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The information requested on how many midwives are currently employed on permanent contracts, broken down by NHS board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Employment over time tab, contract type drop-down).

The total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture and solution (1mg/ml) to the NHS in the last year (July 2023 – June 2024), broken down by NHS Board, are presented in the following table. Cost data are complete for all NHS Boards, whereas fees are incomplete as some payment elements are handled locally.

Table 1: Total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture1. Items dispensed in Scotland by NHS Board – July 2023 to June 2024

The number of FTE teachers for the 2025-26 school year will be confirmed following publication of the 2025 teacher census results.

Recruitment is a matter for the employing Health Boards, and the Scottish Government has no direct role in newly qualified nurse recruitment plans and processes. However, officials have been engaging with Health Boards and it is our understanding that Boards remain committed to maximising the opportunities for newly qualified nurses to find employment.

When a Health Board is unable to offer roles, they will often retain applications on file should future vacancies arise. Where a student who is ready to graduate cannot find employment with a local Health Board, I am aware that universities provide support and career guidance to assist students in the consideration of all employment opportunities within health and social care.

The primary responsibility for flood resilience rests with the individual property owner, and then it is for Local Authorities to develop Local Flood Risk Management Plans. Effective mechanisms to support response and recovery during and after extreme weather events are already in place, including regional resilience partnerships, and through the Scottish Flood Forum. Various lessons learned exercises were carried out by the responsible authorities following the responses to different storm events last year.

Later this year, the Scottish Government will publish a Flood Resilience Strategy which will aim to set Scotland on a long-term course towards a sustainable level of flood resilience in the face of increasing flood risks associated with climate change.

We have made a commitment, under the Nurture strand of the National Workforce Strategy to support leadership and talent management across NHS Scotland. We know that succession planning for senior roles is an urgent priority to ensure the continuity of service delivery and reform – and that we need to ensure we are also developing our pipeline of future leaders. We further emphasised the importance of this with the publication of Improving Wellbeing and Working Cultures in July, which set out our ambition to enhance working cultures through programmes of work that focus on the pillars of: wellbeing, leadership and equality.

As we face one of the most challenging financial circumstances since devolution, we are focussed on taking forward affordable actions that will have the biggest impact on progressing our priorities. Leadership learning and development will be delivered both nationally and locally, as appropriate, supported by the sharing of good practice and guidance across organisational boundaries. This will ensure that we continue to make appropriate savings while utilising the best of the resources we have to maintain high quality leadership in our NHS.

We continue support leadership and talent development at all leadership levels, delivered nationally by NHS Education for Scotland. This includes onboarding support for new NHS Chief Executives, including executive coaching, mentoring and peer learning opportunities, as well as support for identified aspiring chief executives.

We have looked to ensure best value for money from interventions supporting senior systems leaders, and are launching adaptive learning sets, utilising skilled inhouse staff to facilitate cross system peer learning. We have a range of free to access digital tools and resources that can be used by staff at any leadership level, including senior administrators, to support their personal leadership development.

We are continually reviewing our leadership learning and talent development offerings for leaders, to ensure that we both deliver on the need to make the best value of public money, while still ensuring that critical skills of leadership are continually supported and developed.

The information requested on how many vacancies there currently are for midwives, broken down by NHS board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Vacancy tab).

The Scottish Government is committed to decarbonising its passenger rail network and is continuing with the rolling programme of electrification as funding permits.

This is set out in Transport Scotland’s Decarbonisation Action Plan, which is planned as a dynamic document, with a refresh of the Plan underway. The refresh will examine the electrification programme, informed by progress with rolling stock procurement.

The route from Glasgow to Barrhead was electrified in December 2023. Electrification from Glasgow to East Kilbride is due to complete in December 2025. Plans to decarbonise the Fife Circle and Borders are in development.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27663 on 3 June 2024. 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 will continue to engage with the Beyond Oil and Gas Alliance, Fossil Fuel Non Proliferation Treaty and other international climate change initiatives as part of a wider ongoing programme of analysis and engagement with a range of organisations and stakeholders.