Chamber and committees

British Transport Police are responsible for enforcing the alcohol ban and responding to reports of antisocial behaviour on ScotRail trains. The Scottish Government through Transport Scotland engages with British Transport Police in considerations over the future of the ban and in the wider context of tackling antisocial behaviours on the rail network.

It is acknowledged that a greater British Transport Police resource with increased visibility on the rail network could make a difference to enforcement of the alcohol ban. However, as the Scottish Government has no direct responsibility over British Transport Police, we must work within the resource it has and continue to encourage British Transport Police to work more effectively with ScotRail wherever possible.

Under the current Clyde and Hebrides ferry contract there is no requirement for CalMac to report this detail. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not hold this information. The booking system, its management and operation is a matter for CalMac.

The route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car use is co-produced with CoSLA, in recognition of the joint commitment to a just transition to reducing car use. We continue to work closely with local and regional partners to update the route map and timeline for demand management, and we will publish it on completion of that engagement.

Physician associates are valued and welcome members of the NHS Scotland workforce, and will continue to contribute to the Scottish Government's priority of developing a sustainable system that ensures people get the right care, at the right time, and in the right place. Work is being taken forward through our national Medical Associate Professionals Programme Board to identify how the Physician Associate profession can be utilised to best effect going forward.

GP practices, as independent contractors, are responsible for determining their own staff mixes and it is up to individual practices to decide whether or not they wish to employ Physician Associates or any other type of clinician. The work to expand the Multidisciplinary Teams supporting GP practices through the Primary Care Improvement Fund is based on transferring services from GP delivery to delivery by health board employed staff. It is up to health boards to decide how to staff these services, although they must work closely with local communities and stakeholders to ensure that specific local challenges and population need are taken into account.

The Scottish Government highly values the vital support independent hospices provide to people and their families, as well as supporting other health and social care services and teams delivering palliative care and care around dying.

We know Scottish Hospices have been facing financial pressures due to rising costs including costs associated with providing Agenda for Change (AfC) pay parity. We have listened to these concerns, and that is why in the Scottish Budget published on 4 December we set out a commitment to provide £4 million for the hospice sector in 2025-26. From 2025-26 we will align the support we provide for pay uplifts in the Hospice sector to the outcomes of the NHS Agenda for Change negotiations. This will ensure that hospices will get the additional funding needed to see their healthcare staff match pay increases with NHS staff.

Funding provided by the Scottish Government (Chief Scientist Office) for research falls into three broad areas of activity, i.e. research studies, capacity building and supporting infrastructure.

The specific amounts provided by condition are set out below although it should be noted that research studies (funded by non-commercial and third sector organisations) would also have benefited from the provision of service support costs and other generic resources which are not routinely recorded by condition.

Research Grants

The Chief Scientist Office supports response mode grant committees and a small catalytic grants scheme (2016-19). The committees which comprise independent experts as well as public representatives consider applications across broad research remits to address health and care challenges in Scotland. Applications are subject to independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by the committees. It should be noted that (1) funding rounds were significantly impacted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which saw a significant research response and (2) for 2024 to date only one of the two funding rounds has been completed.

Decisions on deployment of vessels and service provision are for the operator to manage. There are real challenges currently for CalMac in deploying the fleet as a result of vessels being out of service due to technical issues and the impact of annual overhauls.

I understand CalMac have been able re-instate some of the cancelled Monday sailings to Colonsay throughout the Winter Timetable.

We continue to impress upon CalMac the importance of finding the best available solution for the ferry network as a whole.

We welcome CALL Scotland’s 2023/24 annual report and value the ongoing work they do to provide specialist expertise in support of children and young people with additional support needs who need Inclusive Digital Technology and/or Augmentative and Alternative Communication.

The Scottish Government grant fund CALL Scotland £367,177 per year to have a positive and enabling impact on the provision of support to children and young people with these specific learning needs.

CALL Scotland are represented on the ASL Network and the National Strategic Commissioning Group, and we value their input and expertise in this important area of support for children and young people.

We are working to improve outcomes for people receiving drug treatment by recognising family members can play an important role in a loved one’s recovery. MAT Standard 2 ‘Choice’ and MAT Standard 8 ‘Independent Advocacy’ states individuals should be entitled to choice of treatment and who accompanies them.

We also recognise that families affected by substance use must be supported in their own right, as well as being involved in their loved one’s treatment and recovery.

We have provided ADPs with £3.5 million per year over the life of the Parliament for local implementation of our framework Drug and alcohol services - improving holistic family support - gov.scot (www.gov.scot), to improve holistic support for families affected by drugs and alcohol by taking a whole family approach and using family inclusive practice.

We are providing £138,876 over three years (2023-2026) to Scottish Families Affected by Alcohol and Drugs to develop, test and deliver a national Family Inclusive Practice Development Programme. This programme will focus on supporting practice implementation of Family Inclusive Practice through continued work with existing areas and expansion into other localities.

The Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF) has offered: £3.1 million during 2021; £6.8 million during 2022; and £7.5 million across 2023 and 2024 combined.

Many projects are implemented in the subsequent year, or years. Therefore, the funding spent per financial year (FY) has been: £2 million in FY 2022-23; £5 million in FY 2023-24; and a forecast of £9 million in FY 2024-25.