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To 19/7/2025, £24.5m has been spent on schemes to reduce journey times between Aberdeen on the central Belt.

This includes £6.8m on the project to improve rail line speeds in the Barnhill area between Perth and Dundee. This was a nine-month programme of alignment work to replace a curved section of track by installing a new single line and also remodelling the junction at Barnhill by replacing switches and crossings.

The remainder of the spend has been on design development of a package of enhancements to improve capacity and journey time including: Signalling works, enhancements at Aberdeen, Montrose, Arbroath and Dundee stations, and freight loops.

The estimated cost of constructing all of the interventions necessary to deliver the project outputs sought by the project reference group is estimated at £242 million.

Delivery timescales for the project remain under review. It is planned that project delivery and thus benefit delivery will be staged to align with planned Network Rail renewals and other enhancement schemes such as Fife Electrification and replacement of ScotRail’s suburban fleet.

The Scottish Government has engaged extensively with the tourism sector throughout the development of the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act 2024, including through a national consultation and the establishment of an Expert Group chaired by VisitScotland.

Ministers are aware that some areas of Scotland are seeking greater flexibility in how the levy is applied and administered. Consequently, we are now considering how to extend further powers to local authorities, in the future, including the option to introduce a single flat rate or tiered flat rate model alongside the existing percentage-based approach. This follows stakeholder feedback and would preserve local discretion. Any future changes will be shaped by consultation and evidence and I will update Parliament as officials progress this work.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of clear public communication and is working with VisitScotland and other partners to develop guidance and support materials. It is primarily for local authorities to make visitors aware of any levy in operation in its area, given these can vary by local authority. Businesses must also make clear that any visitor levy is included in the total price paid by the guest or that it is liable to be paid directly to the accommodation.

 In Scotland, we have built a radically different system to change the way disability benefits are delivered. We ensure that the impact of fluctuating health conditions like PMDD have on people’s lives are fully taken into account when someone applies for a social security benefit.

For example, we have removed anxiety inducing and unreliable private-sector assessments which only offer a snapshot of an individual’s needs and fail people with fluctuating conditions like PMDD. Our person-centred approach ensures that the full impacts of a long-term health condition, including the impacts of pain and fatigue, are taken into consideration during the decision-making process.

The Sottish Government is committed to protecting and enhancing the social security system. We therefore welcome this comprehensive report and will carefully consider its findings alongside the Independent Review of Adult Disability Payment, which Scottish Ministers are committed to responding to by January 2026.

The shipbuilding sector plays a vital role in supporting jobs and driving economic growth across Scotland. We are committed to promoting manufacturing and innovation, and Ministers continue to engage with businesses in the sector as part of that commitment.

All cancers, including Sarcoma, remain a priority for the Scottish Government and wider NHS Scotland.

The Scottish Government published our Cancer strategy 2023 to 2033 - gov.scot along with an initial three year Cancer action plan 2023 to 2026 - gov.scot in June 2023.

Our strategic aim is to improve cancer survival and provide excellent, equitably accessible care. The strategy and plan take a comprehensive approach to improving patient pathways from prevention and diagnosis through to treatment and post-treatment care and will focus on reducing inequities in access to cancer care and cancer outcomes. This means treatment and care will be equally good for everyone, including for those with Sarcoma and we are taking action to achieve this.

For example, on 6 August we published the clinically reviewed Scottish Referral Guidelines for Sarcoma to help ensure the right person is on the right pathway at the right time. These guidelines support primary care clinicians to identify those with symptoms suspicious of Sarcoma and identify those who require urgent assessment by a specialist.

We do not expect to conduct a specific review for sarcoma care and treatment at this time.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38163 on 17 June 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.

Our revised Pathway of Maternity Care clinical guidance and schedule, published on 6 February 2025, sets out the core care that all women and babies should receive under a whole-person, individualised care approach which takes account of their specific circumstances. We remain committed to implementation of continuity of carer by mid-2026, under The Best Start, as part of our Programme for Government 2025-26, recognising that the evidence tells us that this approach will be of greatest benefit to women and families from minoritised and marginalised communities.

On 6 February 2025, we published our Tackling Racialised Health Inequalities in Maternity Care Action Plan, which outlines our next steps for both local and national action. This is supplemented by our Interpretation Toolkits, designed to support staff to deliver maternity care where women require the use of an interpreter. Our data and evidence resource provides NHS Boards with an overview of the sources available to support local improvement activity.

We have asked all 22 NHS Boards to develop and deliver against anti-racism plans, covering workforce and service delivery. Planning guidance issued to NHS Boards in September 2024 and identifies perinatal care as an early priority for action.

The Scottish Government Sexual Health and Blood Borne Virus Action Plan was launched in 2023 and places a large focus on how to ensure everyone who needs it can access good sexual and reproductive health. LGBT Youth Scotland, Scotland’s national charity for LGBTI+ young people, was awarded multi-year funding to support LGBTI+ young people. The projects aims to ensure that LGBTI+ young people have improved awareness around sexual health and wellbeing, and increased access to this information to address inequity in sexual health care.

Following a full submission of doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine hydrochloride (Xonvea®), for the treatment of nausea and vomiting in pregnancy (NVP), for women who do not respond to conservative management, the SMC | Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) published not recommended advice found here: doxylamine succinate and pyridoxine hydrochloride (Xonvea) in May 2019. The marketing authorisation holder did not present a sufficiently robust clinical or economic analysis to gain acceptance by the SMC. The SMC would welcome a resubmission at any time.

Where licensed medicines, such as Xonvea®, are not routinely available on the NHS in Scotland, doctors can use the PACS Tier Two system to request access on a case-by-case basis. The cost of the medicine is not a decision-making criterion.

The Scottish Government recognises the challenges people with Ehlers-Danlos syndromes (EDS) face in obtaining diagnosis and care. Diagnosis usually begins with a GP referral and may involve rheumatologists, geneticists, and other specialists. Hypermobile EDS (hEDS) is diagnosed clinically, while genetic testing is available for rarer forms of EDS.

EDS can affect people in different ways. While there is no cure for EDS, treatment and support focus on helping people manage symptoms and prevent complications. NHS Scotland provides multidisciplinary care through hospitals in Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Aberdeen, and Scottish patients can access more specialist EDS services in England via cross-border referrals if clinically indicated.

The City of Edinburgh Council has published detailed information on the implementation of its visitor levy scheme, including the treatment of advance bookings. The Council has committed to providing further practical guidance and support to accommodation providers, including a payment platform and training from March 2026. The Scottish Government continues to engage with the Council and the wider sector to support effective implementation.