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The budget for 2024-25 includes all costs including any pay increases agreed during that financial year.

Firefighter pay is negotiated on a UK wide basis through the National Joint Council and SFRS support staff pay is negotiated between SFRS as the employer and its recognised trade unions. In common with all public sector employers, SFRS is expected to deliver pay deals which are both fair and affordable.

Scottish Ministers will consider the suitability of any measures proposed as compensation as part of a case for derogating from the habitats regulations at the appropriate stage in the process, if and when such a derogation case may be required. This applies to any closure of the sandeel fishery in Scottish waters which may be proposed as a compensation measure for offshore wind farm developments.

I refer to my answer to question S6W-24369 on 18 January 2024. The suitability of any closure of the sandeel fishery in Scottish waters as a compensatory measure for potential impacts from offshore wind farms will be considered by Scottish Ministers if and when such a case for compensation may be required and according to the merits of that specific case.

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 .

A range of legislation makes up the regulatory framework for the safety of grid scale battery energy storage systems (BESS). Health and safety is a reserved matter with applicable UK legislation including: the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002; the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989; and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Relevant regulations are updated as and when deemed necessary, with input from all relevant authorities.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s regulator in this regard, and their remit includes health and safety in the workplace as well as public assurance on safety matters. HSE considers there to be a robust regulatory regime covering the fire risks associated with BESS.

The Scottish Government has no current intention to propose a debate in the Parliament on Public Petition PE1859: Retain falconers' rights to practise upland falconry in Scotland. We are aware this is being considered by the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee who have been taking evidence, and are best placed to consider the issue. Should the Committee deem it appropriate they may submit a report to the Scottish Parliament with a recommendation for debate. Details of the Committee’s consideration so far can be found here: PE1859 Retain falconer's rights to practise upland falconry in Scotland | Scottish Parliament Website .

The Scottish Government greatly values the positive effects that twinning can offer to communities home and abroad and the opportunities it can provide to maintain close international relationships with partnering countries.

With the financial challenges we currently face, there are no current plans for the Scottish Government to provide financial support towards town twinning in the near future.

However, the Scottish Government and the international network will continue to work with partners at home and abroad to support and promote meaningful and valuable twinning arrangements.

Below is a breakdown of posts that were advertised in Round 1 and Round 2 by region, speciality and level. These set of results were published in July 2023 by NHS England. The total number of posts advertised in Round 3 cannot be disclosed as end-year results have yet to be published. These results are expected to be made available by NHS England in the coming weeks. In addition to this, please note that Scottish Government does not have access to data broken down by NHS board.

Below are four tables which confirm the attrition rate for each NHS medical speciality, also broken down by NHS board, since 2021 .

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 5 posts were advertised in Medical Oncology at ST3 level and 1 (or 20%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. It should be noted that recent uplifts in Medical Oncology (3 posts in 2022 and 2023) led to a greater number of posts being advertised. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities. Examples in Medical Oncology include:

• We are funding uplifts in Internal Medicine Training (IMT) with 22 posts set to be created in 2024. IMT is a pre-requisite for Medical Oncology (among several other specialties) and increasing front-end supply should therefore improve the sustainability of services in the longer term.
• NHS Education for Scotland (NES) colleagues have been promoting Medical Oncology at undergraduate level and at various careers events across the country. The West of Scotland Oncology Team, for example, is hosting a careers event at the Beatson Cancer Centre in January 2024 for IMT trainees.
• A national oncology teaching programme has also been signposted to IMT trainees which is accessible via monthly MS Teams sessions.

NHS 24 call handlers are not medically trained, they are classed as healthcare support workers.

Callers to NHS 24 will initially have their symptoms triaged by a call handler before being passed on to a clinician within the Service or to another area of the health service best placed to meet their needs as appropriate.