Chamber and committees

The consulting process provided for under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 and the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 ensures that public bodies, communities and members of the public are consulted on proposals for electricity infrastructure. The decision whether to grant consent is taken only after careful and fair consideration of environmental information, consultee responses and public representations. The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening the pre-application consultation process by working with the UK Government on their proposed reforms to electricity infrastructure consenting in Scotland.

From a trunk road maintenance perspective, the following upgrades are currently being planned for the A82 in the 2025-26 financial year:

Renton Rd U/B to Cardross Rd U/B – Structural Maintenance

• Lomond Gate roundabout to Barloan Toll roundabout NB & SB - Structural Maintenance
• A82 Dalnottar Int to Dumbarton Rd Jct NB - Structural Maintenance
• Between Dunglass roundabout and Dumbuck – Drainage improvements
• A82 Invermoriston to Drumnadrochit - New northbound layby
• A82 Glen Coe - Rock slope mitigation works
• A82 Grotaig - Rock slope mitigation works
• Glenurquhart Road, Inverness – Footway improvements
• Auch Estate - Edge strip hardening works
• Stoneymollan to Luss - Junction improvements
• Glen Falloch - Vehicle restraint upgrades
• Fort William to Spean Bridge - Vehicle restraint upgrades
• A82 Lomondgate Roundabout - upgraded road markings and localised widening
• A898/A82 interchange - Road safety measures identified from an investigation in 2024/25 will be programmed for construction.
• A82 Erskine to Dunglass - installation of an advanced direction sign (pending resolution of slope remediation works)
• A82 1110 Leagann Bridge - Concrete repair
• A82 1160 Ceannside Bridge – Re-waterproofing and concrete repairs
• A82 1390 Borlum Bridge – Re-waterproofing
• A82 615 C19 Auch 4 Culvert - Verge repair
• A82 500 Allt Fionne Ghlinne N Bridge – Parapet replacement
• A82 1080 W53 Loch Lochyside 2 Retaining Wall - Gabion repairs
• A82 240 Fruin Old Bridge - Scour repairs

The exact dates for the works are still to be confirmed as all schemes are in the process of being investigated.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The needs and welfare of all those in our care remains a key priority for SPS as we continue to manage our highly complex population with a person-centred approach.

SPS continually assess risk, including that presented by an increasing population. Establishment specific indicators are analysed and assessed with identified risks mitigated where possible, this includes but is not limited to the utilisation of our existing estate.

The Scottish Prison Service and the Scottish Government are committed to the replacement of HMP Inverness with HMP Highland to create better environments for people to live and work, to aid rehabilitation, reduce the risk of reoffending, and support safer communities.

Local authorities are responsible for the management of their school estate including decisions about the closure of schools. Local authorities are required by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) to carry out a full public consultation where they are proposing a permanent school closure.

Local authorities must also undertake specific additional steps when they propose to close a rural school. These include clearly demonstrating that they have considered alternatives to closure, an assessment of the likely impact on the community and impact on travel to school arrangements for local pupils. The local authority must also set out the educational benefit of the closure which is subject to an independent report by HM Inspectors. The local authority must respond to HM Inspectors’ assessment of the educational impact on those affected. If a proposal to close a school is rejected, then the local authority cannot repeat the process for five years, providing stability for the local community. These protections are intended to ensure that local authorities think very carefully before closing a rural school and consult extensively with the local community about their proposal.

Where it appears to Scottish Ministers that the local authority may have failed, in a significant regard, to comply with the requirements imposed on it by the 2010 Act, or to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision they may “call-in” the decision for review by an independent School Closure Review Panel.

Data on alcohol-specific deaths are published annually by National Records Scotland (NRS) and can be found here: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/alcohol-specific-deaths-2023/

Data on alcohol-specific deaths for 2024 are not yet published. The number of alcohol-specific deaths for the five year period 2019-2023 are listed in the following table, alongside the number and proportion of these deaths where the underlying cause of death was alcoholic liver disease.

Local authorities are responsible for the management of their school estate including decisions about the closure of schools. Scottish Ministers do not receive requests for school closures from local authorities.

Local authorities are however required by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) to submit school closure decisions for Ministerial review. Ministers can then “call-in” the decision for review by an independent school closure review panel if it appears to Scottish Ministers that the local authority may have failed, in a significant regard, to comply with the requirements imposed on it by the 2010 Act, or to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision.

The following table sets out the number of school closure decisions for rural schools only, received by Scottish Ministers for their review from each local authority over the last four years.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on how many operational frontline officers are deployed in divisions. Police workforce data collection are a matter for the Chief Constable.

Police Scotland publish officer number data each quarter which includes information on the total number of officers in each policing division. These can be found on the Police Scotland website at: Police Scotland Officer Numbers - Police Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on officer and police staff absences due to sickness or other physical or mental ill health reasons. The recording of staffing absences are a matter for the Chief Constable under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority.

The Scottish Government welcomes the Chief Constable’s commitment to police officers and staff wellbeing. Police Scotland provide access to a range of services including, a 24/7 employee assistance programme and direct access to occupational health services to support officers and police staff’s physical and mental wellbeing.

The health and wellbeing of those who live and work in our prisons is a key priority for the SPS.

By working closely with partners such as Police Scotland we remain vigilant to the continuously evolving nature of drug use, ensuring that our technology and tactical measures remain current, adaptable, and capable of detecting and preventing drugs from entering our prisons.

We continue to advise staff on safety and risk assessment processes in conducting their duties to minimise the impact and risk of exposure to any unknown hazardous substance. At this time, we do not have any plans to introduce respiratory protective equipment (RPE) to prisons.

The Scottish Government does not collect or hold information on the operational base levels for officers. Officer deployment nationally and locally is quite rightly a matter for the Chief Constable.