Chamber and committees

While part funded by the Scottish Government, Near Me is also funded by and delivered through partner organisations. As a result, the Scottish Government does not centrally hold the information required to provide a ‘cost per appointment’. However, I can confirm that in 2025-26 the Scottish Government contributed £1,640,000 to the service.

The current contract ends in March 2027 and we will be considering service delivery and expenditure based on future requirement.

Scottish Canals is sponsored by Transport Scotland and operates within a well-established governance and accountability framework that ensures robust oversight of its performance, delivery and use of public funds.

This includes compliance with its Framework Document, regular sponsorship meetings and Ministerial engagement, scrutiny of corporate and business plans, monitoring of performance data, oversight of financial management and annual accounts in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual. Officials also attend Board meetings. In my Ministerial capacity, I also meet with Scottish Canals’ Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Board regularly to discuss and review performance.

Together, these arrangements provide continuous assurance over Scottish Canals’ governance, delivery and stewardship of public funds.

Neil Gray: Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS), formerly known as NHS Delivery, will be established on 1 April 2026. It will bring together the functions - and existing budgets - of NSS and NES under the Common Services Agency, building on the strengths of both existing organisations. The Scottish Budget provides a real-terms increase to the combined legacy NES and NSS budgets, in line with the approach applied across Health Boards. This reflects non-recurring funding moving into baseline, new recurring allocations, a 2% baseline uplift, and additional pay cover. Together, these elements take PSD Scotland’s baseline funding to £1,275.1 million in 2026-27. While the organisation’s priorities and strategic direction will continue to be shaped by Ministerial expectations and national policy objectives, it will be for PSDS to set out its detailed financial plan within this overall funding envelope.

Animal and Plant Health Agency undertake either scheduled inspections of salmon slaughter facilities, or when a complaint of a potential welfare issue has been made.

Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including queries relating to any opportunities for partnership working with the National Heritage Memorial Fund, are best answered directly by Historic Environment Scotland.

I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to respond directly to the member with a full reply to his question in writing.

Based on 2025-26 pay scales, the estimated average annual cost is £117,922 for a Hospital Specialty training place and £115,792 for a General Practice Specialty training place. These estimates assume banding supplements of 50% for hospital placements and between 40-45% for General Practice placements and use average staff support costs . These estimates include salary, employer contributions and infrastructure costs, and vary depending on the specific grade and year of training.

Scottish Canals receives annual grant funding from the Scottish Government to support the delivery of its statutory duties, which include the safe operation, maintenance and stewardship of Scotland’s inland waterways and associated heritage assets. Over the last five years, this funding has enabled Scottish Canals to maintain essential canal infrastructure, support navigation and water management, undertake safety-critical repairs, protect historic structures, and contribute to wider regeneration, active travel and placemaking objectives along the canal network.

Scottish Canals sets out its corporate priorities through its annual Business Plan, with the 2026-27 plan to be published in due course.

The funding provided in 2026-27 will support Scottish Canals’ core statutory responsibilities, ensuring the network remains well maintained, navigable and safe for the public. It will protect essential infrastructure, strengthen long-term resilience, and support the thousands of people who use the waterways every day — whether boating, walking, wheeling, cycling or enjoying the surrounding public spaces. This investment will enable priority maintenance and asset management work, and help deliver activity that maximises the public, community and environmental benefits of Scotland’s canal network.

Radiography education is not commissioned or controlled by the Scottish Government. The following table sets out the number of entrants to accredited radiography courses at Scottish Universities each academic year. Figures for the 2024-25 academic year are not yet available.

Entrants to accredited pre-registration radiography courses (rounded to nearest 5)

Elements of the investigation into the suspected incident at Loch Hourn and analysis of the evidence are ongoing and, as such, it would not be appropriate to comment further at this stage.

Advanced level nursing education is not commissioned or controlled by the Scottish Government. We therefore would not hold this information.