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The ticket office review is being conducted under existing rail industry processes – Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement – and as such permission was not required from Transport Scotland before Abellio ScotRail, the train operating company, consulted on ticket office opening hours.

Transport Scotland has not undertaken any assessment however Abellio ScotRail has carried out an assessment of all ticket sales, passenger assistance, ticket buying facilities, waiting areas, toilets, passenger footfall, links to local schools, colleges and businesses for every station with a ticket office. In addition, Abellio ScotRail also reviewed any instances of anti-social behaviour to ensure the proposed changes do not reduce the customer experience.

Abellio ScotRail has also confirmed that no job loses would occur and any change to opening times would be redeployed in the local area to ensure customers were better supported by having staff more visible and on the frontline.

Following Abellio ScotRail’s notification on 13 July 2021 of their intention to undertake a review of ticket office opening hours under Schedule 17 of the Ticketing and Settlement Agreement, discussions concerning this consultation were held in the normal course of franchise management business.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05865 on 4 February 2022. 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

Abellio ScotRail as the train operating company providing passenger rail services, is responsible for the ticket office consultation.

Transport Focus, the independent watchdog for transport users, will collate and provide a report on the consultation responses.

Officials have met with the Stirling bid team to offer support with connections and building relationships with relevant partners – whilst recognising the need to maintain an even-handed approach. Additionally, officials are working closely with VisitScotland and Creative Scotland who both sit on the Working and Steering Groups for the Stirling City of Culture 2025 and have been providing input and comment to the content of the bid proposal. The bid itself references the development work undertaken by the Stirling Place Partnership, SceneStirling, which is jointly funded by Creative Scotland and Stirling Council. The Scottish Government and Creative Scotland fund organisations who are involved in the bid, including Sistema Scotland and the MacRobert Theatre.

The Scottish Government had expected to receive £120 million of additional Health consequential funding in respect of additional allocations to the UK Department of Health and Social Care for testing and vaccination costs.

Whilst we have yet to see the final consequential breakdown for UK Supplementary Estimates, indications were in December that this figure was revised down to £75m.

Rather than a reallocation of £45 million within Scottish Budgets to support business, this figure actually represents the shortfall in Health funding against previous expectations – a reduction of £45 million.

However the financial position has moved considerably since then and full details of all budget transfers supporting the recently announced measures will be set out in the forthcoming Spring Budget Revision.

Home Energy Scotland (HES) deliver the Home Energy Scotland Loan Schemes on behalf of Scottish Government. Home Energy Scotland does not recommend measures to customers, but instead offers funding for measures recommended on an EPC or renewables report.

A number of zero carbon space and water heating technologies are available for funding through Home Energy Scotland:

Water Heating Systems

Heat Pumps (either air source to water, ground source to water, water source to water or hybrid air source to water)

Biomass boilers or stoves (non-automated, non-pellet stoves or room heaters are not eligible)

All the above measures attract cashback under the HES Renewables Loan Scheme.

It is not possible to quantify the number and broad spectrum of specialism across the Justice sector in relation to domestic abuse cases. It is a matter for independent justice partners to provide essential training in domestic abuse matters to ensure and support operational requirements.

The 2022-23 Scottish Budget as published on 9 December assumed no specific carry-forward for resource funding through the Scotland Reserve. £179 million of capital and financial transactions was assumed as the estimated Scotland Reserve availability for 2022-23, but this is not linked to specific portfolio underspends.

The 2022-23 Scottish Budget did include £620 million of other anticipated funding, calculated on a risk-based assessment of availability across a range of sources. This assessment included an estimate of £145 million of funding related to future consequentials associated with changes to UK non-domestic rates legislation, which HM Treasury has now confirmed is included in the £440 million guaranteed additional funding for 2021-22. This £145m will therefore now have to be factored into overall budget management in the final months of the current financial year, with the remaining balance considered as part of the Scotland Reserve carry-forward.