The Scottish Government has allocated approximately £6 million to the Monitor Farm Scotland programme since it was established in 2003. Please note that the Scottish Government’s e-record system was developed in 2005, therefore only partial data is available between 2003 and 2008.

57 Monitor Farms have participated in the Monitor Farm Scotland programme since it was established in 2003. The Monitor Farm Scotland programme is the Scottish Government’s foremost and established farmer led initiative.

Percentages for 2021-22 and 2022-23 are as follows:

As set out in answer S6W-26708 on 24 April 2024, the taskforce has established four subgroups to focus on attraction, education and development, leadership and culture, and wellbeing. All subgroups are considering retention as part of their remit. Each subgroup will formulate and provide recommended actions to the main taskforce. The Taskforce is making good progress with the development of its recommended actions and will continue to work until members have agreed a comprehensive action plan. We anticipate the publication of a report later in 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 recruitment round has not yet closed for 2024. The 19 positions currently advertised on the recruitment portal is a provisional figure and is therefore subject to potential change.

The number of posts advertised per year by NHS Education for Scotland is determined by two factors: i) the number of vacant posts, due to trainees completing training, resigning from post or undergoing an inter-deanery transfer, and ii) whether any additional posts have been created. The number of posts which are available for new applicants to apply for varies annually due to trainees working on a part-time basis (and therefore taking longer to complete training and vacate their post).

Both the Cabinet Secretary and myself as Minister for Small Business, Innovation, Tourism and Trade are committed to deepening and strengthening our relationship with business, not only through better engagement and communication, but by actively aligning our policy with business and working in partnership on common goals. As small businesses represent just over 98% of businesses, the Programme for Government committed to establish a new Small Business Unit in the Scottish Government to work more closely with small businesses and to ensure they are heard during policy development, building good practice in participation and engagement. I have agreed that a team within the Business and Better Regulation Directorate should take this work forward as this is the most appropriate area to ensure policy is considered through the lens of small business to understand particular impacts. This directorate is made up of highly experienced officers that work closely with small businesses on a daily basis.

I have engaged on a number of occasions with the main business organisations including the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) who are also members of the New Deal for Business Group and met FSB representatives recently. I will continue to engage with them and other business organisations to enhance relations and dialogue between the government and small businesses in Scotland.

The information requested on how many colorectal (a) clinical nurse specialists and (b) surgeons were employed by NHS Lanarkshire in 2019 is not centrally available.

Transport Scotland's involvement in Project CAVForth demonstrates the Scottish Government's belief that a modern transport system is fundamental to sustainable and inclusive economic growth and has the potential to deliver economic and societal benefits.

Transport Scotland’s involvement in Project CAVForth, as a partner, came to a conclusion at the end of July 2023 when the funding period for the project ended. The project aim of delivering an autonomous bus service was successfully achieved and my officials obtained considerable operational knowledge relating to the steps required to support the safe implementation of such a service. As Transport Scotland was only a partner for a 12 week period of the trial service, there was a constraint on the amount of evaluation that could be undertaken within that time period. Nevertheless, through Transport Scotland’s involvement, my officials met regularly with City of Edinburgh Council and Fife Council to provide updates on the project, in addition to sharing learning at a number of industry events that representatives from various local roads authorities attended.

As the trial service continues until March 2025 under the successor project (CAVForth 2), the project partners (which does not include Transport Scotland) are continuing to evaluate the project including via Stagecoach as the operator of the service. In Transport Scotland’s role as the roads authority for the majority of the route, my officials will continue to support the project and share further learning with other Scottish Transport Authorities. Most recently this was done through the delivery of a presentation by my officials at an ITS UK event, which was attended by Glasgow City Council on 8 February 2024.

My officials also continue to actively engage with partners to gain a greater understanding of the impact that the deployment of Connected and Autonomous Vehicles, the benefits that they bring and opportunities to share this knowledge more widely.

The Scottish Government's approach to rare conditions and diseases is not condition-specific. As there are over 7,000 rare conditions it is unfortunately not feasible for NHS Inform to host and maintain individual pages for each condition.

We are absolutely committed to ensuring that people living with a rare condition like Aplastic Anaemia will benefit from our approach. Our Action Plan for Rare Disease (published December 2022) set out our wider priorities and actions, including raising awareness of rare conditions among healthcare professionals.

The current NHS Inform page for rare conditions, developed to improve awareness of rare conditions and signpost to sources of support, is by no means final. We will continue to listen to rare disease community feedback and shape our web content around the needs of all rare condition communities.

The Scottish Government remains committed to enhancing audiology services, and to its vision for an integrated, community-based audiology service. We are currently focusing on delivery of the actions required to respond to the Independent Review of Audiology services, and our approach will continue to be informed by this, alongside ongoing consultation with the audiology sector.