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Addressing allegations of sexual misconduct is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.

Scottish Government funding in 2024-25 enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception, and Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government has increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £14.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013, with £1.64 billion being invested in policing in 2025-26.

Decisions on how these resources are allocated, including the deployment of police officers, is a matter for the Chief Constable, who confirmed to the SPA Board on 27 March 2025 that the “Scottish Government funding allows us to continue officer recruitment for a full time officer establishment of around 16,500, while modernising the workforce to release experienced officers from roles which don’t need warranted powers so that we can prioritise, maximise, and support the frontline to deliver for our communities.”

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39151 on 24 July 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 commissioned the Scottish Government's Centre of Expertise on Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC) to conduct research into the economic value of live cattle and sheep movements cross-border from the extended England-Wide Bluetongue restricted zone. Representatives from the Institute of Auctioneers and Appraisers Scotland (IAAS) supplied livestock valuations based on the latest livestock trends to establish an estimated value of regular monthly trade which could be affected by the movement restrictions. EPIC have also undertaken a supplementary study aiming to understand the impacts on Scottish livestock movements in response to the extended England-wide bluetongue restricted zone.

The Scottish Government has hosted regular meetings with representatives of livestock markets and other key stakeholders since the first cases of Bluetongue Serotype 3 (BTV-3) were identified in England in autumn 2024. This is in addition to attending regular meetings with industry stakeholders hosted by Defra at least twice a week, which includes market representatives. Scottish market representatives were also invited to meetings to directly feed into reports conducted by the Scottish Government’s centre of Expertise on Animal Disease Outbreaks (EPIC), which analyse the levels and value of cross border trade and the impacts on Scottish livestock movements in response to an extended all England- restricted zone. The Scottish Government continue to closely with markets, particularly those on the Scotland-England border, to seek innovative solutions to the disruptions from BTV-3 restrictions.

Each of Scotland’s enterprise agencies operates within a defined geography. Scottish Enterprise provides services to businesses and supports projects in areas of Scotland not covered by South of Scotland Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, alongside the services it provides on a pan-Scotland basis and internationally.

In support of the Budget and wider Public Service Reform agenda, the Scottish Government is proactively addressing the need to control workforce size.

From March 2022 to March 2025, the total workforce in the Scottish Government has reduced by 5%. This reduction has been achieved through prioritising reductions in contingent workers, natural attrition and enhanced recruitment controls. There are currently no plans for redundancies for this financial year.

As the Public Service Reform Strategy is taken forward we will establish how this will shape the future workforce plan for the Scottish Government organisation and the wider Civil Service.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39142 on 23 July 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.

While a patient has the right, at any time, to exercise choice and seek private treatment, we recognise that excessively long waits for NHS treatment are not acceptable.

We’re determined to reduce patient waits in the year ahead and our investment of £106 million additional funding will help us to deliver more than 150,000 extra appointments and procedures in 2025-26. The funding has been assigned to specialty areas for the year ahead where it can have the greatest impact against the longest waits – this includes £25 million for trauma and orthopaedics, £21 million for imaging, more than £12 million for ophthalmology, over £9 million for Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) and over £8.8 million for Gynaecology.

This funding is just part of our record investment of £21.7 billion for health and social care this year.

The commitment to deliver 40,000 additional operations and diagnostic tests was set out in the NHS Recovery Plan published in 2021. Progress reports have been published annually, the most recent being in December 2024: NHS Recovery Plan 2021-2026: annual progress update report 2024 - gov.scot.

In his speech on NHS reform and renewal in January this year, the First Minister announced that in 2025-26 the NHS will deliver of 150,000 extra appointments and procedures as part of the Operational Improvement Plan (OIP). This will be done through recruitment, extended working and regional and national working, including in the National Treatment Centres.

This additional activity will be backed by an additional investment of over £100 million this year. Activity will be targeted at long waits, ensuring that by March 2026 no one is waiting longer than a year for their new outpatient appointment or inpatient/day-case procedure.

As noted within the OIP, SG will report against progress publicly and to Parliament within 2025-26, using published statistics.