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The Scottish Government is aware that following the introduction of the new Data Capture and Validation Pricing (nDCVP) system by NHS National Services Scotland (NSS), there have been some issues regarding payments being made to community pharmacy contractors. The Scottish Government has been assured by NSS that any incorrect payments are being rectified and Scottish Government officials are monitoring the situation, with all parties seeking a full resolution as swiftly as possible.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-25147 on 21 February 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/written-questions-and-answers .

We are unable to provide all the information in the form requested. This is because members of staff involved in the administration of the Empowering Communities Programme (ECP) undertake a variety of duties relating to the delivery of Scottish Government business including supporting Ministers. We do not routinely record the time spent or staff costs incurred related to the different elements of our work.

However we can advise that 5 members of staff, with an FTE of 4.6, spend the majority of their time supporting the delivery of the ECP, which includes the administration.

The Scottish Government supports new woodland creation on privately owned land through the Forestry Grant Scheme. Planting is recorded against financial years and in 2022-23, that last year for which published data is available, all recorded new woodland creation in Scotland was supported by Forestry Grant Scheme funding. Many of the new woodland creation schemes in 2022-23 benefited from other sources of funding, although no significant new woodland creation took place without Forestry Grant Scheme funding.

Whilst other sources of funding improve the attractiveness of woodland creation to landowners and can reduce the level of public funding required, we would expect very little new woodland creation on private land to be delivered in 2024-25 without receiving some support from the Forestry Grant Scheme.

As at 15 February 2024, £481,423.63 had been paid to applicants. Administration costs to the same date are approximately £120,000.

The original scheme closure date was specified in the Scheme documentation and announced at the time of the Scheme’s opening as 6 December 2023. This date was then extended to 31 March 2024. The Government therefore urges any woman who wishes to apply, but has not yet done so, to ensure that an application is sent prior to this date.

The closure of the Reimbursement Scheme to applications has no effect on the arrangements that NHS National Services Scotland has entered into with both Spire Hospital, Bristol, and Dr Veronikis in the USA. In any situation where it is determined that removal surgery is clinically appropriate, the patient will remain able to choose, via the official NHS referral process, to have that surgery carried out in the Complex Mesh Surgical Service in Glasgow, in an NHS England centre, or by one of the two contracted independent providers.

In the information held by the Scottish Government, teaching posts are classified into three employment types: Permanent, Temporary, and Temporary-Teacher Induction Scheme. For the purposes of this response, teachers on the Teacher Induction Scheme have been included in the Temporary category.

Teachers may be employed on a permanent contract but be categorised as Temporary if they are working in a post classified as a temporary employment type.

The following table shows the percentage of permanent and temporary full-time equivalent (FTE) teacher posts across all sectors (Primary, Secondary, Special and Centrally Employed) from 2010.

Percentage of teachers (FTE) with Permanent and Temporary posts

The Scottish Government’s challenging budget position impacts on the budget available for the delivery of the Empowering Communities Programme which supports Coalfield Regeneration Trust’s (CRT’s) grant. Officials advised CRT that we would be unable to deliver funding at the same level as previous years and worked with the Trust to help prioritise their 2023-24 work programme on protecting those elements which have the greatest impact and outcomes for coalfields communities.

Since 2022, ScotRail has been committed to developing a robust evidence base on which to inform future plans and investment on fares and ticketing. This has included obtaining customer insight to identify opportunities, testing and learning to encourage more customers to rail through short-term promotions, and a ticketing/retail review assessing a range of retail channels and ticketing options.

In April 2022, the Scottish Government published the First National Assessment of Potential Heat Network Zones which identified and characterised potential heat network opportunities across Scotland.

This independent analysis found that up to 340,000 homes and up to 74,000 non-domestic premises may be located in areas with the potential for future heat network developments. The analysis sets out a range of characteristics that these properties have, including whether they are in rural areas which are more likely to be off the gas grid.

However, urban properties such as high-rise flats may also be off the gas grid. Due to this, and as the First National Assessment sought to identify potential areas for district heat networks operating at around 65°C, this analysis is likely to be an underestimate of the number of off-gas grid properties that may connect to a heat network in future.

The First National Assessment can be accessed at: Potential heat network zones: first national assessment - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The Scottish Government is supporting local authorities to publish Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategies, which will provide a clearer picture of heat network opportunities across Scotland, including identifying the main heating fuels currently being used within these areas and mapping them at a strategic level.

I would refer the member to the answer given by my colleague the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice to question S6W-23223 on 12 December on the issue of the timing of funding decisions, and reiterate that we have committed, as part of developing an approach to fairer funding for the third sector, to deliver improvements in grant-making arrangements, including providing greater clarity and consistency of practice.

We understand that organisations, including local authorities and third sector organisations, need timely grant decisions and payments in order to reduce financial uncertainty and effectively resource delivery. In line with the commitment given by the First Minister, we are working, within the context of the Scottish Budget process, to issue notifications of funding arrangements as soon as is practicably possible.

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 .