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Free personal and nursing care is underpinned by the Community Care and Health (Scotland) Act 2002, which places a duty on local authorities to secure the provision of personal and nursing care, without charge, for individuals who are assessed as eligible. Once eligibility has been confirmed, local authorities must put arrangements in place as soon as reasonably practicable. Operational factors such as care planning and provider availability can affect timescales, but financial pressures or resource constraints do not remove or suspend the underlying statutory duty. The entitlement is not discretionary and applies equally to those who are self-funding their accommodation costs in care homes.

CalMac does not hold data on sailing performance prior to January 2007. The data provided covers up to February 2026, although that month has still to be audited and may therefore be subject to change.

Sailings cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic are included in the "cancelled (other)" category. During the period that services were compliant with COVID-19 regulations, the original scheduled timetables for routes across the network were replaced with lifeline and essential travel timetables.

The data in the following table is from May 2023 onwards when CalMac launched their new ticketing system. Prior to this, figures were reported under Claonaig/Lochranza as it was a shared service. These figures have been provided in the answer to S6W-44000 on 10 March 2026.

There is no data for 2026 yet as the service has not operated. This is because separate Claonaig/Lochranza and Tarbert/Portavadie services have been delivered during the winter 2025-26 period.

The level 4 breakdown provided in the budget tables is the lowest breakdown currently available as spending plans are still being finalised by policy leads.

The Scottish Government is delivering the strongest package of winter support in the UK.

We have invested over £6m to support implementation of the Violence Prevention Framework since its implementation in May 2023. Total recorded crime is down 38% since 2006-07 and half the level of 1991; homicide is at its lowest level since comparable records began in 1976; and the number of emergency hospital admissions due to a sharp object fell by 72% between 2006-07 and 2024-25.

However, any increase in reported crimes is of concern – particularly those relating to sexual offences and domestic abuse. We recognise that some of this may be due to actions to increase confidence in the justice system so more victims come forward to report sexual crimes. It is abhorrent that such crimes, which are mainly against women, take place.

In response we remain steadfast in our commitment to preventing and eradicating all violence against women and girls and addressing the underlying attitudes and systems that perpetuate it. That’s why we are increasing the Delivering Equally Safe Fund by 5%, bringing total investment to almost £46 million over 2026–2028, to ensure organisations continue their vital work to prevent violence and support survivors.

It is also vital that women and children have access to frontline services dealing with violence and domestic abuse - that is why, through the Victim Centred Approach Fund, we are also investing £12 million between 2025-27 for specialist advocacy support for survivors of gender-based violence.

We have also made changes to the justice system to make it easier to report incidents and legislated to give police, prosecutors, and the courts greater powers to tackle domestic abuse crimes. We are also commencing provisions with the Victims Witnesses and Justice Reform (Scotland) Act 2025, a landmark piece of legislation, that aims to transform the Justice system in Scotland through significant reforms to ensure that victims and witnesses are treated with compassion and supported throughout the legal process.

The legislative requirements in relation to safe staffing levels in Early Learning and Childcare settings falls under The Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act which was enacted on 1 April 2024. The Act is applicable to all health and care staff in Scotland.

The first ministerial report on the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019, was published on 27 November 2025. The report marks an important milestone in our collective efforts to ensure safe and effective staffing decisions across Scotland’s health and care services following commencement of the legislation. While the report is system-wide, it has implications for early learning and childcare. The report explains how Scottish Ministers have considered the information submitted by health boards, local authorities, and care providers about how they are meeting their statutory staffing duties.

The Act requires local authorities to demonstrate that ELC staffing is appropriate, safe, and aligned with the Act’s principles. The Act also reinforces that ELC services are part of the care landscape subject to statutory staffing duties, not just regulatory expectations. The Act also ensures that annual reporting and Ministerial scrutiny increase accountability for safe staffing in ELC.

Since 2008-09, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) has included questions on how confident respondents are in the ability of police in their local area across seven key areas (including preventing crime, catching criminals and supporting victims of crime). In addition, respondents have been asked since 2012-13 about how good a job they think the police in their local area are doing overall. The latest findings for the 2023-24 reporting year can be found here.

The next set of results from the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey for the 2024-25 financial year will be published on 17 March 2026.

In addition to the above, Police Scotland collect views of the public through their own surveys, specifically their Your Police Survey and Local policing user experience survey (as part of their wider User Experience Surveys). Feedback from these surveys are regularly presented at the Scottish Police Authority's Policing Performance Committee. The Scottish Police Authority (SPA) also conducts regular polling of Scottish adults (aged 16 and over) on policing in Scotland and other related interests. The SPA polling reports can be found here.

Consumer Price Index (CPI) is a measure of inflation faced by consumers, and is not an appropriate comparison for the Scottish Police Authority (SPA) budget. Retail Price Index (RPI) is not an Accredited Official Statistic, and the Office for Statistics Regulation advises against its use as a measure of inflation. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) deflator is the broadest measure of economy-wide inflation, and is the standard measure when considering real terms government spending.

Using the GDP deflator, the 2026-27 SPA Budget has increased in real terms compared to the opening 2025-26 budget. We will invest record funding of over £1.7 billion in policing in 2026-27, a total budget increase of £81.5 million or 5% compared to the published 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision (ABR) budget. It is for the SPA, working with the Chief Constable, to determine how to allocate this budget to meet policing priorities.

Our police officers and staff do a challenging job, often in very distressing circumstances, where health and welfare remain a priority for Police Scotland. I welcome the commitment by the Chief Constable to ensuring her workforce receives the right physical and mental wellbeing support, by working to educate and support officers in managing trauma exposure.

Police Scotland has made a £17 million investment over four years to support the health and wellbeing of the workforce and the Chief Constable confirmed the expansion of support measures, including through the Employee Assistance programme and trauma risk management provision.

The Scottish Government will invest record funding of over £1.7 billion in policing in 2026-27, a total budget increase of £81.5 million or 5% compared to the published 2025-26 Autumn Budget Revision budget. It is for the Scottish Police Authority, working with the Chief Constable, to determine how best to allocate this budget to meet policing priorities, including the wellbeing of officers and staff.

I recognise the seriousness of the issue of workplace health and safety, and the Scottish Government fully expects employers to maintain workplaces that are safe for workers in line with health and safety legislation.

The Scottish Government has not made any assessment of the prevalence or impact of bioaerosols in Scotland’s salmon production sector, or the implication for workers’ health and safety.

Regarding workplace health and safety and Scottish Government discussions with the Health and Safety Executive, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42856 on 21 January 2026. 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.