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Transport Scotland has written to a range of stakeholders to publicise the pilot as well as the ongoing public survey which will form an input into the final evaluation of the pilot.

In addition, ScotRail has ran an extensive marketing campaign across radio, TV, press and social media to highlight the potential pilot as well as regular social media posts which have reached a potential 15.8 million people.

The Scottish Government provides funding for the National Concessionary Bus Travel Scheme for Older and Disabled People (NCTS) which provides free bus travel throughout Scotland for eligible older and disabled people. However, concessionary travel on other modes of transport, such as rail, is the responsibility of local authorities, which have discretionary powers under the Transport Act 1985 to provide and fund local concessionary travel schemes for residents. The extent and terms of any such scheme are for individual local authorities to consider and decide upon but are limited to be within the local authority or region boundary.

Further information on the specific Strathclyde Concessionary Travel Scheme can be found here: Concessions | SPT | Strathclyde Partnership for Transport

As part of the Islands Connectivity Plan, the updated Vessel and Ports Plan was published for consultation on 1 February 2024. The Plan provides a long-term plan to 2045 for the vessel and port investment considered necessary to address the key challenges of reliability and resilience by modernising the fleet and reducing the average age to 15 years by the end of the decade.

The Plan also makes clear that the timing of the delivery of individual projects remains subject to Value for Money, prioritisation and affordability.

The final versions of the Islands Connectivity Plan’s Strategic Approach Paper and the Vessels and Ports Plan are expected to be published later this year.

Currently there are no estimated additional costs from Transport Scotland’s contracted external consultancy services relating to any extension of the CHFS2 contract.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to improving and modernising our ferry services and better meeting the needs of island residents, businesses and communities. The Infrastructure Investment Plan referenced capital investment of at least £580 million for ferries, port infrastructure, and related activities. In addition to the projects highlighted in the IIP, the Scottish Government has committed around £115 million for two new major vessels for the Little Minch routes. The draft Islands Connectivity Plan - Vessels and Port Plan provides further detail on the overall programme.

The total spend on ferries infrastructure, excluding Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa which are covered separately, between 2021-22 and 2025-26 is expected to be around £700 million, subject to approvals, funding, and relevant procurement processes. All capital projects are subject to inflation and costs and impacts are considered as part of the individual business case process.

The Scottish Government plans to review and refresh all aspects of our approach to tackling fraud and corruption across government, including updating the counter fraud strategy Protecting Public Resources in Scotland. This is part of a wider strategic look at the prevention and detection of public sector fraud and corruption in Scotland.

The update to the counter fraud strategy, commencing in 2024-25, is part of a three-year counter fraud plan to enhance the way we prevent and detect fraud and corruption in public resources. The principles of the 2015 strategy remain extant and activities to date have focussed on developing in each strategic area with a focus on collaborative cross sector working. In 2021 there was the appointment of the first Head of Counter Fraud Profession in Scottish Government and the establishment of the Counter Fraud Service within the Directorate for Internal Audit and Assurance in 2022. Working across Government, we have improved how we identify fraud/corruption risk through fraud risk profiling and heat mapping, how we manage these risks with fraud risk and fraud impact assessments across government, and how we respond to fraud through the Fraud Response Plan and cross government Integrity Group. The counter fraud strategy update will reflect these changes and how we intend to move forward in our efforts to improve the maturity of approach against the Scottish Government’s Counter Fraud Maturity Model.

Since the publication of the strategy, the Scottish Government (SG) has sought to raise fraud awareness and build professional networks utilising conferences and forums aimed at building a community of counter fraud professionals. Creation of the Integrity Group within the SG, alongside joint activities such as the improvement action plan with Audit Scotland on improvement of the National Fraud initiative, were key initial activities. In 2021 the first Head of Counter Fraud Profession was appointed with the Counter Fraud Service established in 2022. This coincided with Covid pandemic and demonstrated the value of this new service in providing support and advice on fraud prevention to colleagues delivering grants to support the economy in Scotland.

The Counter Fraud Service has established links with the International Public Sector Fraud Forum - a public sector counter fraud strategy forum – which has strengthened the SG’s approach to fraud prevention and detection through cross-border collaboration on counter fraud best practice. The SG has embedded a fraud risk management framework and a Counter Fraud Toolkit in 2023, providing all colleagues with access to new in-depth guidance and tools for the management of fraud and corruption risk, and support with fraud cases. The Counter Fraud Service, in collaboration with Risk, Control and Assurance Division, is now focussing on ‘counter fraud culture’ and fraud awareness. This being delivered through new training, workshops and guidance aimed at improving the skills and capabilities across government, as well as general education on fraud and corruption to ensure that the SG stays fraud aware.

Further to this, the Integrity Group, made up of leadership in areas of integrity from across government, provides oversight on the counter fraud strategy and how this links to other areas of integrity under the Civil Service Code. Lastly, the establishment of the Counter Fraud Profession in SG, led by the Head of Counter Fraud Profession, acts to join up the counter fraud community across SG organisations, to deliver consistency, opportunities for joint working and a community of best practice in counter fraud.

The City of Edinburgh Council’s Mixed Tenure Improvement Scheme (MTIS) is operated under the Area Based Schemes which are designed, managed and delivered solely by Scottish local authorities or their managing agents. Hence any complaints about the MTIS should be directed to the council for resolution. The City of Edinburgh Council has a dispute resolution process for dealing with complaints which was used in the council’s first MTIS project undertaken in Westerhailes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28339 on 10 July 2024. 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/questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government recognises the physical and mental health benefits that stem from pet ownership.

While there is currently no legal duty on local authorities to house pets, the statutory code of guidance on homelessness and the temporary accommodation standards framework require local authorities to consider housing options which best meet an individual’s needs, including supporting homeless households to maintain relationships with their pets.

Each local authority will need to consider how to achieve this on a case-by-case basis. This may include working with other organisations to help with planning for people’s pets and providing assistance with the kennelling of any pets if an applicant is not able to keep them in their temporary accommodation. There are a number of animal charities that offer a fostering service so that people can leave an abusive partner knowing their pet will also be safely looked after until they can be reunited.

Tenants in the social sector can keep a pet with the written permission of their landlord, as can some private tenants. However, the Scottish Government wishes to enable all tenants where possible to benefit from the experience of pet ownership. There are provisions within the Housing (Scotland) Bill, which if passed, will give private and social housing tenants greater flexibility to have a pet by introducing a right to request to keep a pet, and for tenants’ requests not to be unreasonably refused.