Seòmar agus comataidhean

Reduction of theft is an operational matter for Police Scotland and British Transport Police

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33028 on 22 January 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

Discussions regarding rail safety are held between rail trade unions and relevant employers.

In his question to me in the chamber on 17 December, the Member asked about the handling of a Freedom of Information request made to the Scottish Government in April 2021, which sought information regarding James Hamilton's investigation under the Ministerial Code (see: https://www.gov.scot/publications/independent-report-by-james-hamilton-on-the-first-ministers-self-referral-under-the-scottish-ministerial-code/).

The Member has corresponded with the Scottish Government on a number of matters relating to this issue. On 17 December I was aware that the Member was awaiting the Scottish Government’s response to his letter of 20 November, specifically regarding the costs of legal advice in relation to these matters. The Scottish Government’s response to the Member’s letter of 20 November was subsequently issued on 19 December. This is the response referred to in my answer.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government the member may wish to contact NHS Grampian directly for information.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government the member may wish to contact NHS Boards directly for information.

The Scottish Government published the National Improvement Framework (NIF) for Scottish education in December 2024. The 2025 NIF has been streamlined and refreshed to include a long-term strategy for improvement which will provide clarity and focus to our work on improving standards in Scottish education.

Given the impact of COVID-19 and the financial pressures on schools as a result of austerity, the NIF highlights that the short term focus (this year and for the remainder of this parliamentary term) will be improving the ABC - attendance, achievement, behaviour and the curriculum in schools - to boost standards.

The draft Scottish budget 2025-26 provides £186.5m to local authorities to help protect teacher numbers, freeze learning hours and make meaningful progress on reducing class contact time for teachers. The budget also sets out an additional £29 million of investment for Additional Support Needs (ASN). This will include an allocation for local and national programmes to support the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce. The Scottish budget 2025-26 is subject to parliamentary approval in February.

In addition, we have included 7 key outcomes that we expect to achieve to deliver excellence and equity for all of our children and young people. In order to deliver these outcomes, the 2025 NIF sets out the joint responsibility of Ministers and local authorities for education and the requirement for national and local government to work together, with a collective responsibility to improve educational outcomes.

The 2025 Improvement Plan, which accompanies the NIF, will be published later in January. It will set out the full details of the actions that will be taken to deliver the key outcomes, the evidence to support them, and how we will measure progress against them.

Our Operating Companies are required to carry out a range of inspections and surveys to assess the condition and performance of the trunk road network. For example, safety inspections are completed at 7-day intervals. These are primarily to identify defects that require prompt attention because they present, or could present, an immediate hazard to road users. Severe carriageway defects, such as some potholes, are classified as Category 1 Defects, which are required to be made safe when identified, following which a temporary or permanent repair must be undertaken as soon as possible and no later than 06:00 on the day following identification. Where a temporary repair has been carried out, a permanent repair is required to be carried out within 28 days. In addition to this

Lesser defects and general deterioration which do not necessitate such an immediate safety-led response are then considered with findings from our annual testing of the road network to determine future maintenance schemes. These schemes may include localised patching repairs or larger structural maintenance schemes, which are then programmed and considered against competing priorities across the Trunk Road Network

A table containing the number of recorded police warnings for drugs possession by month, year and drug type has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 65596)

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.