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We intend to provide free foot passenger travel on inter-island ferries for under 22-year-old island residents within the Outer Hebrides, Orkney, and Shetland Island groups.

We also intend to extend the existing ferry concessionary scheme - which provides 4 journeys to or from the mainland each year for 16-18 year-old islanders - up to and including 21 year olds across Scotland.

We have no current plans to extend this further and have therefore not considered in detail any operational issues or matters such as implementation costs.

High level estimates, based on a range of assumptions, for annual spend on CalMac and NorthLink ferry passenger fares for island-based residents under 22 years old would be as follows:

(a) – Argyll and Bute Council area: Between £0.5m and £0.7m.

(b) – North Ayrshire Council area: Between £0.3m and £0.4m

(c) – Highlands & Islands Scottish Parliamentary Region: Between £ 1.2m and £ 1.6m

The figures are rounded to the nearest £0.1m and the range in costs reflects potential travel behaviour change.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Local authorities make their own decisions about how to prioritise the provision of after school clubs based on local need.

Through our School Age Childcare (SACC) Programme, the Scottish Government is currently investing in designing and testing funded school age childcare services within targeted communities across Scotland, in order to understand what it takes to deliver SACC that supports those families most at risk of living in poverty. This includes our Early Adopter Communities in 6 Local Authority areas, our Extra Time Programme in partnership with the Scottish Football Association, and our Access to Childcare projects.

The Respiratory Care Action Plan has another year left in its current lifespan. We will consider how best to report on its impact as it continues into 2026.

The new national service will ensure that an offer of support is available to all eligible individuals who are serving a short sentence (under 4 years), or being held on a period of remand.

As with the current Shine and New Routes Public Social Partnership services, the new service will be voluntary, and individuals will have a choice about whether they wish to sign up to the service.

Dedicated prison-based workers will provide initial support during the custodial environment and will contribute to effective multi-agency pre-release planning. Prior to liberation, individuals will be introduced to their community worker who will provide support on release.

Compensation provisions do exist where land, or rights over land, are acquired by compulsion for the development of energy infrastructure under the Electricity Act 1989. However, there is no statutory provision or process set out in the Act to financially compensate those who consider their property value may be affected.

More generally, the Scottish Government continues to use all levers available to deliver sustainable, meaningful and impactful outcomes from the energy transition, informed by the voices of our diverse communities. Voluntary community benefits schemes from renewable energy developments are well-established in Scotland, enabling communities to benefit from their local resources, as well as helping to foster better relationships with the renewables sector. Despite the powers to mandate community benefits being reserved to the UK Government, over £30 million worth of benefits has been offered to communities in the last 12 months supported by our Good Practice Principles. We continue to press the UK Government for mandatory action in this area.

The consulting process provided for under sections 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989 and the Electricity Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) (Scotland) Regulations 2017 ensures that public bodies, communities and members of the public are consulted on proposals for electricity infrastructure. The decision whether to grant consent is taken only after careful and fair consideration of environmental information, consultee responses and public representations. The Scottish Government is committed to strengthening the pre-application consultation process by working with the UK Government on their proposed reforms to electricity infrastructure consenting in Scotland.

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

The number of assaults on staff in HMP Inverness in the last 5 years are as follows:

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of people being able to access the care that they need. We have overall responsibility for health and social care support policy in Scotland and have published clear social care standards setting out what people should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland. Whereas it is local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) who have the statutory responsibility to ensure that these standards are upheld and that social care support services are in place to provide people with the appropriate social care support in the right place and at the right time.

Under the Social Work (Scotland) Act 1968 local authorities and Health and Social Care Partnerships have a duty to assess the social care support needs of people and decide, in light of that assessment, whether to arrange any services, and if so, which services

There is currently no legal requirements for local authorities to conduct financial assessments at specific intervals or to communicate changes to rates and capital limits. However, the COSLA guidance recommends a consistent framework for financial assessments and charging, encouraging local authorities to follow best practices.

Local authorities determine their eligibility thresholds based on local guidance, which may vary between authorities. However, individuals at critical or substantial risk are generally prioritised over those assessed as moderate or low risk. Guidance on charging and financial assessments for the City of Edinburgh Council can be found here: Social Care Charging Policies (Contributing to your care).

This information is not held by Scottish Government.

We understand that the provision of tailored mental health support remains challenging in some areas of respiratory care. We continue to work closely with health psychologists and other key stakeholders to determine how better support can be provided to people living with respiratory and other long-term conditions.

We have invested £51 million in our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults since 2021, with approximately 3300 grants made to local projects across Scotland in the first two years alone.

A further £15 million was announced on 25 March 2024 for Fourth year of the Fund which means the Scottish Government has made £66 million available since 2021, the funding supports people facing socio-economic disadvantage, people- living with a long-term health condition or disability, older people and people disadvantaged by geographical location.

We also continue to provide a range of resources and raise awareness of how to support mental wellbeing through expanding the range of practical mental wellbeing resources available on our Mind to Mind, Parent Club and Young Scots mental wellbeing websites to complement other supports available in person and by phone.