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A scheme was developed in 2017 in conjunction with the Armed Forces in Scotland to enable Members to visit defence bases in Scotland to help Members better understand the range of social and welfare issues relevant to armed forces personnel, and their families, within their community.  These visits are open to all Members and are arranged through the different service secretariats based in Scotland.   

It was agreed that this scheme would be a better fit for the Parliament than the Armed Forces Parliamentary Scheme that operates in the House of Commons and the House of Lords, and there are no plans to review the scheme at this time. 

Since 2017, many Members have taken part in the Armed Forces Visits Programme, visiting defence bases across Scotland.  In 2018 and 2024, the Scottish Parliament hosted a reciprocal inward visit for representatives from the armed services in Scotland, providing them with an opportunity to meet and shadow Members.  There have been a number of outward visits this session and parliamentary officials are currently liaising with the Armed Forces to arrange the next series of outward visits before the end of 2025.

In addition, the Presiding Officer and Clerk/Chief Executive regularly arrange events at the Scottish Parliament for the armed forces to brief Members on current issues and parliamentary officials are currently looking to arrange another event in a few months.

The Scottish Government has not held discussions with Peel Ports regarding a potential development of a cruise ship berth on the Upper Clyde. Transport Scotland officials communicate with ports, including Clydeport, on a wide range of issues including development opportunities. Ports are deemed to be commercial businesses, and decisions on how best to utilise their resources are the responsibility of the port authority.

The Scottish Government has developed statistics on primary income flows and gross national income (GNI) for Scotland.

The GNI estimates produced by the Scottish Government are classified as official statistics in development and are reported at the level of totals for the whole economy. It is not possible to produce breakdowns of these statistics for specific industries, such as the whisky industry.

The regulation of private equity funds in the UK is overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), ensuring compliance with financial and investment laws and is therefore a reserved matter.

The powers required to legislate in respect of company acquisition and ownership are reserved to the UK Parliament.

Growing the economy has been identified as one of the Scottish Government’s four strategic priorities. Our approach to growing Scotland’s economy requires balance. It is important that we focus on both strengthening Scotland’s domestic industries and ensuring our economy is open and internationally focused. Attracting foreign investment that aligns with our values and supports our net-zero goals helps create jobs and prosperity for Scotland.

The Scottish Government recognises the economic importance of the Scotch Whisky industry, with over 150 distilleries, employing around 20,000 full time equivalent staff and exporting £5.4 billion worth of products globally.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials have a close and collaborative working relationship with the Scotch Whisky Association, and have regular engagement with them to discuss areas of mutual interest and explore how best to support the sector.

This is an operational matter for SOSE, and I have asked them to respond to you directly.

The Parliament seeks to engage with other legislatures, inter-parliamentary bodies and international organisations in line with the SPCB’s International Strategy. This engagement is kept under regular review, with the Parliament’s International Relations Office providing six-monthly updates to the SPCB. Invitations to any event are a matter for the organisers. The International Relations Office constantly reviews opportunities for the Parliament to develop its engagement and maintains contact with event organisers, including of the Conference of Speakers and Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth, and will seek involvement for the Parliament where appropriate.

In response to part a) of the question, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26265 on 15 April 2024, in which I detailed the total cost of the Childsmile programme in the five financial years between 2019-20 and 2023-24.

In response to part b) of the question, Scottish Government does not hold this information.

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

This information is not held by Scottish Government.

The National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) is a key function of the Public Dental Service, delivery of which is the responsibility of Health Boards.

From the financial years 2020-21 to 2023-24, Scottish Government provided funding to Public Dental Services via Health Board allocations, however this did not specify funding for NDIP. From the financial year 2024-25, this funding has been baselined in to the overall Health Board allocation and is not separately identifiable.

Since March 2022, 16.8 whole time equivalent (WTE) posts have been in place. NHS Board partners provide quarterly reports on funding utilisation for Psychological Therapies for the Workforce.

In Quarter 3 of 2024-2025 (October 2024), the staff reported in post were 12.32 WTE, 0.8WTE in recruitment, 0.04WTE vacant.