This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The member should contact the Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration for this information.

I refer the member to the Committee debate of 12 December 2024 where I set out that to help employers address all potential barriers to recruitment in rural and island areas, a whole system approach was required.

Scottish Ministers appreciate the particular challenges faced by island communities as a result of delayed and cancelled ferries.

Recognising the distinct challenges of hospitality business on Islands, the Scottish Budget announced we will continue to offer 100% relief in 2025-26 for hospitality businesses located on islands as defined by the Islands (Scotland) Act 2018, and in prescribed remote areas, capped at £110,000 per business.

The Scottish Budget also announced a freeze to the Basic Property Rate in 2025-26, delivering the lowest such rate in the UK for the seventh year in a row, and supporting a package of reliefs in 2025-26 worth an estimated £731 million. This includes maintaining the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous relief of its kind in the UK.

Telehealth as a term can represent a range of digital and remote access to services across healthcare. As such, there are multiple telehealth services on offer at a national and local level across Scotland and therefore it is not possible to provide a complete number undertaken across all services provided.

The Scottish Government has instructed ScotRail to procure replacement trains for the current fleet, known as the High Speed Trains (HST) fleet, 25 of which operate on its InterCity routes between Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, and Inverness.

These routes are strategically important for Scotland: 35% of Scotland’s population are served by the rail corridor to Aberdeen. Inverness provides long distance connectivity to the rest of the UK for approximately 250,000 people: it is the gateway to the Highlands and Islands and the Far North.

Replacing the fleet aims to provide a high quality, more consistent, reliable, comfortable, accessible and family-friendly experience for passengers on the InterCity routes, helping to encourage more people to choose to travel by train on these routes rather than by car.

Replacement will ensure the reliability of InterCity routes for the long-term, reduce emissions from Intercity services and will be another step on our journey towards the full decarbonisation of ScotRail services. It will also reduce ScotRail’s operating costs by being more energy efficient.

The decision to replace the trains followed a process of appraisal. The appraisal took into consideration the available options to transition from diesel power to electric trains, the time necessary to deliver electrification infrastructure, the availability of funding and the affordability challenges.

ScotRail will run the procurement in a fair and transparent manner, enabling Scottish suppliers to provide their services to potential bidders. In the meantime, the HSTs remain safe to run until a replacement fleet is ready; they are needed for the capacity required by ScotRail to deliver an appropriate service level. As the replacement trains arrive, the HSTs will be withdrawn.

This decision will also contribute to the refresh of the Scottish Government’s Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan (the DAP), which will be informed by the response to this procurement. The first DAP, published in 2020, was stated to be dynamic and subject to continuous improvement, to be updated and refined as progress is delivered and the funding environment changes. Accordingly, it is being revised.

The original target date of 2035 for complete removal of diesel passenger trains from the Scottish network can no longer be met, due to constrained budgets and logistical requirements impacting adversely on the delivery programme.

The physical delivery of electrification works needs to be staged to reduce the impact on passengers as much as is practicable. Undertaking too much disruptive engineering work across the Network at the same time would have significant farebox revenue impacts and would significantly diminish the attractiveness of rail travel for the public.

Delivering electrification over a longer period of time reduces passenger disruption from engineering works. It also allows for other associated works, such as bridge replacements, to be undertaken in a more phased manner, reducing road traffic impacts.

The revised DAP will demonstrate phased full decarbonisation by 2045. The refreshed plan is now expected to be published in Spring 2025. The refreshed plan will show a staged approach to creating a decarbonised rail system by 2045 and increasing from the current 75% of rail journeys which are already decarbonised.

A contract notice will be published today on Public Contracts Scotland with a more detailed delivery timeline available at the point of contract award.

The Infected Blood Inquiry’s report of 20 May 2024 set out a range of important recommendations that seek to protect patient safety and ensure a similar tragedy can never happen again. As the First Minister made clear in his statement to the Scottish Parliament on 21 May, the Scottish Government is committed to learning lessons from what went wrong and the terrible impact it has had on so many infected blood victims in Scotland and their families. The Scottish Government has established an Oversight and Assurance Group involving patient representatives and from the NHS in Scotland, to ensure progress in taking forward the Inquiry’s recommendations.

A UK Government report (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/government-response-to-the-infected-blood-inquiry/government-response-to-the-infected-blood-inquiry-html) provides an update on progress so far in implementing the recommendations. This includes updates on the approach being taken in Scotland, along with information on progress being made on recommendations being taken forward at UK level, such as on the provision of compensation to infected blood victims. In line with the Inquiry’s recommendation 12, the Scottish Government expects to provide a further detailed response to each of the Inquiry’s recommendations next year, within one year of the publication of the Inquiry’s final report.

In Scotland, a number of steps are already being taken and further work is being done in the coming months to ensure further progress. In particular:

• The Scottish Government and the Scottish Infected Blood Support Scheme have ensured that additional interim compensation has been paid to infected hepatitis C and HIV victims in Scotland and that estates of many of those who sadly died are now able to claim interim payments of £100,000;
• The Chief Medical Officer has asked all NHS Boards and GP practices to offer hepatitis C testing to anyone who has had a blood transfusion prior to 1996 if they have not already been tested. This is to ensure any individuals who may have been infected but not yet diagnosed can be offered treatment and support as quickly as possible;
• The Scottish Government is working with campaigners and relevant local authorities to identify a suitable location for a memorial to infected blood victims.

I have today published a new, strengthened Scottish Ministerial Code which sets the very highest standards of propriety and integrity.

The changes I have introduced mark the most fundamental developments to the Code since the introduction of Independent Advisers in 2008.

The Code has been restructured into three distinct sections: Ministers' Standards of Conduct; Ministers' Interests; and Ministers and the Procedures of Government. This brings ethical standards and public service values to the forefront, while ensuring that they are supported by the governing rules and procedures that underpin guidance to Ministers.

My 2024 edition of the Code provides an enhanced role for my Independent Advisers on the Code, who can now:

• Launch investigations into alleged breaches without a referral from me;
• Provide me with advice on the appropriate sanctions for a confirmed breach of the Code;
• Recommend to me improvements to strengthen the Code at any time; and
• Play a role in reviewing the processes in place to support Ministers to avoid any conflicts of interest between their private interests and their public duties.

I announced the appointment of my three new Independent Advisers on the Ministerial Code on 6 December and I have published their Terms of Reference alongside my new Code for the first time. These Terms of Reference set out the detail of my Advisers strengthened role and the process of independent scrutiny and advice they can provide to me.

My new Code has been updated throughout to support the highest standards of transparency, integrity, accountability and honesty. For example, the Seven Principles of Public Life have been brought into the body of the Code and updates have been made to ensure that the Code reflects existing rules, guidance and procedure on the use of corporate communication channels and on Ministerial travel and engagements.