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As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water currently has around 1,400 overflow monitors in place (covering over one third of all intermittent discharges). Scottish Water has plans to increase monitor coverage to around 2,000 locations in total (nearly 50% of intermittent discharges) and will look to determine an approach to establish how many more monitors should be installed in 2026 and beyond.

A significant number of overflow locations are predicted never to spill and monitoring these locations would generate limited value beyond proving that overflow events do not occur. Monitors are relatively expensive to install and deploying these without generating any environmental benefit is unlikely to represent good value for customers.

There has been no communication between Scottish Ministers and Crown Estate Scotland regarding the provision of financial support for the Offshore Solutions Group (OSG) in relation to OSG's development of a proposal for a floating offshore wind (FLOW) park in the Moray Firth.

Crown Estate Scotland’s delegated authority for financial and other operational matters are set out in its Framework Document, agreed with the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government welcomes the theme of Crohn's and Colitis Awareness Week 2025, “How it feels,” and values the work of charities like Crohn’s and Colitis UK in highlighting the challenges of managing often invisible symptoms.

The Scottish Government recognises that the health of children can have a significant impact on their education and they may require an individual healthcare plan to identify the level and type of support that will be needed to meet their healthcare needs whilst attending school. Where a child or young person has been diagnosed with Crohn’s or Colitis, NHS boards, education authorities and schools should work collaboratively to ensure that all staff receive an appropriate level of training in order to understand and respond to both the educational and health needs of any affected children and young people for whom they are responsible.

Furthermore, where a child or young person is unable to attend school for a prolonged period due to ill health then schools and local authorities have a statutory duty to continue to educate them to their fullest potential and make special arrangements for affected pupils to receive education elsewhere than at school.

These arrangements are likely to apply when a child or young person is absent from school for a prolonged period due to the impacts of either Crohn’s or Colitis upon their health. Further information is available within our guidance on education of children and young people unable to attend school sue to ill health which is available through the following web link: Education of children unable to attend school due to ill health: guidance - gov.scot.

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

A range of checks are carried out before the release of a prisoner is authorised including but not limited to, an identity check of the person, confirmation of liberation date and a check for any known outstanding warrants.

A liberation in error occurs when an individual is released from a Scottish Prison Service establishment without lawful authority. This situation typically arises due to an administrative or procedural mistake, such as incorrect interpretation of documentation, miscalculation of sentence dates or incorrect data sharing from other partners.

The following table provides the numbers of total liberations and the liberations in error since 2016-2017, up to and including 5 Dec 2025:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42253 on 16 December 2025. 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 definition of ‘rewilding’ in the report ‘Defining Rewilding for Scotland's Public Sector’ prepared for the Scottish Government by the James Hutton Institute, has never been adopted by the Scottish Government.

Scottish Government is fully committed to delivery of the bus fare cap pilot. Engagement has taken place with Regional Transport Partnerships regarding the pilot, via an Expression of Interest process. This process was taken forward for RTPs to provide information on how they would work with Transport Scotland and bus operators to deliver the pilot in their area. We expect to confirm the selected RTP area for the pilot shortly with operational launch in the new year.

The Scottish Government does not use the term rewilding, which encompasses a wide range of activities and can be interpreted in different ways.

The Scottish Government commissioned research by the James Hutton Institute in 2023 which considered the definition of ‘rewilding’ for public bodies in Scotland. Ministers accepted and published the report in 2023 but concluded that the term ‘rewilding’ remains contested and does not, therefore, provide useful clarity for policy purposes.

The decision to offer grant funding for Phase 2 of Offshore Solutions Group’s Temporary Storage – Floating Offshore Wind (TS-FLOW) project in 2024, to undertake site investigations and design work, was taken by Scottish Enterprise following analysis of the business plan for the project. Scottish Enterprise operates independently of the Scottish Government and is responsible for funding decisions within its delegated authority. This includes providing early-stage support to strategically significant and innovative businesses to help them assess the feasibility and deliverability of their proposals.

Scottish Enterprise has not had direct communication with Ministers in respect of this financial support. Following due diligence by Scottish Enterprise and an assessment of the project’s strategic alignment with the Scottish Government’s investment objectives, the grant was supported by the Scottish Government in 2025 with £1.83m as part of our strategic investment in supply chain and ports infrastructure for offshore wind.

Any applications for marine licences by the developer following exploratory work would be subject to the required regulatory processes, which includes formal public consultation. No applications for marine licences have been submitted.

The pilot committed to in the Population Health Framework (PHF) will represent the first phase of the roll out of a national programme. The Scottish Government has commissioned Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland to plan and implement this. Due to the size and scale of the programme and the complexities involved, a multi-disciplinary Programme Board has been established to ensure that the roll out both improves outcomes while remaining sustainable for the wider NHS.

The Board met for the first time on 12 December, and will act as the vehicle to plan the scope and timing of the first phase. It is anticipated that the initial roll out will focus on inviting eligible individuals in areas experiencing the highest levels of socio-economic deprivation, as evidence shows that they are at higher risk of lung cancer, and have poorer outcomes.

This first phase is currently estimated to cost approximately £3.5 million, although this is subject to change depending on further planning discussions.

The lung screening Scottish Expert Advisory Group estimated that full implementation could take 7-10 years due to the complexities of establishing a screening programme of this size, which is also recognised by the UK NSC.