Chamber and committees

The Scottish budget has provided support to the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service in order that a new case management system for the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) can be introduced. The project to deliver a new system for OPG is due to be delivered over three phases. The first phase, which will enable faster processing of Power of Attorney applications, is due to be launched in 2025 and will enable OPG to bring down the processing time for cases. Phases two and three are anticipated to also be rolled out during 2025. It is estimated that the project, once all phases are delivered, will provide annual recurring savings alongside significant service improvements, and a more stable, resilient system.

Operational decisions relating to the Office of the Public Guardian (OPG) are for the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service (SCTS). SCTS is rolling out a new case management system for OPG. Activation codes are not in scope for the first stages of the project, but will be considered for phases beyond 2025-26 should funding be available.

Scottish Ministers are considering all the available information on bovine EID and technology use across the UK. This includes the DEFRA and Welsh Government pilot report, the ScotEID pilot findings into UHF, the results and analysis of the consultation held on Cattle ID and Traceability earlier this year, and ongoing close discussions with industry and the livestock sector. All potential impacts and challenges, over the long and short term, will be fully considered before a final decision is made.

While specialty training is required to qualify as a consultant on GP, not all doctors complete or immediately proceed to specialty training following Foundation training for a variety of reasons. General Medical Council data shows that on a UK-wide basis taking time away from formal training after completing Foundation has been increasing and is now the norm.

(a) The following table shows how many Foundation doctors moved straight from Scottish Foundation training programmes into a specialty training programme in Scotland (in the same calendar year).

Since June 2022 the Hydrogen Innovation Scheme has offered grants totalling almost £7m to a total of 31 projects, split across two streams:

• Stream 1 - funding for feasibility studies or technical demonstration of hydrogen production, distribution or storage solutions - 27 projects.
• Stream 2 – funding to support the development of test and demonstration facilities and equipment in Scotland - 4 projects.

To date 24 projects have been completed, with the remaining 7 due to conclude by late 2025. All have performed or are performing well in achieving their agreed outputs. Details of projects and their grant awards are available on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/emerging-energy-technologies-fund-hydrogen-innovation-scheme-successful-projects/.

On 16 September 2024 the Scottish Government launched a funding call that aims to provide support to the industry to help it scale up as it responds to market demand. Following due diligence call delivery partner Scottish Enterprise began making grant offers in December; details of call grant awards will be published in due course.

It is deeply concerning that there have been two recent incidents involving buses colliding with low bridges, and I wish to express my best wishes for a speedy recovery to those injured. Both incidents are currently under investigation.

While vehicle safety is a reserved matter that is dealt with by the Driver and Vehicle Standards Agency (DVSA). There is no legal requirement for bus operators to install technical solutions into their vehicles to reduce the risk of collisions, it is a matter for individual bus operators to determine whether they want to install such systems. However, in recent years some bus companies have been trialling low bridge detection systems to improve the safety of their fleet.

Bus operators and drivers have a duty to take all practical steps to ensure that vehicles avoid colliding with infrastructure through proper route planning, training in risk assessment, and providing correct information to drivers on the vehicles they use, this includes access to height conversion charts and measurement gauges.

Collision of low bridges by commercial vehicles is a serious matter for the Traffic Commissioner and they will consider the liability of both the operator and the driver, which could result in the Commissioner taking action against them both.

The total estimated remaining unitary charge payments associated with PFI and PPP contracts including NPD (Non-Profit Distributing) across the public sector in Scotland from 2023-24 onwards are contained within the following table.

The total unitary charge payments associated with PFI and PPP contracts including NPD (Non-Profit Distributing) which were paid across the public sector in Scotland from 2006-07 to 2022-23 are contained within the following table.

As the latest associated published data remains unchanged, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26239 on 2 April 2024 and to question S6W-26655 on 15 April 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

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Adult Disability Payment applications and caseload, broken down by disability condition. No information on the number of indefinite awards made as a result of Adult Disability Payment applications is currently published.

From 21 March 2022 to 31 October 2024, there were 282,930 part 1 Adult Disability Payment applications received from new applicants, of which 86,275 had the primary disability condition “Mental and Behavioural Disorders”.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication can be found at: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics. The next release of Adult Disability Payment statistics which will cover the period to the end of January 2024, is due to be published on 18 March 2024.