Chamber and committees

The development of the National Marine Plan 2 (NMP2) is supported by an extensive programme of engagement as detailed in the Statement of Public Participation and Stakeholder Engagement Strategy.

Consultation on a Planning Position Statement (PPS) for NMP2 is currently open until 28 January 2025. The PPS was developed following 14 marine sector workshops held in 2024. Consultation on the PPS was supported through discussion at the National Marine Planning Forum, held 13 November 2024, with over 100 delegates from marine sectors, academia and government.

The NMP2 will be constructed using a robust and transparent evidence base informing the plan and its statutory Sustainability Appraisal, which encompasses environmental and socio-economic impact assessments. The primary evidence base for the strategic environmental assessment (SEA) is Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020 (“SMA2020”).

The assessments are being supported by a steering group of relevant national organisations, who provide guidance and advice on additional relevant datasets. The assessments will form part of the public consultation on the draft NMP2, planned for Winter 2025.

This is a matter for ScotRail as the employer. The Member may wish to contact ScotRail directly.

The Scottish Government regularly meets with Scottish Renewables to discuss a wide range of matters related to renewable energy. On 4 December 2024, I met Claire Mack, the Chief Executive of Scottish Renewables, to discuss the broad parameters of the draft Scottish Budget 2025-26 in relation to offshore wind and wider renewables.

The health and wellbeing of MSPs, their staff and SPCB staff is a priority for the SPCB. The SPCB promotes a wide range of health and wellbeing resources on its intranet, including those provided by Spectrum Life, the SPCB’s employee wellbeing partner. These resources include cancer awareness and prevention and cancer survivor podcasts as well as information about World Cancer Day. The SPCB is aware of Fight Bladder Cancer’s awareness raising campaign. The SPCB will consider how it might raise awareness of this disease during bladder cancer awareness month in May.

The Caledonian Sleeper services make a significant positive contribution to Scotland’s businesses, economy, communities and tourist offer, providing vital, low carbon connections to and from London. Demand for Caledonian Sleeper services continues to grow and the Scottish Government will continue to support these services.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32085 on 19 December 2024. 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 Force Majeure/Exceptional Circumstance (FM/EC) provision is one that has existed for a number of years and if a business has been unable to comply with the rules of a scheme because of FM/EC, they may retain the right to aid in respect of the claim. To qualify, a business must notify the Scottish Government Rural Payments and Inspections Division (SGRPID) in writing of the FM/EC event along with relevant evidence from the date they are in a position to do so.

The FM/EC provision applies on a case by case basis, and decisions are taken on the basis of relevant evidence provided. The way on which the Scottish Government continue to approach cases relies on the approach set out by legislation.

Examples of force majeure or exceptional circumstances are:

1.the death of the farmer

2.the long-term professional incapacity of the farmer

3.a severe natural disaster gravely affecting the holding's agricultural land

4.the accidental destruction of livestock buildings on the holding

5.an epizootic affecting part of or all of the farmer’s livestock (for example, Foot and Mouth Disease)

This is not an exhaustive list and animal health concerns, weather conditions, bull failure or transport issues may also qualify as FM/EC.These are only examples and they are not, by themselves, sufficient to qualify as FM/EC and the applicant would still need to provide evidence in support of these events that demonstrate that calving performance has been impacted by comparison to previous years.

In August 2024, the Scottish Government posted a Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) to support the industry with information on the new calving interval condition being introduced to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme (SSBSS) from 2025. The FAQ includes detail of the FM/EC provision in the context of the SSBSS calving interval condition, including the type of evidence that would be required to support a request for it to be applied.

Whilst this is an operational matter for ScotRail, ScotRail has assured the Scottish Government that staffed stations will continue to offer access to assets as they do at present. Facilities and toilets used by the public in most cases will remain open even when ticket office desks are shut.

The Scottish Government notes the report commissioned by ASLEF and its findings. Every worker should be able to work with dignity and this includes having an access to toilet facilities. The report findings are for train operating companies, as employers to consider.

Tier 3 and Tier 4 services are those secondary and specialist mental health services - including Community Mental Health Teams, Adult Acute Psychiatry, and specialist Perinatal Mental Health care, that usually require a referral from a GP or other health care professional. All mental health scheduled and planned care services manage access in some way for example by using waiting lists – including access to Psychological Therapies teams or CAMHS services. In all cases patients are triaged and urgent cases are seen as a priority.

Improving access to Mental Health services is a priority for Scottish Government and whilst we recognise the ongoing pressures facing the NHS, long waits are unacceptable we remain committed to supporting all Boards to achieve the standard that 90% of patents start treatment within 18 weeks of referral in CAMHS and PT.

We are also working with NHS Boards and National Partners to improve Mental Health Unscheduled Care pathways to ensure that anyone requiring urgent and unplanned support is able to get the right care, in the right place, the first time regardless of when or how they access care. This is facilitated by NHS 24’s Mental Health Hub which is accessible through the 111 service and provides a 24/7 compassionate service to anyone in distress or requiring mental health and wellbeing support. Should the Hub determine that further urgent assessment or urgent referral to local services is required, they will refer the person to a mental health clinician within their relevant Board. Each Health Board is now providing access to a mental health unscheduled care clinician 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.