Seòmar agus comataidhean

I can announce today that Scottish Ministers have decided that a direct award should be made to CalMac Ferries Limited. The due diligence work has concluded there is no financial, operational or legal impediment to proceeding with a Teckal-compliant direct award of CHFS3.

This is a unique opportunity to change the emphasis from a commercially driven arrangement to a public-focused service wholly directed at meeting the important and particular needs of the communities it serves. Discussions will continue with staff, island residents, businesses and communities and trade unions on the arrangements so that the new contract reflects local needs and interests. Transport Scotland is now working closely with CalMac Ferries Ltd on the necessary arrangements for commencement of the new contract on 1 October 2025. I will ensure that Parliament is kept updated about progress on those new arrangements.

Taken together with our ongoing investment in new vessels and infrastructure, this will improve the overall resilience and capacity of these services, particularly for the future, as set out in the recently published Islands Connectivity Plan.

The Scottish Government does not assess geographical variations in people accessing Scottish Medicines Consortium-approved therapies for advanced or complex Parkinson’s Disease. However, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery are having initial conversations about the potential to undertake Parkinson’s Disease pathway work, which we understand would help to explore and articulate pathways for therapies for advanced and complex Parkinson’s Disease.

The Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) assesses the clinical and cost- effectiveness of newly licensed medicines on a once for Scotland basis and publishes advice for Health Boards to consider. It is expected that Health Board Area & Drug and Therapeutics Committees (ADTCs) will consider making an SMC-recommended medicine, or an equivalent, available on their local or regional formulary for routine prescribing within 90 days of SMC advice being published.

Health Boards are expected to apply common principles and processes in the introduction of newly licensed medicines to facilitate consistency of approach to local decision-making. The decision to prescribe a medicine, and which medicine to prescribe, is entirely for the clinician in charge of a person’s care, having considered their clinical condition, their safety, and any relevant clinical guidance.

Decision-making on Scotland’s vaccination programme continues to be guided by the independent, expert advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI). The JCVI currently advises flu vaccination for all those aged 65 years and over, along with individuals who have specific underlying health conditions.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the JCVI advised routine flu vaccination for those 65 years and over, as well as those with underlying health conditions. Scotland followed this advice.

Our programme was expanded during the pandemic in order to protect the people of Scotland, the NHS and the wider health and social care sector, while it was under severe COVID-related pressure. The programme was expanded to those aged 55 years and over in 2021, and then to those aged 50 years and over in 2022 and 2023.

In winter 2024, as we moved beyond the COVID-19 pandemic, we reverted to the standard JCVI-advised groups and those aged 50-64 years were no longer included. This is in line with JCVI advice, endorsed by Scotland’s Chief Medical Officer.

We recognise that pulmonary rehabilitation is an important element in managing respiratory disease and it is already a key recommendation for all appropriate patients in NICE clinical guidelines, which we expect all NHS Boards to follow.

The Scottish Government has not provided any specific funding to NHS Boards for pulmonary rehabilitation. We provide NHS Boards with baseline funding, and it is for each individual NHS Board to determine how they utilise the resources provided by the Scottish Government to best meet the needs of their local populations.

There is no funding solely allocated to the Respiratory Care Action Plan (RCAP) in 2025-2026. However, a number of the commitments in the Plan are being addressed by work that is part of other Scottish Government strategies– such as the Cleaner Air for Scotland Strategy, Warmer Homes Strategy, and the refreshed Tobacco Action Plan - or by additional funding we have provided to NHS Boards on a broader basis to make improvements that apply regardless of condition. This means it is difficult to break down funding we provide to various areas and organisations that is spent on delivering commitments listed in the RCAP.

For example, we are investing a record £21.7bn in our NHS in Scotland in 2025-2026, this includes £200m to reduce waiting times, which will deliver additional MRI, CT, ultrasound and endoscopy procedures and supports the delivery of the RCAP commitment to improve and simplify access to appropriate diagnostic tests.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold the information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water measures the performance of its partner organisations through a structured framework that ensures alignment with its standards for safety, health and wellbeing, cost management, efficiency, and service excellence. Executive Director led Strategic Boards, and Senior Manager led Operational Boards are in place to review performance, and set direction for future strategic improvements.

The final decision on how protections for Priority Marine Features (PMFs) will be implemented will be made by Ministers after the proposed fisheries management measures have been consulted on and the responses analysed.

Whilst the legislation to be used is yet to be decided it cannot be done through the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 and use of Marine Conservation Orders (MCOs). MCOs can only be used to implement management measures in specific designated sites. These are nature conservation Marine Protected Areas, demonstration and research Marine Protected Areas, historic Marine Protected Areas and, any European marine site which overlaps these (either wholly or partly), which requires management measures.

The proposed PMF management areas will be fisheries closures with measures being introduced via a Scottish Statutory Instrument (SSI), allowing for Parliamentary scrutiny.

Extended producer responsibility for packaging funding will be paid directly to local authorities by PackUK (the scheme administrator) and it will be for each local authority to decide how it manages this funding. Under the Verity House Agreement, local government funding in Scotland will not be ring-fenced or directed, unless there is a clear joint understanding to do so. Similarly, council tax is a local tax, set and administered by individual local authorities, who had full flexibility in setting rates for 2025-26. There will be no reduction in the local government finance settlement as a result of extended producer responsibility for packaging payments in the first year of the scheme (2025-26)

Project Willow did not specifically examine the Aker Solutions study focussed on Equinor Refining’s Mongstad facility. However, both hydrogen for fuel switching and the development of sustainable aviation fuel (HEFA and e-fuels) are proposed pathways in Project Willow. The potential usage of hydrogen as a means of decarbonising via fuel switching is already being progressed by Ineos O&P at Grangemouth and is being supported by investment from the Scottish Government of £5 million in the form of grant funding delivered by Scottish Enterprise.

It has always been the Scottish Government’s intention that extended producer responsibility for packaging funding should support investment to improve recycling rates and reduce carbon emissions, especially during the early years of the scheme. Therefore, there will be no reduction in the local government finance settlement as a result of extended producer responsibility for packaging payments in the first year of the scheme (2025-26). The funding purpose - to pay for the cost of managing household packaging waste - is clearly set out in legislation.