Seòmar agus comataidhean

The determination of railway operator’s staff training needs and the implementation of training thereafter are matters for railway operators. The Scottish Government supports Network Rail, ScotRail Trains Limited, Scottish Rail Holdings Limited, and Caledonian Sleeper Limited through the funds it provides to these organisations.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information, operational decisions on matters such as this are for Police Scotland to consider working with the Scottish Police Authority and you may wish to contact them directly.

Development of theft reduction strategies is a matter for Network Rail, Local Authorities ,and railway operators working in collaboration with Police Scotland and the British Transport Police.

The Scottish Government supports Network Rail, ScotRail Trains Limited, Scottish Rail Holdings Limited, Caledonian Sleeper Limited through the funds it provides to these organisations.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33028 on 22 January 2025. 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

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33028 on 22 January 2025. 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

All costs associated with overseas visits undertaken by the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General in their roles as heads of the systems of prosecution and deaths investigation are paid by the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service budget.

In the calendar year 2024 the costs associated with overseas travel for the Lord Advocate, all of which are associated with ongoing criminal investigations and casework, are as follows:

My December 2025-25 Budget announcement included the commitment to conduct our first five-year review of LBTT by the end of this Parliament, to support an evaluation of key aspects of the tax legislation, including the application of the ADS where exceptional circumstances and events occur.

As part of this review, officials will engage a range stakeholders and members of the public on a range of general and specific relating to the LBTT and Additional Dwelling Supplement legislation.

The upcoming review will in part look to build further understanding on the impact of the ADS where difficult or exceptional circumstances apply, as well as understanding any complexities and uncertainties for the tax system for accommodating any subsequent changes.

The review, which will commence this coming spring, will support decisions in the next Parliament on the case for any legislative changes.

The Scottish Government is continuing to work collaboratively to provide information on ash dieback and guidance on the management of trees affected by this disease. Scottish Forestry chairs the Ash Dieback Risk Group Scotland, bringing together practitioners from local authorities and the forestry, arboriculture, transport, utilities, research and nature conservation sectors to share knowledge, experience and examples of best practice in managing ash dieback. Scottish Forestry engaged The Tree Council to work alongside the Ash Dieback Risk Group, producing a toolkit for the preparation of ash dieback action plans by local authorities and other large-scale landowners and asset managers. The toolkit provides a framework for preparing action plans, and contains recent case studies and resources created by a number of Scottish local authorities and other organisations. A suite of guidance tailored for Scotland has been published and further information on safety when working on ash trees affected by ash dieback has been developed with input from stakeholders and is due to be published shortly.

The Scottish Budget for 2025-26 has been set at £63.4 billion. The recent draft budget allocated and indicated a value of £4 billion for the Transport portfolio, which includes £188.7 million for Active and Sustainable Travel. This investment is intended to:

Make it easier for people to walk, wheel and cycle

Improve connections to our public transport network

Support resilient and efficient bus services

We cannot authorise allocations to specific programmes until the budget has passed. All values at this time are indicative, and we therefore cannot confirm the amount that may or may not be allocated to the specific projects mentioned until the new financial year.