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This is a matter for Skills Development Scotland. The information requested is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to provide high-quality, safe and effective person-centred care and support for all people, including those with postural tachycardia syndrome (PoTS). Support is often provided in primary care, with specialist referral where clinically appropriate.

Boards are responsible for ensuring timely and equitable access to assessment and care, including through remote consultations and cross-Board referral pathways where these provide the most effective route to specialist input.

The Scottish Government funds both the Home Energy Scotland and Advice Direct Scotland service to provide free and impartial advice. Property owners who may be affected by the failure of this UK Government scheme can contact these services for advice.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) scheme requires installers to reduce energy bills by installing energy efficiency improvements such as insulation. The UK Government are responsible for the design and regulation of the ECO4 scheme, this is administered by Ofgem on their behalf.

Installers delivering improvements as part of the ECO4 scheme were required to be registered with TrustMark, the UK Government’s trusted trader scheme. They were also required to be certified installers with a relevant industry body and ECO4 installations had to be covered by a guarantee. Where an installer has ceased trading, the UK Government advises property owners to contact the guarantee provider to arrange for remediation of any outstanding defects or damage.

Consumer protection, product and business regulation are reserved matters. The UK Government has published advice for property owners about their key rights and protections under consumer law. Buying green heating and insulation products: consumer guide - GOV.UK

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) is not a Scottish Government scheme. The Scottish Government does not operate a general scheme providing remediation or compensation for damage caused to people’s homes by third parties.

Property owners should first raise any concerns with the installer and ask them to make good any defects, faults or damage. If they are not satisfied with the installer’s response, they can raise this with TrustMark. TrustMark is the UK Government’s trusted trader scheme and members must agree to participate in their complaints process.

All Energy Company Obligation (ECO4) and Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS) installers were required to be registered with TrustMark and part of industry based certification schemes. This was a requirement of eligibility for ECO4 or GBIS finance.

Consumer protection, product and business regulation are reserved matters. The UK Government has published advice for property owners about their key rights and protections under consumer law. Buying green heating and insulation products: consumer guide - GOV.UK

Home owners can contact their local Trading Standards Office or Citizens Advice Bureau for more advice about their rights, compensation and next steps if needed.

The Scottish Government continues to believe that delivery of local authority duties should be delegated at a local level where possible. The majority of funding provided to local government is made available through a block grant. £8.1 million is included in that block grant in relation to Land Access measures, allocated based on proportions of population and path lengths. However, the funding is not ring-fenced. It is the responsibility of individual councils to manage their budgets and allocate the total financial resources available on the basis of local priorities, once they have met their statutory obligations. The Scottish Government provided record block grant funding of over £15 billion to local authorities in 2025-26, an increase of £1 billion or 4.7 per cent in real terms compared to last year’s budget.

There are many other areas of government funding which deliver benefits for access including health, tourism, active travel and the natural environment.

Regarding the First Minister’s role in the transfer of ministerial responsibility for determining energy consents, I refer the member to the answer to S6W-43259 on 3 February 2026.

No legal advice was sought because, as stated in the answer to S6W-42965 on 21 January 2026, the allocation of ministerial portfolios and responsibilities is a matter for the First Minister.

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.

A new ferry service from Scotland to Continental Europe would be a commercial operation led by a private ferry operator. As employment law is reserved, any new ferry service will be required to comply with UK employment laws, including the Seafarers’ Wages Act 2023.

Our application of Fair Work First criteria in procurement and grant offers is designed to raise employment standards in Scotland. More stringent grant conditionality was introduced from July 2023, requiring employers receiving public sector grants to pay at least the real living wage. Any company receiving Scottish Government grant support would also be required to demonstrate that all workers, including agency workers, have access to effective workers’ voice channels.

The provision of weapon surrender bins is an operational matter for Police Scotland. Information on how many weapon surrender bins have been funded by Police Scotland is not held centrally. The member may wish to contact the Chief Constable of Police Scotland to ask for information in relation to Police Scotland.

In 2022, the Scottish Government operated with Police Scotland a specific surrender and compensation scheme. This related to criminalisation of certain weapons in the Offensive Weapons Act 2019 which previously were legal to own. A surrender and compensation scheme was operated to allow legal owners of relevant weapons to hand them in and, if wanted, claim compensation prior to the new law taking effect. Weapon surrender bins were used for this scheme with the Scottish Government providing £2,600 to Police Scotland for bins to be purchased. It was an operational matter for Police Scotland where these bins were located with this information not being held centrally.

The Scottish Government has not made an estimate of the level of public funding required for a ferry service between Scotland and continental Europe. The costs of any such service are a commercial matter for ferry operators to consider. The Scottish Government is open to discussions with ferry operators and other stakeholders about proposals for new ferry services. However, the possibility of public support would depend on the strength of the business case, the availability of funding and compliance with subsidy control rules and other relevant regulations.

The Scottish Government is clear that any care out with standard care areas should be avoided where possible and if required, all actions to mitigate the risks of this should be undertaken, and the length of time in which patients are in these areas should be as short as possible.

We accept that caring for patients in non-standard patient areas is sub-optimal and we are clear that no patient should be treated in a space not fit for clinical care.

Through our NHS Scotland Operational Improvement Plan we are investing £220 million to address high hospital occupancy, improve patient flow and improve the acute care experience for patients. Work has been underway over the last year to develop enhanced frailty services through the Healthcare Improvement Scotland - Frailty at the Front door standard. As a result, all NHS Health Boards have a frailty service which includes Multi-Disciplinary teams which support our front doors.