Seòmar agus comataidhean

Being able to use the native app to prove your age is on the roadmap for delivery after we are able to offer transactional and location based alerts and notification services.

There is no defined data for this yet as the focus is being about to offer transactional and location based alerts, however once these are delivered proof of age will be the priority.

Currently work is underway with organisations who would like to use this service.

It is for the Chief Constable, under the scrutiny of the Scottish Police Authority (SPA), to determine Police Scotland's operational approach to policing in Scotland, this includes the allocation of resources to Police Officer and Staff training programmes. Details of costs can be found in the SPA board paper from 4 December 2025 at; item-3-4-bi-annual-joint-thematic-report-leadership-talent-and-learning-training-development.pdf

Police officer and staff professional development is a matter for the Chief Constable, who is operationally independent of the Scottish Government.

Oversight is provided by the Scottish Police Authority and Police Scotland training and development is monitored by its People Committee.

The National Acquisition Programme was announced in June 2023 to support the purchase of existing homes for use as affordable housing. Initially, £60 million was allocated for 2023-2024 to be delivered through local authority Resource Planning Assumptions. The spend and homes delivered for 2023-2024 is outlined in Table 1 the figures for social rent are a subset of the total.

Scottish Ministers and officials meet with Glasgow City Council counterparts on a regular basis to discuss the pressures on housing and homelessness services in the city. I have met councillors from Glasgow City Council on three occasions to discuss progress in response to the housing emergency, including, most recently, with Cllr Kelly, Cllr Casey and the Leader of the Council on 9 December. Glasgow City Council officers also provided the Housing to 2040 Board with an update at the 12 November meeting and the Minister for Equalities and I attended a roundtable hosted by the Scottish Refugee Council on 20 November to discuss refugee homelessness.

The Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice attended a Scottish Refugee Council roundtable on 7 April this year to discuss refugee homelessness in Glasgow alongside Glasgow City Council leaders and officials. The UK Government Minister of State for Border Security and Asylum was invited but did not attend and has not responded to our calls for engagement on these issues.

Scottish Ministers have been clear that there will not be a rolling back on the rights of any homeless household in Scotland. Instead we continue to call on the UK Government to provide adequate funding to local authorities to ensure they are able to provide support to meet the housing needs of newly recognised refugees. We have also made more resource and support available, including via our Housing Emergency Action Plan in September.

Weekly comparative data for 2024 and 2025 broken down by Health Board can be found at: https://www.opendata.nhs.scot/dataset/flu-covid-vaccinations/resource/ae1cd4fd-5658-47b5-8e0a-2274627682d5

This Scottish Government does not hold this information. The member may wish to contact the Health Board directly who may be able to help.

The Directorate recognises the importance of providing clarity on the app's planned launch date. At present a specific launch date in 2026 has not yet been confirmed.

Final timelines depend on ongoing development, testing and regulatory requirements to ensure the app meets all required standards.

The Directorate will provide a confirmed timeline once the current development and testing phase is completed.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes statistics on the number of waits for patients on waiting lists for planned care in the Stage of Treatment (SoT) Waiting Times publication. Patients may appear more than once if they are waiting for multiple appointments or admissions, so the statistics shown do not reflect the actual number of individuals involved. Further information about SoT Waiting Times can be found on the PHS website.

Table 1 presents the number of ongoing waits at 31 October 2025. The figures reflect waits for residents within the Inverclyde council area awaiting a new outpatient appointment or an inpatient/day case admission in dentistry-related specialties at any hospital in Scotland.

More detailed information on the treatment or procedure(s) that is planned or undertaken for a patient will be held locally by NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde or the health board of treatment responsible for the patient’s wait.

Table 1: Number of ongoing waits for a new outpatient appointment or inpatient or day case admission at 31 October 2025, Inverclyde council area

We note the report and that many of themes explored align well with themes identified in the recently published Islands Connectivity Plan.

Regarding the governance recommendation Scottish Ministers have not taken any decisions at this stage on potential further reforms to the governance of Scotland’s ferry bodies. Work to consider all available options is ongoing, and no approach has been ruled out.

We recognise the importance of clear communication, particularly during times of disruption. As part of the CHFS3 grant agreement, CalMac will be preparing a Customer service and accessibility plan and a disruption management plan to consider these matters further.

We also recognise the importance of consultation highlighted in the report and agree that it is vital to hear from a wide range of voices. Ministers, Transport Scotland officials, CalMac and CMAL will continue to engage with island communities, businesses, staff, trades unions and wider stakeholders across the network on new policy, timetables and projects to fully understand the wider range of challenges and opportunities as we invest to sustain and enhance services.