Chamber and committees

As advised in the answer provided for S6W-12757 on 16 December 2022, phase 1 of the tactile paving at 18 stations was completed in March 2022.

Network Rail advise that, working closely with ScotRail, the aim is that all remaining stations owned and managed by Scotland’s Railway will have tactile paving installed by the end of 2023. These works are subject to sourcing materials.

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

Scottish Government is aware of community concerns and Scottish Forestry attended a public consultation drop in event held in Langholm on 4 th May this year, which was arranged by the land owners and their forestry agents with encouragement to do so by officials.

As a result of the drop in session, the proposal which is being developed by Gresham House Forestry on behalf of James Jones and Sons, a private sector sawmilling company, will incorporate ideas and suggestions provided by the local community. It is expected that Sitka spruce, in the final design, will amount to only 25-35% of the total area, with the rest of the tree planting being designed to incorporate other diverse conifer species, native broadleaves and open unplanted ground. In addition, more than 40 % of the area will be retained for agricultural purposes, with the protection and incorporation of existing and new footpaths and public access routes.

The Scottish Government has not conducted an assessment regarding discharge levels from Exhaust Gas Cleaning Systems (EGCS) in Scottish ports. Whilst statutory port authorities have individual powers to regulate vessel activities within their harbour limits, the responsibility for shipping emission regulations is reserved to the UK Government. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency is responsible for enforcing all shipping regulations in UK waters, to ensure vessels are meeting UK and international safety and environmental regulations.

Teachers attain Newly Qualified Teacher (NQT) status on completion of their teaching qualification.

Information on the number of UK domiciled students qualifying from Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes at Scottish Higher Education Institutions is published in the “Diversity Teaching Profession Annual Data Report”. The latest information, covering 2021-22 academic year, can be found here:

Diversity in the teaching profession: annual data report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government is clear that one life lost on our roads is one too many and along with partners is committed to eradicating fatal and serious collisions on our roads.

Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 sets out a vision for Scotland to have the best road safety performance in the world by 2030 and an ambitious long term goal where no one is seriously injured or killed on our roads by 2050. For the first time, a full range of mode and user specific targets for key priority groups such as pedestrians, cyclists, motorcyclists and over-represented age groups have been created to focus our partners on key priority areas.

The framework is supported by annual delivery plans that includes a wide range of road safety initiatives from road safety partners. These initiatives are continuously monitored through our three tier governance structure, with progress and outcomes published within our annual reports on the Transport Scotland website.

In addition, our Road Safety Framework Fund gives road safety partners the opportunity to co-design and co-deliver road safety initiatives that support the delivery of the framework. A condition of the grant funding is that each project is independently evaluated to determine the impact it is having on road safety performance.

As of the morning of 1 August 2023 there were 2,275 people on remand. The following table shows the average (median) and longest (maximum) continuous time (expressed in days) spent on remand, by ethnic grouping.

The start date of this collection imposes an upper limit on the continuous time to date spent on remand of 1,225 days. Less than five individuals were at that limit, held under the Extradition Act 2003 (S8).

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19812 on‎ 1 August 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

The allocation of places on the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) is based on students selecting a preference of five local authorities in which they wish to undertake their probationary year. The system is set to ensure that all newly qualified teachers are, in the first instance, offered a place in one of their preferred choices.

As an alternative to selecting a preference of five local authorities, a student can opt for the Preference Waiver Payment whereby they waive their right to express a preferred local authority and will be prioritised to remote and rural local authorities in return for an additional payment.

TIS does not provide a guarantee of future employment within that council. The future employment of teachers is solely a matter for local authorities. While it is for councils to recruit and employ sufficient teaching staff to meet the needs and interests of children and young people living in their areas, we would expect them to fill posts in an open and fair manner.

The Scottish Government is providing up to £246 million to SPT, towards the estimated total project cost of £287.5 million for the Subway modernisation programme, which includes: a smartcard ticketing system; new rolling stock and signalling; refurbished stations with improved accessibility.

To date, the Scottish Government has provided just over £142 million since 2011-12 to Subway Modernisation:

The Scottish Government has no plans to provide funding for additional air services from the mainland to Scottish islands. The only mechanism for the provision of subsidised air services is through the imposition of a Public Service Obligation (PSO). In line with legislative requirements, when considering the imposition of a PSO, the adequacy of other modes of transport and the ability of such modes to meet the transport needs under consideration is assessed.