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The safety of the rail network is a reserved matter under Schedule 5 of the Scotland Act 1998. The rail infrastructure in Scotland is owned and managed by Network Rail. The Scottish Government has fully funded Network Rail to meet its obligations as specified by the independent Office of Rail and Road (ORR) and Scottish Ministers expect Network Rail to manage the rail infrastructure in a manner which provides a safe and reliable railway for the people of Scotland.

Senior Officials from the ORR and the Managing Director of Network Rail Scotland have confirmed to senior officials at Transport Scotland that this matter is being addressed within Scotland, a point also reflected in the Chief Inspector’s recent letter to Network Rail on this matter:

“…..Scotland can substantiate a recovery of examinations and structural assessments within [2024-29]” Control Period 7, CP7.

The letter itself can be found here: Non-compliance with structure examinations - Letter to Network Rail dated 11 February 2025

This information is not collected centrally by the Scottish Government and is an operational matter for NHS National Services Scotland, National Services Division (NSD).

Gender reassignment surgeries, as a treatment option for assessed gender dysphoria, are highly specialised and are carried out within the framework of a four-nations contract managed by NHS England. This contract is managed on NHS Scotland’s behalf by NSD.

The principles of a health service free at the point of need are sacrosanct, and we are protecting this through our Budget which will provide a record £21.7 billion for health and social care. This includes £200 million to clear waiting list backlogs and improve capacity – ensuring nobody waits more than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or inpatient/day-case treatment by March 2026. We will deliver over 150,000 extra appointments and procedures in the coming year.

We have already made significant progress against our investment of £30m in 2024-25 to drive targeted action to address the longest delays. To the end of January, Boards are reporting delivery of 75,500 against a plan of 64,000 appointments and procedures, including hip and knee replacement surgeries.

The development of the National Treatment Centre in Livingston is currently paused therefore there are no revised project costs.

As outlined in our NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026 annual progress update, published 18 December 2024, our five National Treatment Centres are expected to deliver an additional 20,000 procedures per annum once fully operational.

However, with the 2025-26 Budget proposing an additional £100 million to target long waits, coupled with efficiencies, we will see activity and capacity increase accordingly. Work is underway with Boards and partners to finalise plans and I would expect to see National Treatment Centre capacity increase to well over 30,000 procedures annually.

Housing support is commissioned at a local level by Local Authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships who are best placed to identify local needs. Any Local Authority who is considering a reduction in funding to housing support services should determine and assess any potential impacts which may result from their decision. South Lanarkshire Council have conducted an Integrated Impact Assessment, which is available at: HTR01 - Financial Savings 2025-26 - Sheltered Housing - Housing Support Funding to Registered Social Landlords Plans and policies - South Lanarkshire Council.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to keeping The Promise by 2030. Given the cross Governmental scope of the activity related to The Promise, the First Minister regularly discusses the commitment and has undertaken various engagements with the care community, meeting with children and young people with care experience, and the workforce who support them. To mark the recent 5th anniversary of the Promise the First Minister wrote to the care experienced community re-enforcing his commitment to The Promise and met with students with care experience at Glasgow University to discuss their experiences. The First Minister also chairs the Cabinet Sub-Committee on the Promise which was established to guide and support the cross-portfolio focus needed to deliver The Promise.

The Scottish Government has not allocated funding to stroke awareness campaigns in the last five years.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of housing support services. These services can enable older residents to live as independently as possible in their own communities.

Housing support is commissioned at a local level by Local Authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships who are best placed to assess and respond to local needs. South Lanarkshire Council, along with South Lanarkshire University Health and Social Care Partnership, are responsible for identifying need and ensuring that their residents receive any necessary housing support services.

Affordable housing has a clear priority in this year’s Programme for Government. We are investing nearly £600 million in affordable housing in 2024-2025, which includes the additional £40 million capital for acquisitions and voids announced earlier this year. The 2025-2026 draft budget of £768 million is an increase of over £200 million when compared to the current financial year’s original published budget and reinforces our commitment to delivering affordable housing.

In the year to September 2024, Official Statistics: Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scot show an 8% decline in new build starts through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) and an 8% decline in all starts through the AHSP. We remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 70% of these for social rent and 10% in rural and island areas, including new build, rehabilitation and acquisitions. We continue to work with partners to increase the delivery of more affordable homes, the majority of which will be for social rent, including supporting acquisitions of existing properties. This includes meeting the existing commitment to the targeted use of £80 million for acquisitions and voids over this and next year.

We have also committed £100 million over the longer term to grow institutional investment to at least £500 million and support the construction of around 2,800 mid-market rent homes.

Since 2007, we have supported the delivery of more than 135,000 affordable homes, over 95,000 of which were for social rent, including 26,000 council homes. Of these, between 23 March 2022 and end of September 2024, we have delivered 24,382 affordable homes towards the 110,000 target, of which over 18,000 have been homes for social rent. We continue to work closely with partners to deliver the right homes in the right places.