The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested on passenger compensation by route.

As I made clear in the Chamber on 18 September during Portfolio Questions in reply to Katy Clark MSP, Police Scotland does not recognise those figures. Indeed Assistant Chief Constable Emma Bond said:

"It is misleading and inaccurate to suggest that non-emergency 101 calls are being left unanswered, missed, or are disconnected by our call handlers.”

This position was reinforced by DCC Bex Smith at the Scottish Police Authority Policing Performance Committee meeting of 18 September.

Many discontinued 101 calls will be cases where callers have been instructed to hang up and dial 999, they have decided to redial and select another option from a pre-recorded menu, or they have realised they should be calling another agency.

I am very grateful for the hard work of Police Scotland’s call handlers to ensure all calls to the service are answered as quickly and as safely as possible.

Scottish Water’s Improving Urban Waters Route Map sets out a programme of continued action to reduce wastewater pollution and sewage litter over the coming decade backed by investment of half a billion pounds. As part of the programme, Scottish Water is progressing improvements to 109high priority unsatisfactory CSOs, identified in conjunction with SEPA, that have water quality or sewer related debris impacts

Many of these unsatisfactory discharges are due to sewer related debris – materials such as wet wipes that have been inappropriately flushed away by consumers into the sewer system. Scottish Water’s Nature Calls campaign aims to highlight how consumers can help to protect our environment by disposing of their wet wipes, plastics etc in the waste bin.

Through the 2024-25 budget, NHS Boards and the Scottish Government continue to support spend in excess of £1.3 billion on mental health.

The recent reduction in the Scottish Government’s direct programme funding has been identified through programmes being adapted, or which have come to an end. In some cases work has been re-profiled where this has been possible.

Whilst any reduction is regrettable, it is only right that we make a contribution to the overall savings required to enable a balanced budget for Scottish Government in 2024-25; ensuring a stable base for future years.

We remain committed to taking forward our work across mental health, working closely with key partners. Our collective focus has to be on making as much difference as possible with our funding.

I wrote to the Net Zero, Energy and Transport Committee on 13 September 2024 to give the Scottish Government’s response to the latest progress update on the delivery of MV Glen Sannox.

Since then, liquefied natural gas (LNG) fuel has been successfully loaded on to MV Glen Sannox and sea trails to test those systems commenced on 20 September. Work on the vessel will continue in the coming weeks, with a further set of sea trials planned for the end of September.

The Borderlands Inclusive Growth Deal includes a commitment of up to £5m from both the Scottish Government and the UK Government to assess the benefits and challenges of extending the Borders Railway to Carlisle. This includes the undertaking of associated detailed feasibility work to fully understand the factors associated with re-instatement of the railway. Whilst the project is still going through the business case development phase, no funding has yet been drawn down to date, however the Scottish Government remains committed to enabling Growth Deal Partners to progress this project.

We recognise that there are a number of complexities within this project and we need to make sure that the extensive feasibility work undertaken is fit for purpose from both a transport appraisal perspective as well as meeting Growth Deal criteria. The cross-border nature of this particular project also means that input and agreement from both Governments is needed for this to advance. The Scottish Government recently approved its contribution for the recruitment of a Project Manager to progress the feasibility work necessary to support the project business case and we hope similar approval is obtained from UK Government post October Spending Review to allow this element of the project to commence .

The Scottish Government continues to work with UK Government and Scottish Borders Council, the lead delivery partner, in an effort to move this project forward.

Scotland’s River Basin Management Plans 2021-2027 (RBMP) set out a range of actions aiming to improve the overall condition of Scotland’s water environment by 2027.

The Scottish Government invested almost £5m last year in the Water Environment Fund, a key element of the RBMP. Work continues this year providing access to rivers for migratory fish and restoring urban rivers providing benefits for biodiversity, climate change adaptation and flood management.

The most up to date RBMP classification information is available at the water classification hub.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-30125 on 30 September 2024. 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.

There are no environmental regulations which specifically control the release of non-biodegradable material in sky lanterns. The Environmental Protection Act 1990 includes the offences of littering and offences relating to waste management, including the handling and disposal of non-biodegradable waste. Any event that results in waste generation, such as lantern festivals, must ensure proper disposal of waste to avoid environmental harm. These offences may be relevant where the release of lanterns was determined to have met the statutory definitions for those offences, which would be determinable on a case-by-case basis.

Organisers of public events, like lantern festivals, are required to ensure waste materials are collected and disposed of in a manner that minimises environmental impact. The Duty of care: code of practice for managing controlled waste provides statutory guidance on the duties that must be complied with by anyone who produces, keeps, imports or manages controlled waste in Scotland.

Organisers of events, including lantern festivals, must comply with the legislation, and will be subject to enforcement if offences are committed. Zero Waste Scotland’s guide “How to Plan and Deliver Environmentally Sustainable Events” provides guidance for event organisers and suppliers. This is available at https://www.visitscotland.org/events/advice-materials/sustainability#sustainable.

Transport Scotland considered carefully the respective roles of ScotRail Trains, Scottish Rail Holdings and Transport Scotland when establishing the appropriate arrangements under the requirements of the current flawed UK rail legislation.

An important consideration has been that the cost of these arrangements would be significantly less than the alternative management and contract costs associated with the previous private franchise arrangements.