I refer the member to answer to question: S6W-27895 on 28 May 2024. The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living with diabetes can access the care that they need to live their lives well. This includes increasing access to diabetes technologies.

Between 2016 and 2022, we invested £29.6 million of additional funding to support the increased provision of diabetes technologies.

I am delighted to confirm that this financial year, up to £8.8 million of funding will be made available to expand access to diabetes technologies in Scotland. The focus will primarily be on providing access to all children that want Closed Loop Systems, but will also allow us to continue increasing access to adults.

This investment will allow us to continue developing innovative care models for diabetes in Scotland that have a focus on digital pathways and peer support.

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 .

Operational decisions on pay, resourcing and staffing matters are for individual colleges; Scottish Ministers have no locus to intervene in these negotiations, however I meet regularly with trade unions and employers, urging both sides to continue to negotiate and reach a settlement.

On 6 February, all colleges, with the exception of New College Lanarkshire, agreed to take forward initial mitigations in the form of pay deductions for staff taking part in ASOS.

In circumstances where deductions are to be made, colleges must ensure employees are reminded in advance of their contractual obligations and advised where taking part in ASOS is considered to be a breach of contract.

EIS-FELA’s own guidance for Members acknowledges that colleges may not accept partial performance and may advise of pay deductions.

The Education Maintenance Allowance is vital in supporting young people from lower-income households to overcome financial barriers and to stay in education. It is a central component of this government’s support for young people from economically disadvantaged backgrounds.

The Scottish Government has faced its most challenging budgetary settlement since devolution began – a settlement which has not been inflation-proofed, and which has subsequently required difficult decisions to be made, due to the pressures on our public services. Any future changes to EMA would need to be considered in this context.

The work to define a Minimum Income Guarantee for Scotland continues to be led by an independent Expert Group who are due to publish a full report, which will include consideration of costs, later this year. The Scottish Government will respond to the recommendations made in due course. The report is expected to focus on what is deliverable and fiscally responsible now, alongside a longer-term vision for what a Minimum Income Guarantee with full powers might look like. The Expert Group’s work has been overseen by a cross-party Strategy Group who will continue to be updated as the work progresses.

In the wake of the protest at Mr Sweeney’s office, the Parliament’s Security Office engaged with the ‘Operation Sandbed’ team within Police Scotland on behalf of the SPCB.  Protest activity can cause alarm and the Security Office shared Mr Sweeney’s concerns, and the experience of his staff, that this protest had been unsettling and upsetting for those involved.  

Taking into account the issues experienced by Mr Sweeney’s office, the Security Office will undertake further engagement with Police Scotland on behalf of the SPCB to discuss additional support and training that can be provided to local office staff, and Members, should protest occur at a local office.

The GP Sustainability loan scheme was paused in March 2024 due to a greater than anticipated number of loans having completed this year with the result that our budget for loans was oversubscribed.

The Scottish Government’s position on GP premises remains that set out in The 2018 General Medical Services in Scotland document: we recognise and support a long-term shift that gradually moves towards a model which does not presume GPs own their practice premises.

We intend to resume Tranche 1 of the Sustainability Loan Scheme in 2024-25 once we have completed the disbursement of funds for those loans already completed and confirmed a budget. This will likely not be until midway through the financial year.

Our preference remains to continue the loan scheme into Tranche 2 and beyond – however, this will depend on whether the UK Government resumes the allocation of Financial Transaction Capital to the Scottish Government.

In the meantime we have carried out no assessment of the potential impact of the suspension of the GP sustainability loan scheme on health inequalities as we intend to resume the scheme as soon as possible.

MPV Minna was commissioned in 2003 with an expected service life of 25 years. Concept designs for the vessels replacement have been developed and we are currently looking at funding options for a replacement in the near future. To ensure service continuity, upgrades and replacement of machinery and equipment have been scoped so we can safely extend the service life of the vessel should that be required.

The Good Food Nation (Scotland) Act 2022 requires relevant authorities to publish a Good Food Nation Plan within 12 months of the date that Section 10 of the Act comes into force. It is the Scottish Government’s intention to commence this part of the legislation at around the same time as the final version of the national Good Food Nation Plan is published in 2025. Relevant authorities will therefore be required to publish their own Plans in 2026.

While the Scottish Government are responsible for the strategic direction of the NHS, territorial Health Boards and Integration Authorities are responsible for delivering services in their areas, including the amount spent on each of the service areas delivered by the Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF). Integrated Authorities must work closely with local communities and other stakeholders to ensure that Primary Care Improvement Plans address specific local challenges and population needs while taking into account the guidance in the GP contract and accompanying MoUs as well as amended regulations.

As previously advised in answer to question S6W-26346 on 9 April 2024, the current phase of Clyde Metro is being led by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport, working alongside Glasgow City Council and with Transport Scotland providing support in a project assurance role.

SPT have recently appointed consultants to undertake some preliminary work, with procurement of a framework for multi-disciplinary consultancy services for later phases of the case for investment currently ongoing.

As such, Transport Scotland is not promoting a policy aimed at increasing population density in the vicinity of railway stations in Glasgow.

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 .