The Registrar of Independent Schools has advised that 83 schools have completed surveys of their estates, with 8 awaiting results of a survey or in the process of procuring a survey. Of the schools where surveys have been completed, 76 schools have confirmed that there is no RAAC present on their estate, and 7 schools have confirmed the presence of RAAC.

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government holds regular discussions with Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited on the charter and potential purchase of available and suitable vessels to support and improve services on Scotland’s ferry networks. Discussions also take place with CalMac where appropriate.

The Ardrossan Harbour Task Force has met 15 times since it was set up in 2016, the details of these meetings and the Attendees involved can be found on the Transport Scotland website, Ardrossan Harbour Task Force | Transport Scotland . Staff within the Transport Scotland Ferries Directorate support the Task Force work, including the ongoing business case and project cost review.

It is for CalMac as operator of the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service in the first instance to determine any actions that need to be taken in response to the closure of the Irish berth, maintaining safe links that the communities rely upon.

We understand and empathise with those affected and continue to impress upon Peel Ports Group and CalMac the urgency of the situation. Transport Scotland will continue to work with CalMac to monitor the ongoing impacts on all affected by the amended services and closure of the Irish Berth at Ardrossan.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed to increasing the number of GPs in Scotland. This includes ongoing work on the ambition of increasing GPs by 800, in headcount terms, by 2027 alongside looking at trends of Whole-Time Equivalent GP capacity in the service, which is also crucial. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, progress is being made with GP headcount having increased by 271 since 2017 and 5,168 GPs now working in Scotland.

Training new GPs is key to our approach, and this takes time. We have expanded GP Specialty Training, adding 35 places this academic year and a further 35 places next year. As a result, there are currently, just over 1200 trainee GPs in Scotland. Recruitment into General Practice continues to perform well, with 100% of posts filled as of July 2023, with end-year results to be published shortly.

To help retain more GPs within the workforce, in June 2023 the Scottish Government convened a working group made up of key stakeholders including the BMA, RCGP and the Rural General Practitioner Association of Scotland, to make recommendations to improve the retention of GPs in all regions of Scotland. An implementation plan based on these recommendations will be published in Spring this year.

Officials meet regularly with NHS Forth Valley to ensure progress against their delivery plan. The board have a number of actions underway to support performance recovery including optimisation of their Flow Navigation Centre to ensure better links with primary and community care, increasing frailty capacity and focused work to embed their Discharge without Delay approach.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) is working with NHS Boards including NHS Forth Valley to support delivery of the Urgent and Unscheduled Care collaborative, to ensure sustainable ways of delivering services, improving access for patients, and reducing unnecessary demand for services.

There is no single point of contact in the Scottish Government for the National Acquisition Programme. The programme is part of the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and managed at a local level by More Homes Division Area Teams who work with local authorities and Registered Social Landlords to plan and progress acquisitions through the programme. The More Homes central Programme Management Team monitors and reports on the progress of the programme. There is no single point of contact in local government for the national acquisition programme. It is for local authorities to agree their policy position and approach to acquisitions as outlined in our published National Acquisition Programme information .

Harbour dues are charged to CalMac by the Ardrossan Harbour Company Ltd as per the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Service contract and the existing and ongoing cost of harbour dues will be factored into the business case. Neither CalMac or Transport Scotland are party to the financial arrangements between Ardrossan Harbour Company Ltd and their owner Peel Ports Group.

Decline in applications for teaching bursaries can be for many reasons, including a fall in the overall number of applications for the PGDE courses in bursary eligible subjects.

We are engaging with a range of stakeholders including local authority employers, university providers and the teaching unions to work collectively to raise the profile of teaching as a highly rewarding career.

As you will be aware, the scheme was extended in 2023 to include Gaelic as a secondary subject, and Gaelic medium across all secondary subjects and in primary.