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The independent due diligence on the initial request for capital investment, which included a request for a new plating line, concluded that further work is required to develop a robust business case and support an investment that is compliant with subsidy control rules. Scottish Government is therefore working with Ferguson Marine to examine options to develop the initial investment proposal so that it is compliant with subsidy control rules and aligned with current and potential future commercial opportunities for the yard.

he system of Dog Control Notices is operated by local authorities. Information requested on what breeds, or types, of dog have most often been the subject of Dog Control Notices in each year since 2018 is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government funded the creation of the Scottish Dog Control Notice Database. This national database went live in February 2022 and brings together the records of all local authorities into a centralised database, that is accessible by local authorities and Police Scotland.

The national database was created and is managed by the Improvement Service. The following table provided by the Improvement Service shows the requested Dog Control Notice information for 2022 and 2023.

Active Dog Control Notices on 31 December 2022

Under Section 29 of the Scottish National Investment Bank Scottish Ministers must establish and maintain an advisory group.

As outlined in response to question S6W-20679 on 31 August 2023, now that the Bank is fully established, and has a growing portfolio of investments work is underway to advise ministers on the establishment of the advisory group.

Details such as: membership, recruitment and appointment processes, remuneration and meeting frequency remain under consideration. We will provide an update on this work in 2024.

The Scottish Government are working with their appointed contract administrators to obtain completion certification on works connected with the recent essential repairs at Bute House.

Once certification is in place all costs associated with the fabric of the building repairs and fire compartmentation will be proactively released.

This is an operational matter for ScotRail and we understand that discussions between ScotRail and RMT on this matter are on-going. We fully expect all parties to engage constructively on this matter.

The Scottish Government does not support Driver Only Operations and continues to specify a requirement for a second member of staff to assist passengers on every ScotRail train.

Scottish Government has a Corporate Records Management Policy that is clear that everyone, including Minister and SpAds, are expected to ensure that material, regardless of its origin, is made part of the official record. Scottish Government systems are set up in a way that gives people time to move information to the official record before any auto deletion occurs.

From December 2022 to April 2023, The Scottish Government consulted on the proposal to introduce Highly Protected Marine Areas across 10% of Scotland’s seas by 2026. In June 2023, ahead of providing a fuller update, I announced that the Scottish Government would no longer seek to progress this proposal. A full analysis of consultation responses was carried out over the summer and on 7 November 2023, a detailed analysis report was published alongside the Scottish Government’s response .

Scotland already has one of the most generous childcare offers in the UK. In 2023-24 we are investing around £1 billion in the delivery of 1140 hours of high quality funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) to all three and four year olds and about a quarter of two year olds who face the most disadvantage.

The 1140 hours offer already equates to 30 hours per week during term time for all three and four year olds and eligible two year olds regardless of their parents' working status – putting children first.

The First Minister recently announced in the Programme for Government that over the next year we will work with local government and partners in the ELC sector to significantly expand our childcare programme, including our targeted offer for two year olds, focusing on those who will benefit the most.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22695 on‎ 15 November 2023 which will be communicated separately. 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 Scottish Government supports the University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) to offer a part-time PGDE Primary programme. UHI plan to extend this to their PGDE Secondary programmes. The Scottish Government has had discussions with universities about the need for flexibility in delivery of ITE programmes and will continue to engage with them on this issue.

The Scottish Government’s Teaching bursary scheme provides bursaries of £20,000 for career changers wishing to undertake a one year PGDE in hard to fill STEM subjects. These are Physics, Maths, Technical Education, Computing Science, Chemistry and Home Economics. The scheme has recently been extended to include Gaelic as a secondary subject, and Gaelic medium across all secondary subjects and in primary.

Additionally, the Strategic Board for Teacher Education, which is made up of a range of key education stakeholders, is considering issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail.