Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government works together with the other devolved governments, Defra and the Forestry Commission as part of the UK Plant Health Service to reduce the risk from imported tree diseases and pests that threaten Scotland’s native woodland and commercial forests. As part of that service, the UK Plant Health Risk Group manage the UK Plant Health Risk Register and advise of new and emerging plant health threats with recommendations for actions.

Biosecurity measures to reduce risks from imported plant (including tree) pests and diseases have three main stages: Pre-border, at the border, and inland. Pre-border controls include phytosanitary regulations which can be used to ban commodities posing a high risk, for example imports of ash trees to GB are prohibited from countries where the damaging tree pest Emerald ash borer is known to be present. Plant health controls at the border include documentary checks and physical inspections, following a risk-based approach. Inland, monitoring and surveillance, including aerial surveillance, ground surveys and trapping networks, is conducted across forests and woodlands as a further measure to detect any potential incursions. A system of plant passports allows the internal movement within GB of regulated plants and plant products to be traced.

The Scottish Government funded Scottish Education Exchange Programme test and learn project enables Scottish colleges and universities to re-establish some of the opportunities Erasmus+ provided, which the UK Government Turing Scheme does not. In particular, to encourage the development of partnerships between institutions that could enable staff and inward exchanges.

The test and learn project has been developed with stakeholders from across the sector. Feedback from institutions to the working group has been positive and we have committed to working collaboratively on the project moving forward.

The project focuses on closing the shortfall between the UK Government Turing Scheme and Erasmus+. In year 1 the project did not directly fund any student exchanges. Institutions prioritised staff mobility projects supporting the development of sustainable partnerships.

Projects in year 2 of the test and learn are providing opportunities for disadvantaged students from Scotland, who are excluded from the UK Government Turing Scheme, to undertake an exchange.

These projects are live. Details of the number of students who participated will be shared after the projects conclude in March 2025.

Additional information on the Scottish Education Exchange Programme projects can be found on the Scottish Government website. Link

Scotland’s screening policy relies on recommendations from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific body that provides advice on screening policy to all four UK nations. To date, the UK NSC has not recommended Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) screening through the existing newborn blood spot test, and has stated it requires further evidence before a decision can be made.

The UK NSC continues to monitor and review the rapidly developing evidence base regarding SMA screening. Most recently, in November 2024, the interim results of a new modelling study into SMA screening for the UK context were presented at a workshop to stakeholders. The findings of this study, in conjunction with the proposed In Service Evaluation of SMA screening in some areas of England, will inform the UK NSC’s considerations regarding whether SMA screening should be recommended.

The UK NSC updates on significant developments regarding potential and existing screening programmes on their blog. This can be found at UK National Screening Committee – News and updates from the UK National Screening Committee

As set out in the answer to question S6W-33241 on 24 January 2025, Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland are developing a business case for the implementation of a targeted lung screening programme, which is expected by the end of February 2025.

Following receipt, the Scottish Screening Committee will be convened to discuss its findings and consider next steps.

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-32827 on 16 January 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

Nordic Horizons has not received any funding from the Scottish Government since 2018.

The number of cancelled operations under ‘non-clinical/capacity reasons’ is the most granular level of detail that’s provided from PHS’s website, breakdown as follows:

The current value of the fleet, as at 31 December 2024, is £2,381,991.

An individual business case, including socio-economic analysis, is prepared for each route being considered for decarbonisation. These business cases include technical and economic examinations of the case for of different types of rail traction including electric, bi-mode diesel-electric, battery-electric and other independently powered traction technologies such as hydrogen fuel cells have been considered.

A breakdown of the fleet by total purchase cost by model is provided in the following table.