Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23817 on 8 January 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

sport scotland’s provisional allocation of up to £5m for the development of a potential tennis facility at Park of Keir remains in place.

However, at this stage, a full application for a tennis facility at Park of Keir has not been received. Any decision on whether to make a capital award and the appropriate level of any award will only be taken on completion of a full application (as outlined in response to S6W-05651 on 20 January 2022).

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 Scottish Government does not hold this information. Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the Animal Welfare (Licensing of Activities Involving Animals) (Scotland) Regulations 2021 and accordingly they undertake inspections and issue licences.

Information on the number of inspections undertaken and licences issued related to animal welfare establishments and organisations engaged in rehoming activities may be requested from individual councils.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23760 on 9 January 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 .

Transport Scotland keeps forecasting methodology under review to ensure best practice. The Borders Railway business case demand forecasts were based on modelling that was informed by surveys of residents regarding their potential use of the line. This resulted in forecasts that underestimated demand from Borders stations and overestimated demand from Midlothian stations.

Rail demand forecasting has developed considerably since the demand forecasts for the Borders Railway business case were first developed in 2008. A post-opening hindcast from the South East Scotland Transport Partnership (SESTran) Regional model for those Borders stations gave forecasts within 30% of actual demand. Where available, Transport Scotland recommends to promotors the use of Regional models for new station demand forecasts .

We continue to work towards delivery of the commitment that at least 10% of frontline health spending will be dedicated to mental health by the end of this parliamentary session.

The NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 Annual Progress Update published in December 2023 confirmed that NHS expenditure on mental health rose from £1.25bn in 2020-21 to £1.3bn in 2021-22, an increase of £51.5m or 4.1% - representing 8.8% of total NHS expenditure.

Each year the Scottish Government provides the Scottish Environment Protection Agency with a grant from the Water Environment Fund (WEF) to support work to deliver our River Basin Management Plan. The projects this supports is reviewed on an annual basis to ensure funding through WEF is targeted on projects which will derive the greatest benefit to Scotland’s rivers and neighbouring communities.

Currently, alternative funding streams for projects to remove Invasive Non-Native Species (INNS) in Scotland enable more effective use of resource and provide greater benefits for biodiversity. Subsequently, WEF funding is at the moment prioritising restoring rivers and improving fish migration.

For more information on funding for INNS, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23295 on 11 December 2023. 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23817 on 8 January 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 Scottish Government is aware of instances of women who have faced significant delays in accessing ovarian cancer surgery in the west of Scotland. Due to the multidisciplinary nature of the surgery for ovarian cancer, scheduling can be challenging for health boards. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (GGC) has advised that action is being taken to simplify scheduling of these cases and thus reduce delays.

Actions taken have included increasing dedicated theatre capacity and improving joint working across surgical teams. The health board is working to increase dedicated time for surgeons from the colorectal, urology, plastic and hepato-pancreatic biliary teams to operate jointly with gynaecology oncology. The surgical team is now bigger, with further training in hand. There has been an increase in weekly operating lists and planning continues to improve around increased access to other surgical specialties.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery is leading improvement work and pathway redesign via their clinically led specialty delivery group (SDG) for gynaecology. This includes in-depth peer review meetings involving all Boards in NHS Scotland to ensure gynaecology patients are on the right pathway at the right time, supporting improvements in waiting times and patient outcomes.

The Scottish Cancer Network will be establishing a new National Ovarian Cancer Clinical Network, which will work to ensure equity of access to treatment for all women with ovarian cancer in Scotland.

Scottish Government provided £8m in 2021-22 and £12m in 2022-23 and 2023-24 to local authorities in order to support the policy to remove all charges for instrumental music tuition in schools.

As confirmed in the budget published in December 2023, the Scottish Government and COSLA have agreed funding of £12 million for instrumental music tuition in 2024-25, continuing to remove barriers to participation.