Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government remains committed to expanding the national thrombectomy service, and ensuring access to this treatment is as equitable as possible.

Through the National Thrombectomy Programme Board, and Thrombectomy Advisory Group, work is being undertaken to drive expansion of the thrombectomy service.

Planning is ongoing to establish how the £16 million funding announced in the Scottish budget, once scrutinised by the Scottish Parliament, will be best used to maximise the number of patients able to benefit from thrombectomy.

Through our network of 18 Coastal Offices, as well as the Regional Inshore Fisheries Group (RIFG) network, the Scottish Government encourages the fishing industry to work together and develop voluntary codes of conduct to reduce instances of gear conflict.

In situations resulting in loss or damage to gear, Police Scotland are the competent authority out to 12 nautical miles. Beyond that, responsibility lies with the Marine Coastguard Agency.

Our Coastal Offices operate a reporting mechanism for reporting gear loss. The aim of this is to utilise the available evidence to determine which vessels were active in the area and to establish contact, assisting those involved in arriving at an amicable outcome. It also ensures the necessary information is available, should Police Scotland require to be involved.

In June 2020 the Scottish Government built on the findings of the Task Force on Gear Conflict by introducing the Marking of Gear (Scotland) Order 168/2020. This order introduced restrictions on how buoys should be used to mark static gear, aimed at reducing gear conflict by making it easier to identify the owner of lost or displaced gear. This order requires that all creels and fleets of creels to be marked with a buoy manufactured for that purpose and that all buoys be of a bright colour and bear the registration number of the fishing vessel that deployed it.

As part of a pragmatic approach to gear conflict, Marine Directorate provides ongoing support where appropriate, encouraging fishers to work together to resolve difficulties locally and where possible, support local voluntary codes of conduct. In addition, our Coastal Offices operate a reporting mechanism for reporting gear loss. The aim of this is to utilise the available evidence to determine which vessels were active in the area and to establish contact, assisting those involved in arriving at an amicable outcome. It also ensures the necessary information is available, should Police Scotland require to be involved.

Our six national RIFG Chairs regularly meet both with fishing industry stakeholders throughout their respective areas, as well as Marine Directorate officials. Outputs of these meetings help ensure that the views of Scotland’s small fishing businesses, particularly those who do not have formal representation, are heard and incorporated into policy development.

A recent example of this relationship is Marine Directorate implementation of Interim Measures for protection of under-pressure crab and lobster stocks during 2024. The RIFG network took a lead role during an intense, month-long consultation period which involved engagement with over 400 fishers. These views were collated and helped inform policy advice on the use of short-term Interim Measures ahead of the 2024 fishing season.

For the non-Ministerial offices that the Scottish government holds employee information, our data shows no employees are assigned on our HR management information system to more than one non-Ministerial office.

The 2024-25 budget that was used as the comparator included a number of transfers that occurred at Autumn Budget Revision. The main transfer related to the inclusion of deferred Coastal Communities payments from 2023-24, this was a one-off occurrence which resulted in a net increase of £5 million from the 2024-25 starting budget position.

In comparison to the 2024-25 starting budget there has been a £1.6 million increase in the overall resource budget available to Marine Directorate in 2025-26 which when excluding depreciation is an additional £2 million of resource funding.

The Clyde closure is in place to maximise the opportunity for cod to reproduce and hence recover the stock. The closed area was defined according to extensive published literature on the types of seabed substrate on which cod prefer to spawn, and data on substrate type distribution provided by the British Geological Survey (BGS). This information has not changed since the closure was put in place.

When the Sea Fish (Prohibition on Fishing) (Firth of Clyde) Order 2024 was made, it was accompanied by a Business Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).

Following the 2025 closure there will be a public consultation on future management. That consultation will assess any changes that have happened since 2022 and make recommendations for the future on that basis.

The Marine Directorate is aware of this report and recognises its findings. The conclusions of the paper are very similar to those presented annually in the Scottish Sustainable Fishing Index (SFI, Sustainability of Fish Stocks | National Performance Framework).

The SFI has increased from 37% in 1992 to 71% in 2023, highlighting an overall improvement in Scottish commercial fish stocks that is very similar to that presented in the Shetland Fishermen’s report.

Marine Directorate scientists would however recommend interpreting this report with some caution due to methodological issues which depart from the normal way in which stocks are assessed by the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas (ICES) and on which basis international advice is derived for international negotiations and setting of total allowable catches.

The NRAC (resource allocation formula) is an objective measure of the need for health care services across Scotland. The current formula, which was established in 2005, considers the population share of each Board adjusted for the age/sex composition of the population, the relative health needs due to morbidity and life circumstances, and the excess cost of delivering healthcare to rural and remote areas. We have committed to a review of the funding formula. This supports vital work to reduce health inequalities; ensuring that we continue to allocate funding according to the relative need for healthcare in each Board area.

All Scottish Government supported PFI and PPP contracts including NPD (Non-Profit Distributing) have been procured by a devolved Scottish authority. The latest published data as at 31 March 2023 relating to (a) the total estimated unitary charge payments associated with these PFI and PPP contracts including NPD from 1997-98 to 2024-25 comprising both (i) expired and (ii) active contracts are contained within the following table.