Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is proposing to increase the budget for the Forestry Grant Scheme in 2025-26 to £53m, with much of the increase focussed on native woodland habitats.

Public funding through FGS support measures has been in place since 2015 and were recently enhanced in 2023 to improve the attractiveness to applicants. These measures encourage land managers to intensively manage deer populations with the objective of securing natural regeneration of trees. Targeted support is already paid over more than 60,000 hectares of land, including native woodland and open habitats, in order to create the opportunities for natural regeneration of trees and expansion of native woodland habitats. The funding for these support measures is regularly reviewed to ensure it is able to address demand.

In areas where there has been a high level of uptake of this approach by landowners, such as in the Cairngorms National Park, over half the new woodlands supported by FGS, over 5,000 hectares since 2016, have been through natural regeneration.

Whilst significant public grant support is already targeted at native woodland restoration and expansion we recognise the need to do more to increase levels of activity and Scottish Government and its agencies are committed to working actively with a range of partners in order to achieve this.

Since exiting the EU, the Scottish Government has set aside additional quota for use by our 10 metre and under sector (predominantly inshore vessels that make up the vast majority of the Scottish fishing fleet). These vessels are associated with fishing methods that are more selective and typically fish with methods that have less impact on the seabed.

In 2025, the Scottish Government will distribute a portion of West of Scotland cod based on an application process which will place environmental considerations at its heart. This seeks to incentivise the use of selective fishing gear and fishing techniques or vessels with a reduced impact on the environment.

In May 2023 we published an analysis of survey data of health boards’ arrangements for the care and support of individuals with ME/CFS, with the aim of establishing a clearer picture of variations in service provision around Scotland.

We have since gathered updated information on ME/CFS care from every health board in Scotland and published this on 20 November 2024.

Subject to approval, the 2025-26 budget includes new investment of £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for Long Covid, ME/CFS, and other similar conditions.

This important investment will support people with these conditions across Scotland, and we are asking Parliament to unite behind the Budget to ensure this funding reaches the people who need it.

Work on developing a Stigma Action Plan has taken place, alongside progress with the National Collaborative, who are publishing a Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use on 11 December 2024.

The Charter was developed by a wide network of people with experience of substance use and aims to shift power and change culture, by empowering people affected by substance use to name and claim their rights, and be involved in decisions which impact them. It will also support service providers to understand how to realise these rights.

The purpose of the Medication Assisted Treatment standards is to improve access to treatment and enable people to make an informed choice about their care. The work that services are doing to embed the MAT standards is part of realising the right to health, and therefore very much aligns with the Charter of Rights.

Since the launch of the Young Patients Family Fund in July 2021, Health Boards have reported the following number of claims were made.

We continue to monitor the impact and effectiveness of the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) and keep this under review.

The position of the Scottish Government has not changed – the current favoured position is to fully dual the A96, and we are already taking forward the dualling process from Inverness to Nairn, including Nairn Bypass.

The outcomes from the A96 Corridor Review, which was undertaken as a result of the Bute House Agreement, have been published in draft for public consultation and no final decision has been made.

Feedback from members of the public and key stakeholders will be key in helping inform the Scottish Government’s final decision on how best to take forward improvements to the A96 whilst also balancing the demands of the challenging economic climate and the climate emergency, and to inform our timescales going forward.

The Scottish Government is wholly aware of the challenges and reality of living with a trunk road, such as the A96 cutting through the heart of towns such as Nairn, Elgin and Keith. I attended the Build the Nairn Bypass event hosted by the Inverness Courier in Nairn on 31 May 2024 to hear first-hand the impacts it has on the safety and well-being of those that live, travel, work and attend education establishments along it.

The National Maternity Safety Ambition in England was launched in 2015. Delivery of healthcare and the NHS is devolved and the Sottish Government is committed to continuous improvement in maternity safety across Scotland, working in partnership with NHS Boards and clinicians and service users, to deliver the best and safest care for mothers and babies. The Scottish Government’s Scottish Patient Safety Programme (SPSP) Perinatal strand (formerly MCQIC), part of Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS), was established in 2009 to improve outcomes and reduce variation in maternity services by providing safe, high-quality care for all. The aims of the programme are to reduce stillbirths; understand variation in caesarean birth rates; improve the recognition, response and review of the deteriorating woman, and to reduce neonatal mortality and morbidity.

The Scottish Government has also commissioned HIS to develop standards for maternity services, to support consistency of service design and delivery across Scotland. We continue to work with NHS Boards, clinical leaders, the third sector and national partners to develop our approach in the Scottish context.

The member raised the issue of setting up such a forum in the Chamber during general questions on 28 November 2024.

I confirmed at the time I would be happy to meet to discuss such a group, noting that I would be keen to extend any such forum to look at apprenticeships as well.

Data shows that we have a record number of new students at university with a recorded disability or additional support need (6,765, an increase of 14.9% over the year). Additionally, the support provided to students via the Disabled Students’ Allowance totalled £14.1 million in 2023-24, an 18.4% increase over the year.

Against that backdrop, the 2025-26 budget, published on Wednesday 4th December, emphasises the First Minister’s priorities and champions programmes that have a far-reaching impact in addressing child poverty and improving outcomes for families and learners across Scotland.

As part of the budget announcement, Ministers expect the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to prioritise the additional investment, to support widening access and to protect and enhance the learner experience. In addition, by protecting the right to free tuition, the Scottish Government is driving forward our commitment to widening access.

As part of the annual funding allocations process, the SFC reviews demand and supply of funded places, to reflect the dynamic changes to learner needs.

SFC and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are currently working together to enhance the SFC’s leadership and oversight role in tackling persistent inequalities in the tertiary system.

Through this, SFC and EHRC have established a set of National Equality Outcomes (NEOs) for the tertiary education sector through their Persistent Inequalities work, including three NEOs specific to disabled students.

The SFC asks colleges and universities to be mindful of the Equality Act (2010), under which disabled students are protected, and supports them to meet the requirements and achieve the aspirations of the Public Sector Equality Duty. This includes through the statutory requirement for Equality and Human Rights Impact Assessments of new and revised strategies and policies.