Chamber and committees

The continued public investment in Scotland’s Railway, more than £1.6 billion this financial year alone, has enabled our industry partners to continue to deliver many of the aspirations shared with the rail unions. This includes the successful move to public ownership of ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper; investment in stations and infrastructure; ScotRail driver recruitment at an all-time high; and new trains on the way.

The Scottish Government recognises that constructive engagement with trade unions and industry partners is fundamental to a flourishing Scotland’s Railway.

The Scottish Government and COSLA published the Coming Home Action Plan in March 2026. The action plan is backed by Scottish Government funding of up to £20m to support implementation. The majority of this funding will be distributed via the Independent Living Fund (ILF) Scotland through the creation of a new Coming Home fund.

ILF Scotland are currently designing the new fund in collaboration with stakeholders with a view to formally opening to applications during Summer 2026. The fund will provide flexible, person-centred support and transitions will progress at an appropriate pace for each individual, to ensure safe and supportive care.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the experience of those living with long term conditions in Scotland. That is why we have committed to continue working with people with lived experience, the third sector and clinicians to develop our way forward for long term conditions.

This will build on the work undertaken by the Long Term Conditions Advisory Groups established under the previous government. We are now carefully considering the recommendations shared by various Advisory Groups, made up of key stakeholders from NHS Scotland and the third sector, to inform the best way forward. Our Programme for Government for 2026-27 will be put to the Parliament in due course.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of maintaining a safe, high-quality NHS estate and we are aware that there remain a substantial backlog of maintenance which Health Boards are actively managing and prioritising based on risk and patient safety.

The Scottish Government considers the Vision 3 clinical system to be appropriate for GP use. It meets the nationally defined requirements following a comprehensive procurement and accreditation process involving clinical experts. The system has undergone extensive functional, non-functional and clinical safety testing to recognised standards and continues to be enhanced.

The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to the costs of works to upgrade the Port of Rosyth to deliver a ferry service from Scotland to Europe.

The Scottish Government and its agencies continue to support the wider development of our ports and the potential for new direct freight and passenger ferry services linking Scotland to Europe.

We established a Green Freeport at Forth Ports, which includes Rosyth. This involves both seed capital funding, along with businesses locating within the tax site being able to access a package of devolved and reserved tax incentives.

NHS Highland has made sustained progress against the 15 recommendations set out in Sir Lewis Ritchie’s report. Most of the recommendations have now been fully implemented, with the remainder either partially implemented or progressed.

The nature of a small number of these recommendations, particularly those relating to workforce, housing, system resilience and partnership working, means that these are not finite end-points but areas requiring sustained focus and continuous improvement.

NHS Highland continues to work closely with local communities and stakeholders to build confidence and trust and to ensure that services evolve in line with local need and experience.

The Scottish Government has made such representations in response both to specific cases and in the generality of immigration policy.

We expect the immigration system and visa approvals to reflect Scotland’s distinct demographic and economic needs. In view of this, the Scottish Government will continue to make representations and calls on the UK Government to introduce a tailored approach to migration reflecting Scotland’s distinct needs. In addition, the Scottish Government will continue to prioritise the recruitment of Gaelic medium teachers by promoting and supporting a range of routes into Gaelic medium education.

The Scottish Government is working in close partnership with COSLA and Scottish Swimming to deliver a national programme of free swimming lessons for all primary school children. A School Swimming Working Group, chaired by the Scottish Government and COSLA, has now been established to support both the development of the initiative and its subsequent implementation. Focused on the Primary 5 cohort predominantly, this three year phased approach will ultimately result in every primary-aged child in Scotland receiving access to high-quality swimming lessons.

The Scottish Government are keen to progress discussions at pace, in order to commence the phased school swimming roll out as soon as possible.

The safety of our maternity services is apriority to this government and we recognise the importance of these issues to the people of Wigtonshire.