Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government’s procurement rules exist to ensure funds are spent in a way that delivers the most benefit to society. These rules apply across all Scottish Government grants and we have had no discussions about potentially changing them.

We are however discussing with CRT other ways in which they can best support community organisations where these meet the regeneration outcomes and conditions of its existing grant award. Officials have also asked CRT to examine alternative routes for future funding of community organisations.

The Scottish Government is aware of the BMA Scotland’s views that anaesthesia associates (AA) and physician associates (PA) should be regulated by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC) rather than the General Medical Council (GMC).

The Scottish Government is satisfied with the suitability of the GMC as the regulator. AAs and PAs are educated in curricula aligned to the medical model and work complementary to and under the supervision of doctors, a common regulator ensures consistent standards, providing doctors with better assurance when delegating clinical tasks. It also ensures a consistent approach across professional groups in relation to adverse events, particularly where fitness to practise concerns arise.

Furthermore, the Department of Health and Social Care published a UK-wide consultation in 2017 which clearly demonstrated a majority preference for the GMC as the regulator (59% in comparison to 20% for the HCPC).

With regard to the BMA Scotland’s concerns that GMC regulation will confuse patients as to a practitioner’s professional status, current guidance issued to Health Boards by the Scottish Government stipulates that patients should always be told when they are being treated by an AA or PA, rather than a doctor. Once regulated, the roles will also become subject to the principles in Good Medical Practice to always be open and honest about their role and ensure that they are working within the limits of their qualifications and experience.

Ministers are carefully considering the outline business case for the Small Vessel Replacement Programme, which includes the procurement route and a full financial assessment of the programme.

This is an important, complex issue and an update will be provided to Parliament once a decision on investment has been taken. This is expected shortly.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail. The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. The Member may wish to contact ScotRail directly, who might be able to provide this information.

The Scottish Government is aware of the former railway route to Greenock Princes Pier. However, in the absence of any clearly expressed demand for this link from freight customers, the Scottish Government has no current plans to assess the feasibility of reopening the Greenock and Ayrshire Railway to the former Greenock Princes Pier railway station as a direct rail freight link to Greenock Ocean Terminal.

Further to the response given by Miri McAllan MSP, in a particularly challenging fiscal landscape, the Scottish Government has had to take difficult decisions to deliver balanced and sustainable spending plans for the 2024-25 financial year.

Further to the response given by Miri McAllan MSP, in a particularly challenging fiscal landscape, the Scottish Government has had to take difficult decisions to deliver balanced and sustainable spending plans for the 2024-25 financial year.

The UK Autumn Statement was a worst-case scenario for Scotland. Our block grant funding, derived from the UK Government’s spending decisions, has fallen by 1.2 per cent in real terms since 2022-23 and our capital spending power is due to contract by almost 10 per cent in real terms over five years.

The Scottish Government has prioritised funding for front line services in the 2024-25 Scottish Budget and this has required making difficult decisions. Despite these challenges, the Budget will increase frontline NHS investment by over half a billion pounds, uprate benefits by over £1 billion and to spend almost £2.5 billion on our public transport network. The total budget for the Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition portfolio increased by £47.7 million in 2024-25, which is a £27.9 million (0.6%) reduction in real terms using GDP deflators published in November 2023

A significant proportion of the expenditure in the Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition portfolio is legally and contractually committed, and I have ensured that those commitments are met in full in this budget as well as allocating funding to support critical maintenance and renewal expenditure to ensure that the people of Scotland have access to a safe and reliable transport system. This has been compounded by continuing high inflation, which has further reduced our room for manoeuvre.

As Miri McAllan MSP indicated, the Equalities and Fairer Scotland Budget Statement and Carbon Assessment were published alongside this Budget. These impact assessments not only analyse the budget and the impact of the decisions contained in it, they also consider the process of making those decisions, and how we make sure the needs of all people are actively considered. The Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition portfolio was actively engaged in the analysis and production of these assessments.

Further to the response given by Miri McAllan MSP, in a particularly challenging fiscal landscape, the Scottish Government has had to take difficult decisions to deliver balanced and sustainable spending plans for the 2024-25 financial year.

Further to the response given by Miri McAllan MSP, in a particularly challenging fiscal landscape, the Scottish Government has had to take difficult decisions to deliver balanced and sustainable spending plans for the 2024-25 financial year.

The National Upskilling Plan for Computing Science teachers is a multi-year upskilling programme to support teachers keep pace with this fast-changing subject area. As this is a core tenet of STACS aims and deliverables, the Scottish Government will continue to support this for the duration of the grant funding arrangement with STACS until 2026-7.