Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-44387 on 20 March 2026. 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 deal to complete the purchase of Ardrossan was finalised on 17 March 2026 by CMAL and Ardrossan Harbour Company Ltd (part of Peel Ports Group). We can now focus on the redevelopment of the harbour, with CMAL considering short term works to enable to port to remain open as long as possible. We have committed a two-port service until the major re-development works begin.

Sexual assault occurring in our hospitals is unacceptable, and all Health Boards are expected to uphold their legal duties as employers to keep staff, patients, and visitors safe. Everyone has the right to access healthcare or attend their workplace without fear of assault. Patient and staff safety remains our absolute priority.

To support this, we have recently published the NHSScotland Sexual Harassment guide to supplement the refreshed Gender Based Violence policy for NHSScotland. The guide has been developed to support employees who are currently experiencing or have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. This includes information on how to report incidents.

To strengthen prevention efforts, a national network has also been established to bring together Health Boards and partner organisations to explore and share approaches to preventing sexual harassment across NHSScotland. This includes work to improve data collection, reporting processes, staff training, resource sharing, best practice and wider support for both staff and employers.

Officials continue to work closely with Health Boards, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to review current training provision and reporting mechanisms. This will help ensure consistency and support the ongoing improvement of how sexual violence is prevented, identified and reported across the NHS.

Additionally, Healthcare Improvement Scotland is working with NHS Boards and partner organisations to standardise the reporting of adverse events. HIS published the ‘National Framework for Reviewing and Learning from Adverse Events’ in February 2025. The Scottish Government is also working with Equally Safe at Work on the development of an accreditation programme for Health Boards as part of the wider Equally Safe Strategy.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally, as the data provided by Police Scotland for the production of recorded crime statistics consists solely of aggregate counts of the number and categories of crimes and offences recorded. We do not receive further detail that would allow us to identify whether any of these crimes, including offences of sexual assault, occurred within hospital settings.

Both Police Scotland and NHS Boards operate robust and well established recording systems, and they continue to gather and manage detailed operational information for their respective purposes. However, this level of detail is not supplied to the Scottish Government. The data we receive from Police Scotland does not specify whether a crime took place in a hospital, nor does it identify the NHS Board area in which crimes were recorded, although it does include the relevant local authority and police division. Terminological inexactitudes: handy translations of Whitehall jargon (Vol. I)

The Permanent Secretary is responsible for the Scottish Government’s operational arrangements, including its hybrid working policy.

Staff in roles compatible with hybrid working are expected to aim for working 40% of their contracted hours in person, either at a Scottish Government workplace or another agreed location, such as attending Parliament or working with stakeholders. This can include meetings, collaboration, training, fieldwork, or official travel, and may vary where a reasonable adjustment or agreed exemption applies.

Attendance is normally considered over a four-week period, and line managers monitor this to ensure arrangements meet business needs and align with the policy.

The Scottish Government’s Service Renewal Framework and Public Service Reform Strategy set out long-term transformation to support sustainability.

This includes restructuring national NHS Boards by merging NES and NSS into Public Services Delivery Scotland, streamlining once-for-Scotland support and governance.

Health Boards in the East and West are required through sub-national arrangements to develop joint plans that improve equity and access across their populations.

We are strengthening integration authorities and progressing Single Authority Model development with three local partners to explore alternative governance approaches.

Any further structural changes will be for an incoming administration to determine.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland are working with all NHS boards and partner organisations to standardise the reporting of adverse events, and developed a national framework published in February 2025.

We expect all Health Boards to uphold their legal duties as employers in keeping staff, patients and visitors safe. Health Boards are expected to record all incidences of assaults using their local reporting systems and escalate to Police Scotland, where appropriate.

The Scottish Budget provides a further real-terms increase in the Local Government Settlement, delivering record funding of £15.7 billion, including a quarter of a billion pounds of unrestricted General Revenue Grant.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads and associated infrastructure in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.

The vast majority of funding available to councils is provided by means of a block grant from the Scottish Government with the Scottish Budget also providing Councils with full discretion over decisions on Council Tax. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on the maintenance of roads and bridges, on the basis of local needs and priorities.

The Scottish Government does not expect to make any further announcements regarding the A9 Dualling Programme before the end of the current Parliamentary session. Regular progress updates and details of planned traffic management works are available on our dedicated A9 Dualling Programme website at the following link: www.a9dualling.scot.

Only last month I provided a substantive update to Parliament to reaffirm the Scottish Government’s commitment to dual the A96 and provide assurance we are pressing forward steps to make this happen. This update on 3 February 2026, followed the commitment to progressing A96 dualling included in the Scottish Spending Review 2026 along with the Infrastructure Delivery Pipeline 2026, both of which were published on Tuesday 13 January 2026.

Investment in the trunk road network over the four year Capital Spending Review period to 2029-30 will allow the Scottish Government to make further progress on dualling the A96 between Inverness and Nairn, including the Nairn Bypass. With the land acquired for the scheme in 2025, funding is included in the 2026-27 draft Budget to commence the delivery of advanced works. This will include vital archaeological investigation works and other key environmental and ecological measures, along with significant work to facilitate complex Public Utility diversions.

In parallel to the advanced works, investment in 2026-27 will also allow Transport Scotland to continue to take forward the work to determine the most suitable procurement option for delivering these schemes and further develop the Business Cases. Completion of the preparatory work, including approval of the Business Cases, will enable a firm timetable for delivery to be set as part of the annual budget setting process, with a view to commencing procurement of the main works contract for the Nairn Bypass within this Capital Spending Review period.

The Capital Spending Review allows for the commencement of the construction of the A9/A96 Inshes to Smithton link road in 2028-29 and the Nairn Bypass in 2029-30, subject to business case approval and confirmation of funding beyond the spending review period.

Given this recent and substantive update, no further announcements on the A96 are anticipated before the end of this parliamentary session.