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Yes, the infrastructure upgrades for the Little Minch routes are being designed and delivered to improve services to and from Uig, Tarbert and Lochmaddy with the new vessels . When the port works are complete and new vessels are delivered to the operator there will be a routine period of familiarisation, including full berthing trials, before deployment on the route.

Writing the national Good Food Nation Plan required an extensive internal drafting process, co-ordinating input from across multiple areas of government. This is the first iteration of the Plan and so there was a large amount of feedback on the initial draft, which we had to carefully consider and incorporate.

It is our intention to publish the draft national Good Food Nation Plan for consultation shortly.

The Highland Council worked closely with CalMac, the contractor RJ MacLeod and CMAL during and after the vessel berthing trial on the 14 December 2023 when the issue with the new restraint bollards arose. An additional bollard to aid vessel operations was installed. Following a successful vessel berthing trial ferry services on the route resumed on Friday 22 December 2023.

CalMac have provided assurances that all traffic for Lochmaddy was accommodated on the Lochmaddy – Ullapool service, or offered space on the Lochboisdale service as an alternative. They have also confirmed that all traffic for Tarbert was accommodated on the Stornoway service.

The Uig second outage period was scheduled from 30 October until 11 December 2023, a period of six weeks. The vessel berthing trial of 10 December 2023 was not undertaken as outage works were hampered by severe weather; with the berthing trial re-scheduled to 14 December 2023. The Highland Council worked closely with CalMac during the trial on 14 however an issue was highlighted with the new restraint bollards and the re-opening was delayed until 22 December 2023. A press release confirming the delay was published by the Highland Council on 15 December 2023 – link is aside for ease of reference:

Second planned closure of Uig Harbour – Update 15 December | The Highland Council

The Scottish Government will publish a Framework to challenge men’s demand for prostitution and to support those with experience of it, early this year. The Framework will form part of Scotland’s collective approach to tackling commercial sexual exploitation and is cognisant of its links to Scotland’s Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy.

Once published, our focus will be on the delivery of the Framework, which will also improve access to support for women with experience of prostitution, with the implementation of it helping to inform any future legislative considerations.

The Scottish Government will publish a Framework that effectively tackles and challenges men’s demand for prostitution, and to support those with experience of it, early this year. The Framework takes a holistic approach, recognising the links to wider forms of commercial sexual exploitation and violence against women and girls - aligning with the refresh of our Trafficking and Exploitation Strategy and Equally Safe.

In parallel, and to support this approach, the Framework’s implementation will be supported by the creation of a new multi-agency stakeholder group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation. More details will be made available once the group has been established.

Following a successful vessel berthing trial on 20 December, ferry services resumed on the Little Minch route on 22 December 2023.

Scottish Government officials regularly meet all Health Boards including NHS Western Isles to discuss any challenges impacting services and to provide any necessary support.

Funding provided to NHS Boards is aligned to their NRAC shares of funding, which considers the population share of each Board adjusted for the demography including the relative health needs due to morbidity and life circumstances, and the excess cost of delivering healthcare to rural and remote areas.

It is primarily for the respective NHS Boards, including NHS Western Isles and NHS Highland who have a rolling arrangement based on associated financial projections, to negotiate and agree Service Level Agreements in the best interests of local people. Health Boards also regularly discuss and manage any associated issues in relation to service provision in visiting specialties, such as workforce and transport challenges.