Chamber and committees

Scottish Ministers are committed to reforming the public sector to deliver high-quality services in a fiscally sustainable way. Public Service Reform is central to this, with an increased focus on accelerating change and strengthening the delivery of key services, including ferry operations.

In this context, Scottish Ministers will consider structural reforms to improve accountability, transparency and efficiency within lifeline ferry services, as part of a wider approach to better integrate publicly owned transport bodies and maximise public investment. Communities and businesses remain central to this, with an emphasis on reliability, resilience and value for money.

While no final decisions have been taken on the nature or timing of reforms, engagement will continue with CalMac, CMAL, island stakeholders and trade unions as this work progresses.

The Scottish Government expects development of Vision Anywhere for Scotland to progress in line with the wider Vision programme and migration timetable to June 2027.

The Private Jet Tax will be implemented as higher rates of Air Departure Tax (ADT)which will apply to the carriage of passengers by air on private jet flights from Scottish airports.

I refer the member to the answer to question S7O-00002 taken in chamber on 2 June 2026, which is available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament.

We are committed to ensuring that endometriosis is recognised as a chronic condition and that women with endometriosis experience a continuum of care.

Phase Two of the Women’s Health Plan, published in January, committed to aligning the Endometriosis Care Pathway with the most recent NICE guidance so that NHS Boards in Scotland can ensure that women and girls with endometriosis and endometriosis like symptoms have access to holistic and timely care.

The Pathway has been updated and is available online on the Right Decisions platform.

While statutory responsibility for managing and maintaining school estates rests with local authorities, the Scottish Government has engaged with the Highland Council on the issues at Rosebank Primary School. The Council has confirmed that no further class cancellations are expected and that remedial works to the affected toilet facilities will be completed before the start of the new school session in August. It has also committed to keeping the Parent Council updated on progress.

Through the £2 billion Learning Estate Investment Programme, the Scottish Government is providing the Council with significant funding support for its Broadford Primary School, Nairn Academy and Tain Campus projects. This funding is intended to augment, rather than replace, the Council’s own investment in its school estate.

More broadly, the latest School Estate Statistics, published in September, show that the proportion of school buildings reported as being in “good” or “satisfactory” condition has increased to a record 92%, compared with 62.7% in 2007.

The information requested on how many whole-time equivalent NHS podiatrists have been employed in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

Workforce planning for podiatry is taken forward as part of the wider Allied Health Professions workforce. The Allied Health Professions Education and Workforce Policy Review (2023) set out actions to ensure a sustainable workforce, and an advisory board is overseeing implementation. This includes expanding and diversifying routes into careers, such as “earn as you learn” models, and supporting initiatives like the PREPARE programme, which enables podiatrists to train while employed. These actions are designed to strengthen the training pipeline and support recruitment and retention.

The Scottish Government does not hold data regarding the number of incidents involving possession, misuse or adverse health consequences associated with prescription stimulants among pupils or students.

The ‘Alcohol and Drugs Strategic Plan’, published on the 10 March 2026, includes a commitment to continuing to support the healthy development of children and young people. This includes supporting the implementation of national guidance to aid education authorities in updating local policies for responding to substance use in school settings, and supporting the development of age and stage appropriate alcohol and drug education and prevention resources as part of the wider curriculum review.

We also published ‘Young people accessing support or treatment for alcohol and drugs: standards’ in December 2025 and remain committed to working with partners to implement these standards to ensure young people have access to appropriate and effective support.

The Scottish Government is concerned by the reports raised in the BBC Documentary “Cashing in on Care” and sympathises with the families involved however deposit fees form part of the private contract between the provider and the individual - the Scottish Government is not a party in these contracts.

Families in Scotland can contact their local trading standards team who will investigate any breach of contract which was the issue in the cases raised in the BBC documentary. The Competition and Markets Authority - which is a statutory body and accountable to the UK Parliament - has guidance for care homes on deposits and fees. This requires care home providers to provide details of any upfront payments required, such as the amount of any deposit, how it will be protected, and refunding arrangements.

We expect all providers operating in Scotland to abide by the guidance clearly set out by the CMA fully.

The management of the grid and the administration of constraint payments are reserved matters and are the responsibility of the UK Government and the National Energy System Operator. The Scottish Government has no role in setting or administering such payments.

The Scottish Government regularly engages with the UK Government and system operators on investment in transmission infrastructure which is required to reduce constraint costs.