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As all the Railcards listed are GB wide national rail products and not ScotRail products, neither the Scottish Government or ScotRail holds information on how many people make use of the cards listed.

The member may wish to contact the Rail Delivery Group for information on the number of cardholders.

The new powers provided by the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 enable local authorities to determine what is best for their own areas. I recognise that not every authority will want to run their own bus services, some may opt for a partnership or franchise approach. It is important that the options within the Act are fully explored to ensure they are appropriate for the area and are sustainable for local authorities' long term. Work is currently ongoing with local authorities and COSLA to determine how best to allocate funding in light of the emergency budget review.

As you know, we are also undertaking a Fair Fares Review to ensure a sustainable and integrated approach to public transport fares as we recover from the pandemic. As part of the Review, we are considering both the availability of services and the range of discounts and concessionary schemes, which are available on all modes including bus, rail and ferry. We will also consider options that maintain and increase affordability for those who need it most, taking cognisance of the relative changes to the overall cost of travel.

The Cladding Remediation Unit did not employ a full time communication staff member from May 2021 to April 2022. Since May 2022 a communication staff member has been employed, but their role crosses a number of responsibilities.

I am grateful to the Inspectorate for doing such a thorough piece of work on this important topic. It is a priority for all prosecutors that complainers are treated with dignity and respect, and that they are not subjected to inappropriate questioning during a trial.

This is a challenging area of work and I was pleased to see that the Inspectorate noted that Crown applications under this section of law were generally good and that it has developed its practices. Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) has responded swiftly to developments in case law, issuing new instructions to staff and creating a training course dedicated to sexual history and character evidence. This has led to a significant shift in practice regarding how section 275 applications are managed.

There remains improvement work to be done, and I have instructed that this is taken forward through an action plan to address the outstanding recommendations. COPFS is committed to improving the experience of complainers in serious sexual offence cases, both in enhancing its own processes, for example through their ongoing review of its Victim Information and Advice function, and in working with partners across the criminal justice sector.

Firstly, I would like to congratulate all those involved in making Scottish Games Week a hugely successful event.

Scotland has a rich history in the gaming industry and we are proud to have funded Scottish Games Week through the Scottish Government’s Start-up Ecosystem Fund.

That said, we believe gaming has more to offer to the Scottish economy in the years to come. Game developers have shown that their skills and creativity can be applied much more widely, delivering innovative solutions to help solve problems in other areas such as education and healthcare. That is why our Chief Entrepreneur, Mark Logan, is engaging closely with sector leaders to explore opportunities to catalyse the sector’s growth, including how it can benefit from our £42m investment in a new network of tech-scalers – world-class environments to start and scale new companies.

We have approached local authorities seeking data covering quarters one and two of the current financial year, or confirmation that the fund has been used in full and is now closed. This information is currently being quality assured before it is published on the Scottish Government website.

We are currently working with six fire engineering companies in the pilot phase of the single building assessment. We are engaging with professional bodies in order to expand the number of assessors and firms involved in this work.

The UK Government’s Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is reserved. Only the CMS has the power to take action to enforce payment of sums due under a maintenance assessment arranged through the CMS.

The Scottish Government recognises this is an exceptionally challenging and uncertain time for families and we are working across the public and third sector to ensure that support is there for anyone who needs it.

We are investing around £12.5 million this year to support the provision of free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services.

We provide funding to One Parent Families Scotland, which operates an advice line and debt advice services for lone parent families.

The single building assessment reports undergo a review by technical staff within the Cladding Remediation Unit.

We are already taking forward a range of initiatives to support recruitment and retention of workforce in rural General Practice. The Golden Hello scheme offers a one-off bursary of £10,000 to every GP taking up an eligible post in a remote and rural area. Furthermore, ScotGEM is a four-year graduate-entry medical degree which began in 2018, with a focus on rural medicine and healthcare improvement, supporting graduates to choose careers in general practice.

Doctors completing FY2 have a variety of options to continue their careers in NHS Scotland. This includes, but is not limited to, becoming an Locum Appointment for Training physician, an SAS physician or a locum physician; time spent in which can count towards Specialty training and can be good option to gain a wider range of skills and experience and to strengthen future applications to Specialty training. While it is important for local areas to have general practice and hospital doctors which meet the needs of their populations, locums posts can play an important role within our NHS too, working flexibly in response to changes in local need or circumstances and helping to cover leave and other absences.