Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Wildlife Trust are a valued partner of the Scottish Government in delivering locally driven projects that address the climate and nature crises across Scotland. Funding for these projects is usually provided via government agencies or other public bodies, and comprehensive information is not therefore held centrally. However, funding received by the Scottish Wildlife Trust is set out in their annual financial reports published on their website at https://scottishwildlifetrust.org.uk/about-us/our-publications/ . The latest report was published on 2 August 2023.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail, and the information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The member may note that to ensure transparency, ScotRail Trains Ltd publishes data with regards to the paid compensations on its website: Delay Repay | Train Fare Compensation Scheme (scotrail.co.uk)

The Programme for Government 2023-24, published September 2023, states that in the coming year we will ‘publish a 20% car kilometre reduction route map, promoting sustainable behaviours when planning a journey, and reducing both our reliance on cars and our transport emissions’. Publication is expected in the coming months.

We are engaging with the Royal College of Psychiatrists, and other stakeholders, to ensure that the issues identified and recommendations made in the recent ‘State of Nation: the Psychiatric Workforce in Scotland’ report are considered as part of our ongoing work to implement the new Mental Health and Wellbeing Workforce Action Plan.

As part of work already underway, we have established a Psychiatry Working Group to consider how we can better support the recruitment and retention of psychiatrists in NHS Scotland. This Working Group are actively considering the issues raised in this report.

In addition to this, in 2022-23 we increased the number of Core Psychiatry training places by a further ten. This year we will fund another 15 Core Psychiatry training places. We also continue to work with NES and the Royal College of Psychiatry to encourage medical students to consider a long-term career as a psychiatrist.

The most recent publication of Mental Health Workforce data (5 December) shows that under this Government and since 2007, the number of Psychiatric Consultants across All Specialities in NHS Scotland has increased by 18.6% to 535.5 whole time equivalent posts.

From Academic Year 2023-24 all students who meet the following criteria will be eligible for home fees status and student financial support in Further Education and Higher Education:

Ordinarily resident in the UK for three years prior to the relevant date;

Ordinarily resident in Scotland on the relevant date; and

Granted a form of leave to enter or remain in the UK, where that leave has not expired.

In the case where a student is instead ordinarily resident in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, but satisfies the remaining criteria, they would be expected to qualify for the “rest of UK” tuition fee rate of up to £9,250 per year. As the British National (Overseas) visa would be considered a form of leave to enter or remain in the UK, I would consider a student in the situation described likely to be eligible for the “rest of UK” tuition fee rate.

It is, however, the responsibility for each university and college, as autonomous bodies, to make a determination regarding a student’s fee status based on the available evidence and their interpretation of student support regulations.

The Scottish Government announced the delay to the next Climate Change Plan on 7 November 2023 and confirmed their commitment to bringing forward a draft plan in line with statutory deadlines which require a final version of the next Climate Change Plan to be laid in Parliament in March 2025. Parliamentary scrutiny of the draft plan, lasting 120 days, will be built into this timeline with public consultation planned to take place in parallel.

The Scottish Government commissioned NHS Education Scotland (NES) to develop and run the National Digital Platform. The following table details spend incurred by NES by financial year on the design, development, and support for the National Digital Platform (NDP) since the initial commission in 2018.

Under the Flood Risk Management Act (2009), it is for local authorities to develop, design and deliver flood protection schemes within their area. It is therefore the responsibility of local authorities to predict the likely economic damages resulting from flooding in their areas as part of producing a robust business case for their proposed flood protection schemes. The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Falkirk Council and input where required to ensure that their estimates are robust and up to date.

The Scottish Government recognises the potential risks posed by PFAS in drinking water and works closely with Scottish Water and the Drinking Water Quality Regulator to ensure risk is minimised. The Public Water Supply (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2022 were brought into force to align with the EU's recast Drinking Water Directive's (rDWD) updated list of parameters, which sets statutory limits on the combined concentration of a group of 20 named PFAS substances. These Regulations broadly align with the Royal Society of Chemistry's recommendation to limit the sum of PFAS to 10 nanograms per litre (0.1 µg/l)

There is also a legislative requirement for Scottish Water to carry out risk assessments of all drinking water supplies, and PFAS risk is assessed for every water supply. A further statutory duty is that Scottish Water must sample for any substance where it considers that there is risk, and this would include any other PFAS compounds that are not listed in the Regulations.

In line with the Public Water Supply (Scotland) Regulations 2014, Scottish Water is required to carry out risk assessments to assess the likelihood of the presence of the most widespread PFAS compounds in its drinking water supplies. Where risk is identified, controls must be determined. It is a matter for Scottish Water to decide what treatment technology is necessary, however, the Drinking Water Quality Regulator has provided guidance on the types of treatments that can be effective in removing PFAS from drinking water.

The DWQR is participating in a UK wide research project on the effectiveness of different treatment processes for the removal of PFAS that is led by Cranfield University; this research is due for completion by June 2024.