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The cost incurred to date in relation to the planned National Treatment Centre in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, NHS Grampian, NHS Lanarkshire, NHS Lothian and NHS Tayside is as follows.

Transport Scotland has already allocated £46.7 million of funding to Sustrans for Places for Everyone for 2024-25 which will deliver a range of active travel infrastructure this year. More broadly in 2024-25 financial year more than £145 million has been allocated for Active Travel.

The utmost importance is placed on balancing the Scottish Government’s budget each financial year. The Scottish Government and the whole of the public sector face a financial position that is extremely challenging. It is always necessary to ensure resources are used economically, efficiently and effectively, and increased scrutiny and spending controls are in place across all expenditure. As with all programmes across Scottish Government, further funding for Places for Everyone will need to be considered in this context for 2024-25.

Increased Active Travel funding has led to major change programme for Active Travel delivery starting in 2024. This is aligned with the Verity House Agreement (June 2023) which confirmed the direction of travel towards more direct funding to Local Authorities and for local control over that budget, with a driving principle of ‘local by default, national by agreement’.

As part of this, from 2025-26, Transport Scotland will be providing funding for all active travel infrastructure projects of the type that have historically been delivered through Places for Everyone directly to Local Authorities, Regional Transport Partnerships and National Park Authorities rather than via Sustrans. A managed transition of existing projects from Sustrans to Transport Scotland is underway and for those which are likely to be completed by December 2025, it is the intention that these will continue to be managed by Sustrans.

The information requested is not held centrally.

As independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities, any decisions around borrowing and the interest rate charged are a matter for individual local authorities.

The Scottish Government workforce size has had to grow over several years to deliver on newly devolved powers, the implications of EU Exit, responding to the Covid-19 pandemic and now supporting our recovery from that. More recently the Government has had to respond to the conflict in Ukraine, the cost of living crisis and the establishment of ScotWind within our wider Net Zero commitments, as well as the introduction of a National Care Service.

Devolved powers relating to certain aspects of social security to the Scottish Government in 2018 and Forestry in 2019 have also seen growth in the three related agencies to take on this additional work – Social Security Scotland has grown by 3,425 FTE since 2019, and Scottish Forestry and Forestry & Land Scotland have grown by 1,310 FTE since 2019.

In support of the wider Public Sector Reform agenda and budget constraints, Scottish Government is proactively addressing the need to reduce in size to remain fiscally sustainable, and we have seen further reductions in overall workforce in the 12 months since March 2023.

Recruitment controls have been in place since April 2022 and have been successful in controlling growth within the Scottish Government and ensuring any recruitment activity is aligned to Ministerial priorities.

Our fast-growing offshore wind industry provides us with significant opportunities to attract inward investment, generate green jobs and grow our regional and national economies, not least in our Green Freeport areas in Inverness and Cromarty Firth and the Firth of Forth.

There is a range of public sector commercial and grant funding avenues, alongside other dedicated support, available to all potential inward investors, including Vestas. We work closely with partner organisations to make sure companies are aware of these and can access them easily.

For example, investors at Green Freeport tax sites can benefit from a range of devolved and reserved tax reliefs which would constitute revenue forgone by UK and Scottish Government respectively.

Despite the real terms budget cuts introduced by the previous UK Government, in 2024-25 alone we have committed £4.7 billion to support the delivery of our climate change goals.

We are committed to tackling climate change through the existing actions we have set out as part of government policy, and through the development of our next Climate Change Plan. Work has already started on planning and delivery of a number of measures in key areas of the Climate Policy Package.

We continually review staffing and resourcing, to support Programme for Government and forthcoming Budget commitments to ensure that the government’s ambition for climate change is delivered.

Our Net Zero Assessment aims to assist Ministers and public sector leaders to make better informed decisions on budgets and policies by providing information on impact on climate targets and signposting areas for enhanced emissions reduction effort. The intention is, on completion of the current pilot within Scottish Government, to roll the pilot out across all significant new Scottish Government expenditure decisions from the end of 2024.

The Assessment will support an enhanced formal advisory role for the Global Climate Emergency Programme Board and the Cabinet Sub-Committee for the Climate Emergency on the climate impact of future Scottish Government proposals.

No discussions have taken place between ministers and Local Authorities regarding the wearing of safety helmets by delivery drivers.

As outlined in the Highway Code (a matter reserved to the UK Government), riders are recommended to wear a correctly fitted cycle helmet. However, this is not a legal requirement and remains a matter of personal choice.

However, the Scottish Government takes road safety seriously. Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030 (RSF2030) was published in February 2021, with the goal of Scotland having the best road safety performance in the world. It adopts the ‘Safe System’ approach to road safety which is recognised internationally as best practice in road safety delivery. It sets challenging targets for the years ahead, with a 50 per cent reduction in fatal and serious injuries and a 60 per cent reduction in child fatal and serious injuries by 2030.

The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Marine Animal Stranding Scheme (SMASS) at the University of Glasgow to provide a coordinated approach to the surveillance of marine species (e.g., cetaceans, seals and basking sharks) stranded around the Scottish coast. As well as investigating major causes of death, the scheme also helps identify any substantial new threats to the conservation status of these species as well as assisting in the identification of other pressures and threats.

This information is used by the Scottish Government and NatureScot to take forward action that can help to prevent strandings in the future and to meet its commitment to achieve and maintain Good Environmental Status for cetaceans. This includes delivering action to minimise, and where possible eliminate, bycatch of sensitive marine species, including cetaceans, to ensure the sustainability of our fisheries, as well as supporting ongoing work to ensure the coherence of our marine protected areas network.

Much of this work is supported by the Scottish Marine Environmental Enhancement Fund and Scottish Government's Nature Restoration Fund which is managed by NatureScot.

We fully support local authorities, and Police Scotland, who lead on preventing and tackling antisocial behaviour and are best placed to work with their local communities using the powers available to them. I have regular direct engagement with COSLA’s Spokesperson for Community Wellbeing discussing a range of issues, including on developing a strategic and sustainable long-term approach to antisocial behaviour and fireworks safety. Officials regularly engage with Local Authorities and COSLA on community safety matters, including antisocial behaviour. Since April 2024, this has included discussion on sharing best practice on local partnership working to prevent and tackle antisocial behaviour.

The Independent Working Group on Antisocial Behaviour is expected to report to Ministers, COSLA and Police Scotland by the end of 2024.