Chamber and committees

Ferry fares policy, including Road Equivalent Tariff (RET), is currently being reviewed through the Fair Fares Review and Islands Connectivity Plan.

The draft Islands Connectivity Plan Strategic Approach, published for consultation on 1 February 2024, made a number of proposals around ferry fares policy, including RET.

The online consultation concluded on 6 May 2024 and responses will now be collated and analysed. Further detail on next steps and timescales will be confirmed in due course.

Any introduction of RET fares on the Gourock to Dunoon services would require careful consideration and an appropriate mechanism to reflect the commercial operator and ensure this meets with Subsidy Control requirements. Further work would be required to develop these proposals.

Information on the number of schools currently offering Code Clubs as an extra-curricular activity is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government recognises the benefits of extra-curricular activities which are rightly determined and delivered locally to best meet the needs of learners.

Between 2021-2022 and 2022-2023 a total of £170,000 was provided by Scottish Government to Digital Xtra, which provides grants to organisations delivering extra-curricula computing and digital technology activities for young people.

The management of the interim Vulnerable Persons Database (iVPD) is a matter for Police Scotland. As with any other organisation, Police Scotland has a duty to gather and process personal data lawfully. The Scottish Government has had no communication with the office of the Scottish Information Commissioner regarding the iVPD during this period.

For further information on the iVPD please refer to answer S6W-27225 on 17 May 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 .

Following the announcement on 7 March 2024 that the Scottish Government would be holding a public inquiry into the investigation of Emma Caldwell’s murder, immediate preparatory work to set up an Inquiry was commenced. Scottish Ministers have been liaising with the Lord President and the Caldwell family to explore different options for who could lead the Inquiry however, no decision has been taken on this yet.

A statutory Public Inquiry is a significant undertaking and will take time to set up. I will provide further updates to Parliament as work is progressed including, appointing a Chair and setting the Terms of Reference.

The Scottish Government has not had any communications with the Scottish Football Association or individual football clubs about Police Scotland’s public awareness campaign launched in 2021. The Scottish Government provided Police Scotland with funding through the Serious Organised Crime Small Community Grant Scheme in 2021 for their project working with four football clubs in Glasgow and a production company to develop the video ‘John’s Story’.

Transport Scotland continues to engage with Glasgow City Council regarding their aspirations for this area, noting it is they who are responsible for bringing forward land use changes and the associated planning duties. Transport Scotland’s interests lie in the safe and effective operation of the M8.

Transport Scotland has communicated to Glasgow City Council, that in order to take forward potential proposals, a robust assessment of the potential impacts on the mainline, access roads and adjacent facilities should be carried out. Officials from Transport Scotland are currently scoping an assessment of the future of the M8.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26829 and S6W-26830 on 29 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 .

NHS Boards are not required to inform the Scottish Government of the number of Golden Hello payments that are made to GPs in each financial year. This is an operational matter for the NHS Boards and the Scottish Government does not directly monitor these operational arrangements. However we will evaluating the role the scheme plays in supporting GP retention.

The Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care guidance was introduced in Scotland on 1 June 2015 following a review of NHS continuing care. A key aim was to ensure that anyone who needs to be in hospital for a longer period of time is to get them well enough to return to whatever setting is most suitable for them in the community while ensuring that all health and social care needs are supported.

Ministers and Officials meet regularly with Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), NHS Boards, Local Authorities and CoSLA to discuss a wide range of activity, including performance and hospital discharges. The whole health and social care system is working hard to support people out of acute settings and back into the community when it is clinically safe to do so. This includes ensuring that everyone is discharged from hospital without delay, and we are working to improve discharge planning through our Discharge Without Delay Programme (DwD) which aims to improve the patient journey, from the initial point of a hospital stay, preventing any delays through early and effective planning.

While the challenge is highly complex, ever shifting and dynamic, the foundations of DwD are based on simple patient centred principles which aim to enhance discharge and prevent delay, through early and effective planning, limiting hospital stays to what is clinically and functionally essential, and getting patients home at the earliest, safest opportunity.

The Scottish Government has also developed statutory guidance for Health Boards, Local Authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships on effective discharge planning and carer engagement, Summary - Carers (Scotland) Act 2016: statutory guidance - updated July 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . We have also funded Health Improvement Scotland to improve practice on carer involvement across health, with a focus on carer involvement in hospital discharge.

We are committed to maximising the public benefits of our renewables revolution and will explore all options open to us to do so.

ScotWind reflects very significant market ambition for offshore wind in Scottish waters and will deliver over £750m in revenues to the public purse in initial option fees.

INTOG projects offer a further significant potential revenue stream for the Scottish Government, amounting to up to £261m in option fees if these are converted to full option agreements.

We are already investing these revenues in our journey to net zero, and the Scottish Budget sets out the multi-million pound investment in 2024-25 to ensure the Scottish workforce, businesses and communities all benefit from the offshore renewables revolution. The programmes promise to also deliver billions more in rental revenues once they become operational, to be invested for the benefit of the people of Scotland, creating thousands of jobs in the process.

Developers have also committed to invest an average projection of £1.5 bn in Scotland per project on the 20 ScotWind projects.

Our strategic investment of up to £500m over the next five years to anchor the offshore wind supply chain in Scotland will support market certainty, create a highly productive, competitive economy, provide thousands of new jobs, embed innovation and boost skills.

Bathing water quality samples are taken by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) at each bathing water throughout the bathing season from 1 June to 15 September. Bathing water classifications are calculated at the end of each bathing water season and apply for the duration of the following season. They are calculated using data from the four previous years. There are three freshwater sites designated as Bathing Waters in Scotland: Luss Bay (Loch Lomond) and Dores (Loch Ness), both designated in 1999 and classified as sufficient and Loch Morlich, designated in 2008 and classified as excellent. A pre-season sample is also taken during the last fortnight in May.