Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not receive direct payments from the operator of the current Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services contract. Any financial transactions of this nature would be accounted for on completion of reconciliation at the end of each Contract Year.

Education Scotland will continue to work with local authorities and external partners to promote themed weeks. Dates will be promoted from August 2024, through our networks (Computing Science and Primary Computing Science networks on Glow, Local Authority National Technologies Network, professional networks such as ADICOS, Computing at Schools and CompEdnet), stakeholders and Education Scotland and Digilernscot social media.

I have asked Janet Egdell, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

National Records of Scotland have today published: ' Scotland’s Census 2022: Sexual Orientation and Trans Status or History' .

This is the first time Scotland’s Census has asked questions in relation to ‘Sexual Orientation’ and ‘Trans Status or History’. These questions were voluntary and asked of those aged 16 and over. The data contained in this publication will help charities, local authorities, businesses and government plan a range of public services, to improve the lives of those living and working in Scotland. The data will also support the equality monitoring responsibilities of public sector organisations, which in turn informs policies and practices.

Scotland’s Census results are designated as Accredited Official Statistics and form an integral part of the statistical system in the UK. The Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR), the independent regulatory arm of the UK Statistics Authority , awards Accredited Official Statistics designation based on the quality, good practice and comprehensiveness of official statistics.

More detail about the schedule for future reports can be found here .

Engagement on the Natural Capital Market Framework is taking place from March to September and is following Scottish Government’s approach to service design, using the expertise and insight from a diverse range of stakeholders to inform the development of the framework. This engagement has included UK Government officials leading their work on natural capital markets but there has been no direct engagement with UK Government Ministers. We have also engaged with a wide range of private businesses representing agricultural, land management, contractor and investment interests.

Funding was allocated to the Scottish Government by the European Commission at the beginning of the programme in 2014 and is not allocated on a yearly basis.

The Scottish Government’s National Carers Strategy published in December 2022 sets out our cross-government approach to carer support and recognition, with an emphasis on the need for collaboration between national and local government, the third sector, wider public and private sector. The Strategy sets out the importance of all employers being positive about carers in the workforce and outlines our commitment to fund and promote the Carer Positive employer accreditation scheme.

The Scottish Government funds Carers Scotland to run the scheme, raise awareness and engage with prospective employers. It does this through direct engagement, speaking at networks and events, and via one-to-one support. To date there are now more than half a million employees working in 275 Carer Positive organisations across Scotland. A full list of Carer Positive employers is published on the Carer Positive website .

The Scottish Government remains committed to promoting the scheme, and to ensuring that people who provide care for loved ones are able to do so in a meaningful and sustainable way whilst still being able to work, study and have full lives away from caring.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting people living with dementia. We worked with a wide range of partners and people with lived experience, including those with dementia with Lewy bodies, to inform our new national strategy published last year. The first two year Delivery Plan (published February 2024) sets out the agreed deliverables and improvements, including improving access to a timely diagnosis for all dementias. We know that receiving a timely diagnosis helps people to access the support and services right for them and to plan for their future.

We are working with Public Health Scotland, local and academic partners to add to the data we collect and publish on diagnosis and post-diagnostic support as well as the quality of experience of dementia support and services.

Information is not held centrally on the number of abandoned vehicles reported to local authorities. Management information is available from Police Scotland on the number of police recorded incidents of abandoned vehicles. This is provided below, split by the local authority within which the incident occurred.

It should be noted that not all abandoned vehicles will relate to cars and an incident may relate to more than one abandoned vehicle. This information was consistently recorded across all police divisions from the calendar year of 2019 onwards and therefore the figures provided below relate to the period 01 January 2019 to 18 June 2024. As such the 2024 figures relate to only a partial year.

Recorded incidents of abandoned vehicles, 01 January 2019 to 18 June 2024.

To ask the Scottish Government what plans it has to review pathways for patients to help improve earlier diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring everyone living with dementia receives the person centred support and care they need, regardless of which form of dementia they have. Our Dementia Strategy highlights that each individual person's experience of their dementia will be different and care and support needs to reflect that.

The current diagnostic pathway of dementia with Lewy bodies is through an individual’s GP. Clinical guidance on diagnosing suspected dementia with Lewy bodies is contained in the Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) which covers assessment, diagnosis, care and support for people with dementia and their care partners. The SIGN Guideline was developed by Healthcare Improvement Scotland and partners in 2023.

The Scottish Government has also established a cross-governmental; cross sectoral steering group to help shape the Scottish Government’s role in contributing to the research and development of greater understanding around dementia risk, earlier dementia identification, diagnosis, and treatment, including the trialling of new treatments which can slow the progression of some dementias.

Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads 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 to local authorities from the Scottish Government is provided via a block grant and we do not stipulate how local authorities should utilise their individual allocations. It is therefore the responsibility of each local authority to manage their own budget and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

In 2024-25, Glasgow City Council will receive over £1.6 billion to fund local services, which equates to an extra £74.9 million to support vital day to day services or an additional 4.9% compared to the 2023-24 budget.

Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities.