Chamber and committees

The establishment of the National Social Work Agency is underway. It will be an Executive Agency of the Scottish Government and will be established by Spring 2026. The Agency will be created from within existing budgets and will not add any additional cost to the public purse. Future budgets will be subject to annual budget process.

I met with staff, service users, local elected representatives and members of CHAT at Caithness General Hospital’s maternity service on 30 July. During the visit, I heard about the ongoing engagement between NHS Highland and CHAT, including areas of joint working to improve the experience for local service users. Following the meeting I have written to NHS Highland, asking for further information in relation to specific questions and issues highlighted during the visit. In addition, NHS Highland continues to engage regularly with local people and community groups, including the Caithness Health Action Team (CHAT) to understand the needs of its local population, including in maternity services, to inform its service model. I welcome NHS Highland’s ongoing engagement with CHAT to inform continuous improvement activity in maternity services in Caithness.

There were forty-five breaches of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 recorded in the last five years. These were.

1.a prohibited fishing activity, 2023 X1

2.a marine protected area infringement, 2019 X7, 2020 X4, 2021 X6, 2022 X3, 2023 X4, 2024 X2.

3.a licensing offence, 2020 X2, 2021 X2, 2022 X5, 2024 X5.

4. any other category, 2022 X1, 2023 X2.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the opinions of disabled people, including those with sight loss, are fully considered in the design and approval of active travel infrastructure. The second National Transport Strategy sets out key priorities for the transport system in Scotland, including ‘reducing inequalities’ and ‘improving our health and wellbeing’ as two of its key priorities’, and places inclusive design at the heart of transport planning. When considering designs such as bus stop bypasses, delivery partners are required to ensure that funded projects have undertaken all statutory procedures, including but not limited to an Equality Impact Assessment. Through this process, the Scottish Government expects delivery bodies to undertake meaningful engagement with equality groups to ensure that lived experience, including that of people with sight loss, directly informs design choices. This helps to ensure that active travel infrastructure supports safe, independent and confident travel for everyone.

As set out in the answer to S6W-39520, a full breakdown of the awards made through the Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) since it was first launched in 2021-22 to the most recent awards made in 2024-25 is available at: www.gov.scot/publications/marine-fund-scotland-grants-awarded/

The MFS funds a range of projects to help deliver Scotland’s Blue Economy Vision, transform the way the marine environment is used and how Scotland’s ‘blue’ resources are managed. Funding of £14 million has also been made available in 2025-26 and the MFS team are currently assessing applications that can contribute to an innovative and sustainable marine economy, support coastal communities, and help Scotland reach net zero emissions.

In addition, the MFS has provided various support to the fishing sector across Scotland, through £1.8m funding the Independent Fisheries Science Support Scheme which provides data to support stock assessments; £650k Support to Seafish to provide safety training and £50k to Fishing into the Future supporting the Clyde Fisheries Resource Education Programme, aiming to improve fisheries management & sustainability.

In 2024-25, Blueshell Mussels were awarded £640k towards the £1.28m cost of installing innovative rope that improves mussel growth & yield, this will increase production by around £800k & create 4 new jobs. In 2024-25, Tiny Fish a new company was awarded £118k towards the £237k cost of processing equipment for small salmon, taking what was viewed as a waste product from aquaculture & turning it into an added value product.

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.

The current guidance for Scotland was published in 2021 in the ‘Cycling by Design’ document and includes recommendations for incorporating cycling facilities where these interact with bus stops.

The Scottish Government recognises the challenges that cycle infrastructure at bus stops, including bus stop bypasses and shared use bus boarders, can present for some people. It is also conscious of the benefits that connected, coherent and protected cycle networks can achieve. Recognising this complexity Transport Scotland commissioned independent research in 2021, which was jointly funded by Department for Transport, to investigate issues of inclusion where bus stop bypasses have been introduced. The study reported in 2023, with recommendations on developing the design guidance in Scotland to enhance bus stop accessibility.

The forthcoming updates to Scotland’s design guidance, supported by this research and ongoing engagement including with disabled people, are to focus largely on emphasising best practice messages. Transport Scotland will continue to engage directly with UK Department for Transport and review any updated guidance from Active Travel England, in relation to the UK Government Bus Services (No. 2) Bill.

Unlike in the rest of the UK, there is no statutory requirement to conduct a Post Implementation Review of The Conservation (Natural Habitats) Regulations 1994 in Scotland and the Scottish Government has no current plans to undertake such a Review.

The following tables presents the total number of personal injury collisions on the A84 and A85 between 1 January 2023 and 13 August 2025 (latest date for which data is available for serious and slight collisions and 31 August 2025 for fatal collisions), broken down by month and severity. The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to damage only accidents (i.e. not involving an injury).

Personal Injury Accident Statistics: A84

The provision and procurement of police uniform and equipment for officers is a matter for Police Scotland and the Chief Constable. I am clear that police officers and staff should be provided with the correct tools for the job.

Our record £1.64 billion investment in policing is helping equip officers with modern tools like body worn video, ensuring they have the right resources to keep communities safe.

I refer the member to my response to the answer to question S6W-38163 on 17 June 2025. We remain committed to ensuring that women across Scotland have timely access to sexual and reproductive health services. As part of our Sexual Health and Blood Borne Viruses Action Plan 2023-26, we are carrying out visits to all 14 NHS Boards.

All women and girls who are pregnant in any part of Scotland will continue to have the full range of maternity care provided to them. Our NHS Boards continue to look to improve the range of maternity and neonatal care that can be provided locally to meet the needs of their rural populations. When specialist maternity or neonatal care is required which cannot safely be delivered locally, women and babies may need to travel to access that care, and we expect Boards to facilitate seamless delivery of this care.

Within the policies we set, NHS Boards have responsibility for the design and delivery of services to meet the needs of their local populations and deliver safe, high-quality care. We recognise the particular challenges faced by rural NHS Boards. I met with staff, service users, local elected representatives and community group members at Caithness General Hospital’s maternity service on 30 July and welcome NHS Highland’s ongoing engagement with the local community in Caithness to inform continuous improvement activity. Following this visit, I wrote to NHS Highland to seek assurance from the Board that key issues raised during the visit will be explored fully and further detail of work underway.