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Clyde Metro will be transformational for the region. It is likely to be a programme which will be delivered over a number of years, with the scale and capital costs required making it one of the largest programme of works Scotland will have ever seen.

The design and development costs to date have been funded by the Scottish Government. It is too early to comment on the longer term funding of Clyde Metro, however, it is envisaged that the funding model for its implementation will be determined as part of the next stage of development.

The Scottish Government has published a Financial Memorandum for the Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Bill which includes information on the range of costs linked to the assessment and remediation of buildings in scope of the Cladding Remediation Programme. Financial Memorandum accessible (parliament.scot) We are working with Homes for Scotland and developers to identify their buildings within scope of the Programme.

The detailed information requested is currently being collated and once it is available it will be placed in the Scottish Parliament Information centre under Bib. Number 64646.

The Scottish Government has significantly expanded AHP training, recruiting 335 Scottish-domiciled students each year for paramedic education programs from 2023 to 2026, and 25 students for specialist prosthetics and orthotics education programs each year from 2022 to 2026. With a substantial investment of £45 million recurrently for the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS), and an additional £5 million, 317 staff are being recruited, including clinicians for an integrated clinical hub, enhancing triage and reducing emergency response needs. Additionally, £4.5 million is allocated to train 225 more MSK practitioners in Primary Care, and £1.2 million enhances Reporting Radiography training by 30 spaces.

As part of the Scottish Government's commitment to a sustainable healthcare workforce, efforts include creating opportunities for AHP career advancement. Key features of the AHP Education and Workforce Policy Review, are being implemented through an ongoing plan, demonstrating a comprehensive approach to fostering the growth and advancement of the AHP workforce.

The Scottish Government intends to consult on the policy design of a devolved Building Safety Levy once an agreement has been reached with the UK Government on the transfer of legislative competence.

In line with our New Deal for Business and Framework for Tax, we will work collaboratively with those operating in the residential development sector and other stakeholders to ensure that the design and delivery of the Levy is informed by the widest possible range of views.

We launched a GP recruitment campaign in June 2022, as part of our commitment to increase the number of GPs in Scotland. The campaign seeks to encourage GPs from the rest of the UK to relocate to Scotland, highlighting the flexible, supportive, collaborative, and multi-disciplinary working environment.

We also fund ScotGEM, a four-year graduate-entry medical degree with a focus on remote and rural medicine. The programme is delivered through a collaborative partnership between the universities of St Andrew and Dundee, in collaboration with NHS Fife, NHS Tayside, NHS Highland, NHS Dumfries and Galloway and the University of Highlands and Islands.

The first Cohort of 52 students form the University of Dundee graduated on 17 June 2022. Places have now increased to 70 per cohort.

The Scottish Government will develop a Remote and Rural workforce recruitment strategy by the end of 2024. This will support employers (either Boards or General Practices) to ensure that the Health and Social Care needs of people who live in remote and rural communities are met.

Local authorities are responsible for the provision of local waste services and are, therefore, best placed to comment on their readiness to comply with the ban on sending biodegradable municipal waste to landfill in 2025.

We continue to provide procurement support to help local authorities that need it to secure contracts in preparation for the forthcoming ban. As part of this support, Zero Waste Scotland is working with local authorities to provide technical, legal and procurement advice on their contracts.

Through this support, we understand that 22 local authorities have contracts in place for 2025 that comply with the landfill ban, these are: Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Angus, City of Edinburgh, City of Glasgow, Dundee City, East Dunbartonshire, East Lothian, East Renfrewshire, Falkirk, Fife, Highland, Midlothian, Moray, North Ayrshire, North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Perth and Kinross, Renfrewshire, Scottish Borders, Shetland, and South Lanarkshire.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20954 on 19 September 2023 . 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22317 on 7 November 2023. 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 .

Core funding to support the delivery of school-age education, including the technologies curriculum (which includes craft and making), is provided via the block grant to local authorities. In addition, the Scottish Government supports the removal of core curriculum charges for all primary and secondary pupils. The Government has committed £8 million to this policy in this financial year, helping to ensure that families do not have to meet the costs of resources and materials for practical lessons, including for all art materials.

Curriculum for Excellence provides a broad framework within which schools can deliver teaching and learning which best meets the needs of their pupils, and therefore there are no plans to specify time allocations on craft making. The Government recognises the significance of learning craft skills as part of the wider technologies curriculum, with “craft, design, engineering and graphics” referenced as one of six key “organisers” in the technologies Experience and Outcomes.