Chamber and committees

Any correspondence from members of the UK Parliament will be processed by officials in line with the Scottish Ministerial Code.

As is a matter of public record, Stephen Flynn, MP, contacted the then Minister for Energy and the Environment, Gillian Martin, in October 2023 forwarding on information from Flotation Energy. Mr Flynn asked that Scottish Government officials could review the information below and, if appropriate, arrange contact with those involved to discuss these matters further and stated that no detailed response is required just confirmation the below is receiving attention. A written response was sent to Mr Stephen Flynn MP confirming that officials had reviewed the information provided in his enquiry and that officials were in regular contact with the Green Volt project team on this matter and that discussions are ongoing regarding the progress of the Green Volt application.

The Scottish Government does not collect or record information relating to the volume of ministerial correspondence that is fast-tracked.

It is not practicable to publish all correspondence in relation to marine licence and/or consent applications and subsequent determinations, however key information such as application, consultation responses and decision notices are shared here: https://marine.gov.scot/marine-projects.

We are committed to working with the community sector and other stakeholders to ensure the delivery of renewable energy comes with benefits for people in Scotland. This includes shared ownership, which has a vital role to play in a just transition by giving communities the chance to make an investment in a commercially owned renewable energy project.

Through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) we provide online guidance, resources, and support to access funding and contractors to enable communities to engage with shared ownership opportunities. Building on the progress we have made to date, the Scottish Government is progressing work on the commitment in the Onshore Wind Sector Deal to develop a framework of practical approaches to support and encourage community shared ownership models, to assist communities, and developers and funders to engage in shared ownership opportunities. There will be opportunities for the community sector to engage with this process as work progresses.

The Scottish Government is more than halfway towards achieving our ambition for 2GW of community and locally owned energy by 2030, with an estimated 1,028 MW of community and local renewable energy capacity operational in Scotland at the end of December 2023. We are taking action to continue to help ensure people and communities benefit from the energy transition, including support for community and locally owned energy.

In 2024-5, the Scottish Government’s Community Energy Generation Growth Fund awarded up to £1.5 million in grants to community groups across Scotland to develop their own renewable energy projects. We are also taking action to increase ownership opportunities. Through our Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) we provide online guidance, resources, and support to access funding and contractors to enable communities to engage with shared ownership opportunities.

COPFS has 16 contracts and service level agreements in place for pathology mortuary and toxicology services across Scotland.

All pathology agreements require pathologists to discuss post mortem findings with bereaved relatives if requested. Their assistance is invaluable to relatives seeking to understand the circumstances of their loved one’s death and is greatly appreciated by COPFS.

All doctors receive undergraduate medical school education in patient communication. This continues into forensic pathology training and consultancy when meeting with families to discuss post mortem findings. All doctors are expected to work within the standards set out by the General Medical Council for good medical practice.

The Royal College of Pathologists and NHS Education for Scotland oversee training standards in pathology and their uniformity across Scotland.

The purpose of the Death Investigation Improvement Board is to take forward three key areas for improvement in the death investigation system – (i) raising public awareness of the death investigation service, sharing lessons learned to reduce the incidence of avoidable deaths, (ii) providing bereaved relatives with the timeous provision of information they need to ensure they can effectively participate in the process and (iii) reducing the journey time for concluding death investigations, including FAIs.

The Board is chaired by the Deputy Crown Agent, Specialist Casework and its membership has representatives from each of the specialist death investigation units, Communications and Business Management.

The Board has a number of ongoing workstreams, including the creation of a Lived Experience Advisory Panel to enable participants with experience of the death investigation process to help inform improvements to the process by providing independent advice to the Board on issues such as the provision of information to relatives.

COPFS regularly meets and engages with pathology providers on a range of issues, including communication with bereaved relatives. These also allow discussion on any feedback received. Consideration is being given to the terms of the review and any further appropriate measures to be put in place.

As pre-announced in the forthcoming publications document, Official statistics: forthcoming publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) statistics for domestic abuse incidents recorded by Police Scotland for the reporting year of 2023-24 will be published on Tuesday 19 November.

Information on university students is collected and published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Using this data between academic years 2018-19 and 2022-23, the last year of available data, there has been an increase of over 30% in enrolments into Computer Science courses at Scottish Universities.

It should be noted that prior to 2018-19 academic year, data was collected using a different subject classification. As such, figures prior to 2018-19 are not directly comparable.

The number of enrolments (covering all years of study and at all levels) and the number of full-time first degree entrants (all domiciles) from either Computing or Computer Science courses at Scottish universities, over the last 10 Academic Years, can be found in the following tables. These are taken from published data.

ICT courses are not controlled subjects and unlike controlled subjects the Scottish Government does not direct individual universities on the number of funded places made available.

With regard to the number of unfilled places HESA does not collect this data.

Student enrolment on ‘Computer Science’ courses at Scottish Universities - Subject classification based on JACS code = computer science

While the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, it is NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally who have responsibility for both service delivery and ensuring people receive the right care for them, taking into account relevant guidance, local service needs and priorities for investment.

The Health and Social Care Standards set out the expectation that care should be provided by health and social care professionals based on the most relevant evidence, guidance and best practice, as is appropriate to their profession and patient group.

In May 2023 the Scottish Government published an analysis of survey data of heath boards' arrangements for the care and support of individuals with ME/CFS, which sought to map ME/CFS support and service provision and review awareness and implementation of the 2021 NICE guideline.

We have since gathered updated information on ME/CFS care from every health board in Scotland and are currently preparing to publish an updated report later this month.

Our evidence paper, Offshore Wind Focus - gov.scot (www.gov.scot), sets out our strategic approach to investing up to £500m over five years to anchor our offshore wind supply chain in Scotland, supporting the delivery of our Green Industrial Strategy.

Vessels have been identified in that paper as a priority for strategic investment, alongside ports and harbours infrastructure and the wider offshore wind supply chain, including blades and turbine manufacturing, foundations, offshore services, and cables.

We are committed to working collaboratively with the UK Government to ensure alignment on investment priorities to support the offshore wind supply chain in Scotland, including vessels.