Chamber and committees

The Children, Young People, Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) Third Sector Fund has provided core funding to 115 organisations since 2016 to deliver support that tackles inequalities, child and family poverty, improve learning and build skills. Funding to the 115 organisations was awarded following a competitive exercise that was open to all third sector organisations who met the fund’s qualifying criteria. CYPFEI & ALEC funded organisations contribute to our policy priorities to Keep the Promise, tackle child poverty, provide family support, implement Children’s Rights, and promote positive mental and physical health and wellbeing.

Saheylia were awarded £14.7k through CYPFEI & ALEC and they had received their first quarter fund payment for 2025-26 prior to their unfortunate closure. The remaining funding allocated to Saheylia will not be transferred to another organisation, as the reallocation of the remaining funds would require the completion of a competitive exercise, open to all third sector organisations who meet the qualifying criteria for CYPFEI & ALEC funding.

Ministers were not involved in this decision which was considered by ScotRail Trains Ltd as an operational matter

The Scottish Government’s Respiratory Care Action Plan for Scotland (RCAP) sets out our vision for driving improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support of respiratory conditions including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and interstitial lung disease. We continue to work with many types of clinical advisors on delivering improvements to respiratory care and much of this is related to workforce and training of medical professionals.

NHS Education for Scotland (NES) has a key role in coordinating recruitment to, and overseeing, the quality of postgraduate medical training for both GPs and hospital specialists. The training curricula are written by Medical Royal Colleges and approved by the General Medical Council (GMC), who consider advice from a wide range of stakeholders, including NES. These are subject to regular review and updating, and the training is delivered by territorial NHS Boards.

Scottish Government remains committed to delivering the National Workforce Strategy (Health and social care: national workforce strategy - gov.scot) and achieving the overall vision for “A sustainable, skilled workforce with attractive career choices and fair work where all are respected and valued for the work they do”. Whilst no formal update has yet been published, significant progress has been made in a number of areas and we remain committed to providing a fuller update to the strategy at an appropriate time. Whilst the Strategy does not set out operational workforce planning requirements, it states how we are directing policy to support the achievement of our workforce.

Payments to independent contractors providing NHS dental services, responsible for almost all primary care dental service provision, is funded through a national General Dental Services (GDS) budget. This is a non-cash limited budget where National Services Scotland make payments on behalf of NHS Boards directly to independent contractors. There is no separate budget for each NHS Board for these services. NHS Boards do have budget for the Public Dental Service (a specialist service provided by employees of the Board) as part of their general allocation. Information that is held at NHS Board level.

I can confirm that there has been no reduction in funding for NHS dental services. On the contrary, as part of the 2025-26 budget we have increased funding for primary care dental services by 15%. This takes total funding to over half a billion pounds for the first time and means that over the course of this Parliament, we will have increased investment in primary care dental services by 33%.

A breakdown of GDS spending for the 2024-25 financial year can be viewed at https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report/nhs-dental-data-monitoring-report-quarter-ending-march-2025/

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39369 on 11 August 2025. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39135 on 31 July 2025. 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 Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) provide a Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service in criminal court cases. When COPFS first consider a new criminal case, they refer to VIA any victims who should receive extra support. This includes victims of domestic abuse. If the victim wishes VIA support, VIA will proactively notify the victim of court hearing dates and bail decisions, including bail conditions of the accused person.

When the court is deciding whether to grant bail, the prosecutor and the defence are given the opportunity to make submissions to the court on the question of bail. In doing so, the prosecutor can make the court aware of any safety concerns which they consider arise based on the individual facts and circumstances of the case. This is particularly relevant under the new bail test, which came into effect on 14 May 2025, and which centres public safety, including safety of the complainer from a risk of harm, in bail decision making.

Where held, COPFS will consider the views of the victim with regard to bail and bail conditions, in forming their overall submission on bail. This may include information obtained from the victim by the police in the initial police report, information from specialist support services or information from VIA engagement with the victim directly.

Domestic abuse involves very complex dynamics where it can be important that information about concerns that may lead to a partner or ex-partner being placed on remand or subject to stringent bail conditions is not attributed to information provided by the victim. This may make victims reluctant and fearful to engage in a case.

It is for this important reason that the prosecutor, who acts independently in the public interest, is best placed to provide victim safety information to the court, including the seeking of further conditions of bail.

Ultimately, the question of bail and bail conditions is a matter for the independent court informed by the information they are provided with.

As of year-end 2024 there were 4,648 new Electric Vehicles (EVs) registered in Scotland through the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment (AVE) Scheme. This represents 16.9% of EVs registered in Scotland in 2024, although this figure may not include cars purchased through brokerages based outside of Scotland.

We are proud that the Accessible Vehicles and Equipment Scheme is delivering much-needed support for disabled people and contributing towards a Just Transition in Scotland.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government as in-work benefits such as Universal Credit are reserved to the UK Government. Additionally, the recording of personal data relating to police officers with additional jobs or business interests are matters for the Chief Constable.

The Scottish Government values the dedication shown by police officers in Scotland. That’s why our police officers remain the best paid in the UK recognising the hard work and valuable contribution they make daily as well as our commitment to investing in policing.

the Scottish Government is updating guidance on Employment, Skills and Training within the Sustainable Procurement Tools, there are no current plans to issue a new Policy Note on social impact.

Scotland has been delivering social value through procurement for many years, embedding our commitment within legislation over ten years ago with a requirement to include economic, social, and environmental wellbeing in procurement decisions. For contracts valued at £4 million or more, public bodies must consider including community benefits and justify their exclusion if not appropriate. Legislation also requires that awards are not based on price alone, but on the best balance of cost and quality, which includes a commitment to sustainable outcomes.

Scottish Procurement Policy Note 6/2020 reaffirms these requirements, outlining how social impact should be considered in public procurement. In addition to scored social impact questions, it highlights other practical ways to achieve social and economic outcomes, such as:

• While Including social requirements in specifications,
• Dividing contracts into lots to facilitate access for SMEs and third sector organisations,
• Reserving contracts for supported businesses.

The effectiveness of this approach, which includes extensive training and support to implement these policies, is evidenced in the 2023 report Scotland’s Journey of Achieving Sustainable Procurement Outcomes (2002–2022) and in annual procurement activity reports.