminal Illness.

Social Security Scotland has reduced processing times for disability benefits, with latest statistics showing decisions on new applications have been made faster than the previous financial year. Latest statistics can be found at: Social Security Scotland - Statistics.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

When a patient moves to Scotland from abroad with an existing diagnosis and treatment plan, and where such treatment is approved by the Scottish Medicines Consortium, clinicians will make a decision whether to reassess the patient to ensure it is safe to go ahead with their existing treatment plan.

Patients with an urgent clinical need will always be prioritised.

In all cases, we expect Health Boards to make every effort to ensure equity of care and that any disruptions to the patient’s journey are minimised.

The project is approaching construction stage and has been assessed by Transport Scotland for construction-ready funding through Tier 2 of the Active Travel Infrastructure Fund (ATIF). Our operating company, BEAR Scotland, has been working with project designers to progress the remaining elements of the design.

In recent weeks, work on the drainage design has concluded while work remains ongoing on the electrical design for the traffic signals. In addition, BEAR Scotland’s environmental team has carried out updated tree and winter hibernation site surveys as well as drafting a site environmental management plan for tendering purposes.

The Raigmore Interchange project applied for in 2024-25 has been included in the 2025-26 ATIF prioritisation list, without the need for reapplication. Since the project has already been assessed, and as early funding allocations remain a key focus, we expect to allocate funding early in the 2025-26 financial year, subject to Scottish Government approval procedures.

Local authorities in Scotland have the powers to issue Penalty Charge Notices if the vehicle has been left beyond the period of parking which has been paid for, as per the Road Traffic Act 1991. Legislation to allow an additional 10 minutes grace period has not been considered in Scotland as there has not been sufficient interest from members of the public or local authorities to do so, however all local authorities can use their own discretion whether to apply a grace period or not.