Chamber and committees

Network Rail owns and manages rail infrastructure in Scotland, and its Scotland operations, including funding BTP to prevent theft from railways which are fully funded by the Scottish Government.

Taking a partnership approach, Scottish Government, at both a ministerial and official level, engaged with a broad range of stakeholders during the development of the Addressing Depopulation Action Plan (ADAP). This engagement was led by the-then Minister for Equalities, Migration and Refugees, who was the lead Minister for the development of the ADAP.

The Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs, Land Reform and Islands has portfolio responsibility for the Scottish Rural & Islands Youth Parliament (SRIYP), of which the Young Islanders Network are a key member. Ms. Gougeon attended the inaugural SRIYP in November 2023, where delegates worked together to agree a series of priority statements or asks of Scottish Government. These 10 priorities (including housing, transport and skills, education and employment) strongly align with the delivery priorities outlined within the (ADAP).

Ms. Gougeon has met with the SRIYP network twice since November 2023 and remains in close contact with the Network. This includes a parliamentary event in January 2024, where SRIYP delegates were supported to attend with £20k of Scottish Government funding. The group met with relevant Ministers to present their 10 priorities, which were later discussed at a parliamentary debate hosted by Ms. Gougeon and the Deputy First Minister. Following this, an online meeting in November 2024 was hosted, where Ms. Gougeon provided an update to attendees on what action Scottish Government has taken across their 10 priorities.

The Scottish Government has not made specific representations to the UK Government in relation to spectrum policy, however we continue to engage with Ofcom, who has responsibility for allocating spectrum and assessing appropriate levels of local content, to press for a network of radio stations that ensure that Scotland’s needs across rural and urban areas are met.

Ofcom is reviewing public service media and the Scottish Government will be closely engaging with this and making representations on the importance of a diversity of voices being maintained and strengthened across broadcasting services in Scotland, including community radio.

The Scottish Government responded to Ofcom’s last review of public service broadcasting setting out our expectation for enhancing representation of people and place in Scotland to strengthen the a sense of community and culture. Local voices and coverage of local issues, whether through news coverage, or programming about and told by the people in Scotland’s diverse communities, need to be protected in the regulatory framework.

Fundamentally, we believe that broadcasting should be devolved so that the decisions that impact audiences and the creative industries in Scotland can be determined by the Scottish public through the Scottish Parliament.

I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The total annual operating costs of NRS for the last five years are:

• £32,845m (2023-24)
• £63,812m (2022-23)
• £61.905m (2021-22)
• £49,557m (2020-21)
• £40,990m (2019-20)

NRS operating costs (excluding depreciation) include the costs of the Census Programme 2022.

The Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) provides a snapshot of the domestic housing stock in each survey year, including the construction age, built form and primary and secondary heating system and fuel.

The SHCS currently records the following heat systems: Boiler, Community Heating, Storage Heaters, Room heaters, Warm Air Systems, Heat Pumps (with and without and MCS certificate), and Room Heater Back Boiler: no Radiators (these are systems which have a solid fuel fire with a back boiler where the back boiler is used only for heating water, and is not connected to radiators for heating the house). As these are the most common types of heating systems in Scotland.

The SHCS does not currently record heating systems, such as fuel cells, hybrid heat pumps and hydrogen ready boilers. However, we review the survey questions annually and these forms of heating will be considered for inclusion in future surveys when they become more prevalent in the Scottish dwelling stock.

To date, £32.2m funding committed through the Memorandum of Understanding has been spent. A breakdown of this figure, along with explanatory detail, is provided below:

The Scottish Government published estimates of the impact of the increase in employer national insurance contributions on the public sector in Scotland on 20 November. While the information is incomplete, these estimates indicate the combined impact on the public sector and commissioned services could be well over £700 million.

If the UK Government’s reported allocation is all that is provided, that will mean the Chancellor will be short-changing services the public depend on by over £400 million.

We will continue to work with His Majesty’s Treasury, Local Government and portfolios to support an evidence-based approach and will update Parliament when new information is available.

Scottish Government marketing teams do not specify inclusion of any specific media outlets to media agencies who prepare the media strategy and schedules based on audience to ensure advertising is as effective as possible and delivers high levels of reach for the investment. Therefore campaign budget is also a critical factor in media agencies determining whether smaller outlets, which deliver lower levels of reach in general, will be added to a media schedule.

While exact data on the percentage of Foundation Year 2 doctors who applied for NHS specialty training who were offered a place is not available, the General Medical Council education data tool shows the proportion of doctors in training each year following completion of Foundation Year 2 from 2012 to 2023: https://edt.gmc-uk.org/progression-reports/recruitment-from-f2

No grants have been provided to Tesla Inc from 2016 to 2024 directly by the Scottish Government.