Chamber and committees

Local authorities are encouraged to consider any specific housing requirements relating to key workers in the area. The definition of key workers is determined by individual local authorities based on local priorities. Local Housing Strategy Guidance sets out how local authorities are expected to take the needs of Key workers into account including through specific policies, including allocations. There is no one size fits all approach and it is for local authorities to set their own policies. Key workers can include doctors, nurses, teachers and police officers but also extends to private sector businesses, both temporary and permanent staff.

The Scottish Government would expect to see support for key workers set out in a local authority’s Local Housing Strategy and Strategic Housing Investment Plan, including any projects to be delivered through the Rural Affordable Homes for Key Workers Fund.

The complexity of rail network management and maintenance would not currently allow night-time ScotRail operations on Scotland’s railway network, including between Edinburgh and Glasgow.

The Scottish Government provides a range of schemes to support GP, dentist and consultant recruitment and retention in rural and island communities. This includes:

• The Rediscover the Joy project, which recruits experienced GPs to provide support to island and rural practices who require short-term GP cover.
• Public Services Delivery Scotland (PSDS) offer a Credential in Rural and Remote Health, focused on unscheduled and urgent care. The programme establishes a clear career pathway into remote and rural medicine and aims to support flexible career development and help attract and retain clinicians by providing formal recognition for their skills.
• The PSDS Rural Fellowship in General Practice offers qualified GPs the opportunity to develop the generalist skills required for rural and island areas through working in a range of clinical settings.
• ScotGEM is a four-year graduate entry medical programme, tailored to meet the current and future needs of the NHS in Scotland and focuses on rural medicine and healthcare improvement.
• Working with stakeholders to develop a national strategy for the dental workforce in Scotland, to ensure we can deliver sustainable access to dental services into the future.
• The Centre for Workforce Supply (CWS) and the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care (NCRRHC) have developed a sustained model of direct support to provide rural and island health and social care employers with the help they need to improve recruitment success.

In 2025, the Buchan Sustainable Transport Study was commissioned by the Campaign for North East Rail and the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce, with funding from the Scottish Government’s Just Transition Fund.

The Scottish Government has not identified any specific recipients of the proposed £3 million funding for ferry services from Scotland to Europe. A separate application has been received by a ferry operating company for funding through the Waterborne Freight Grant scheme, which is currently being assessed.

Energy pricing is fully reserved to the UK Government. The UK Government must deliver its promised £300 energy bill reduction and it must devolve power over Scotland’s energy to Holyrood so that we can ensure that Scotland’s energy wealth works for those who live here.

There is no further update at this time and this remains a complex matter, as previously indicated in the answer to S6W-27329 on 17 May 2024. Any introduction of RET on Gourock to Dunoon routes would require careful consideration of a number of issues, including Subsidy Control requirements.

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.

We have allocated funding to all territorial NHS boards as part of the recurring £4.5 million investment to support the development of specialist support for people with long COVID, myalgic encephalomyelitis (ME)/chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) and other similar conditions.

Allocation of this funding to boards has been informed by the National Resource Allocation Formula (NRAC). This formula is designed to take into account key determinants in the variation of healthcare need in populations, including population levels and measures of relative deprivation, to inform the allocation of funding in an equitable manner.

A breakdown of funding shares by NHS boards is as follows:

There are various measures in place to ensure that female witnesses involved in serious criminal cases are provided with appropriate protections and support throughout court proceedings.

The Scottish Government recognises that some witnesses may find it difficult to give evidence and may be particularly vulnerable because of their circumstances or the nature of their evidence. The court can take extra steps - called special measures - to help vulnerable witnesses give the best evidence they can. Special measures can include giving evidence from behind a screen or remotely via a TV link to the court, to prevent the witness having to attend the court building. Further information on special measures is available at https://www.mygov.scot/witness/help-support.

The Vulnerable Witnesses (Criminal Evidence) (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced a presumption that children and vulnerable witnesses in the most serious criminal cases should be able to have their evidence pre-recorded instead of testifying in court. Pre-recording evidence reduces the risk of re-traumatisation for witnesses and supports them to give their best possible evidence, earlier in the process and in a victim-centred way.

The Scottish Government is rolling out the legislation in stages, to give the criminal justice system time to prepare and to make sure the right facilities are in place for witnesses - and will extend the presumption to vulnerable adult witnesses in the most serious cases following the roll out to child witnesses. Vulnerable adult witnesses can still apply for their evidence to be taken in this way and accordingly, pre-recorded evidence is currently used a great deal for adult complainers of sexual offences, particularly in the High Court.

Other sources of support include the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Victim Information and Advice (VIA) Service for all vulnerable victims and those involved in the most serious cases. The VIA service can provide information about how the justice process works, and on key court dates and decisions. It will also work with victims to understand if they would benefit from special measures when giving evidence. Furthermore, the Scottish Government provides funding to Victim Support Scotland (VSS) which provides the VSS Court Service. The VSS Court Service supports victims in a range of ways including through court familiarisation visits, virtual court tours, support in court and for writing a victim statement.

Matters regarding the management of the court estate are, of course, for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) and the Lord President. In partnership with justice partners, SCTS is committed to clear standards of service for victims and witnesses (available at https://www.scotcourts.gov.uk/media/rvrdro0w/standards-of-service-for-victims-and-witnesses-2025-26.pdf). This includes ensuring that witnesses who require to attend court will be placed in witness rooms designated for prosecution or defence. In addition, toilet facilities within the SCTS buildings are clearly designated as male and female. Accessible toilet facilities are available and may be used by any individual, regardless of gender.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7W-00062 on2 June 2026. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be fou nd at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.