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The Scottish Government is committed to an infrastructure solution to address landslip risks at the A83 Rest and Be Thankful and shares the urgency communities and businesses place on maintaining and improving connectivity of this vital route.

The identification of the preferred route option through the Glen Croe Valley was announced on 02 June 2023 and is a very important milestone in finding a solution to this long-standing problem.

Following design and assessment work on the options under consideration, a debris flow shelter has been identified as the preferred option for the long-term solution. This option involves constructing a debris flow shelter over a length of approximately 1.4km with an additional 180m of catch pit and protection wall to protect the road and road users from future debris flow events.

Further details on the preferred route option is available from Access to Argyll and Bute (A83) Story Map (arcgis.com) .

Work has now commenced on the next stage in the assessment process which is the detailed development and assessment of the preferred route option and this stage will culminate in the publication of road Orders and Environmental Impact Assessment Report for formal consultation.

ScotRail advise that colleagues are supported from immediately after any incident of this nature. That support comes in a range of ways which includes the offer of professional counselling.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-18475 on 16 June 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

This work was produced externally to the Scottish Government. Scottish public sector representatives on the project board were sighted on the methodologies and evidence used to calculate relevant estimates and were involved in discussions with the report authors during the lifetime of the project. As noted in the report, the authors are responsible for the final report.

Scotland’s national forests and land is sub-divided into five geographical management areas, each has a local incident response plan in place.

Each Regional incident response plan covers all potential incidents that may occur on Scotland’s national forests and land, inlcuding wild fires. The incident response plan is produced in collaboration with the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) and other agencies / public bodies and is reviewed annually.

In addition, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) has guidance in place for staff regarding how to manage wildfires on Scotland’s national forests and land. The guidace covers roles and responsibilities and how to work in collaboration with SFRS. FLS staff are trained to respond to incidents when required, including wild fires.

FLS produces guidance for staff on the use of helicopters for firefighting, covering how and when to use a helicopter and the roles and responsibilites of FLS / SFRS staff.

On 10 May I met with David Kennedy and David Threadgold from the Scottish Police Federation as part of my regular meetings where we discussed various topics of interest. As the pay claim for 2023-24 had been submitted, in line with the Police Negotiating Board, (PNB) protocols, it was not appropriate for us to discuss details of this during our meeting.

Our next planned meeting has been arranged for the 14 September 2023.

The Scottish Government’s 2023-24 Public Sector Pay Strategy (PSPS) sets the framework to deliver fair and affordable pay awards. It takes into account the impact of high inflation on households and governments, whilst balancing the need for sustainable public finances.

The Police Negotiating Board (PNB) provides the negotiating forum for the pay and conditions of service of police officers in Scotland. While police officers are not subject to PSPS, PNB negotiations are guided, but not bound, by its parameters, alongside a range of other evidence, as part of its ongoing considerations and negotiations around officer pay. As the pay claim for 2023-24 has been submitted, in line with PNB protocols, it is not appropriate to comment further.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information, however, it may be available from local Health Boards.

No date has been set for the decarbonisation of the lines between Aberdeen and Edinburgh, and Aberdeen and the electrified network at Dunblane. However, in line with the Rail Decarbonisation Action Plan, these routes are under consideration for decarbonisation through electrification by Transport Scotland, with plans at an early stage of development.

As out in the Decarbonisation Action Plan, the order and pace in which decarbonisation is undertaken will depend on business cases and available budgets.

This is a matter for ScotRail. However, it has advised that it is actively considering inclusion of calorie information on its onboard trolley service.