Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Programme Working Group has been considering interlinked vessel replacement and port infrastructure matters to develop the options for investment in ferry services to Dunoon and Kilcreggan. The review of services reported following the completion of the Community Needs Assessment work has been included in the ongoing business case work. Programme costs and budgets are currently being reviewed and will be included in the Outline Business Case which is expected to report in due course.

We are analysing the output from the consultation on the next NIFS contract and will publish this in due course, including the responses in relation to fares, which will help inform future fares policy.

It has been over a year since the extent of financial mismanagement at the University of Dundee first emerged.

Since then, the Scottish Government has worked closely with the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the University of Dundee to help the University chart a route to recovery, while clearly respecting its autonomy.

From the independent investigation led by Professor Pamela Gillies, the Strategic Advisory Taskforce led by Sir Alan Langlands, workshops with the University, expert advice and due diligence from contractors, and expert support and advice from the SFC and scrutiny by its Board, substantial work and resource has been deployed to support the University to create a path to recover.

In June, I informed the Parliament that the Government would make unprecedented use of section 25 of the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 2005 to offer up to £40 million direct funding via SFC to give the University the support it needs to identify and build on its strengths, engage fully with staff, and focus on income generation as well as reducing costs.

It has taken longer than anticipated to develop the stable leadership and focus required to move the university forward. This has affected staff and students directly, who have been living with instability and uncertainty in their place of work and place of learning.

However, significant advancements are now underway, and I can advise parliament that the SFC has issued the University with clear, fair, proportionate and achievable funding conditions. These have been published by the SFC (Board-Approved-Conditions.pdf) alongside a cover letter (Letter-to-Acting-Chair-of-Court-Re-Conditions-of-Section-25-Funding.pdf), and shared with the University's leaders and court.

The expert SFC Board undertook careful scrutiny and debate and concluded that the conditions as drafted are reasonable, feasible and justifiable, while providing essential assurance for the provision of additional public funding. Crucially, these conditions have been drafted to avoid any impact on the University's status as an independent autonomous institution.

These conditions do not yet provide a firm offer of funding, as the University must be given an opportunity to consider and feedback. The SFC Board is clear that the conditions set the appropriate balance, and the Scottish Government agrees with this assessment.

The University remains autonomous and responsible for its own governance and financial planning. The conditions provide an appropriate framework for this during the recovery period when it is receiving additional Government funding.

Following a period of engagement a formal offer will be made, and it will be for the University Court to decide whether to accept or reject. I will ensure Parliament is kept updated as the situation progresses.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-42074 on 27 November 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

The Scottish Government instructed ScotRail to carry out necessary recruitment to secure staff to allow ScotRail to deliver the best possible customer service to its passengers. Further to this, ScotRail’s staffing levels are currently at an all-time high.

These are operational matters for ScotRail as the train operating company. The Member may wish to contact ScotRail directly.

In addition, Office of Rail and Road publishes information on punctuality via its statistics portal, which the Member can access here.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that children and young people in Scotland are safe and supported in their online lives. We recognise the significant risks posed by harmful online content and the importance of robust regulation to protect children from exploitation, abuse, and exposure to inappropriate material.

We also recognise that real progress can only be achieved through partnership working, bringing together the knowledge, skills and expertise required to prevent and reduce the effects of online harm, informed by lived experience.

To help prevent violence, including online, and reduce its harm, the Scottish Government supports the work of multiple cross sector partnerships with justice, education, health and across communities. This includes the work of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, Medics Against Violence and Youthlink Scotland, who have collaborated to create a Quit Fighting for Likes campaign to support front line practitioners working with young people, to encourage conversations about their online experiences, including discussions on the impact of filming and sharing harmful violent content online.

In 2024, the Scottish Government established the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group - gov.scot, which comprises of operational partners, including Police Scotland, and other expert stakeholders from the statutory, third-sector, academic and service delivery organisations, to review current actions and agree where additional focus is needed to better protect children from abuse and exploitation, including online-enabled harm. This group’s overarching priority is prevention and will work together to identify priorities and actions to more effectively prevent, disrupt and provide support to victims of child sexual abuse and their families, including those facing online harms.

In January 2025, I announced the establishment of an Online Safety Taskforce to strengthen our approach to keeping children safe online, providing oversight and direction to work being undertaken across Scottish Government, and identifying what more can be done to protect children and young people. A responsibility that I and the Minister for Victims and Community Safety as Ministerial leads take very seriously.

The Taskforce is currently considering how engagement on the government’s overarching approach to online harm can be enhanced further to support a more joined up dialogue with stakeholders including the third sector and those with lived experience.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41873 on 27 November 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 question S6W-41869 on 27 November 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.

Ministers are not members of the National Child Sexual Abuse and Exploitation Strategic Group and therefore do not attend meetings. However, Ministers are regularly informed on the Group’s discussions and the Minister for Victims and Community Safety and I met with the co-chairs of the Group in October 2025 where we were provided with an update on its priorities, work to date and considerations on group-based child sexual abuse. The Group most recently met on 25 November 2025 and minutes of this meeting will be published on the Scottish Government’s website: https://www.gov.scot/groups/national-child-sexual-abuse-and-exploitation-strategic-group/

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41873 on 27 November 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.