Seòmar agus comataidhean

The 2024-25 Programme for Government confirmed the intention to introduce Community Wealth Building legislation in this parliamentary year.

Parliament will have the opportunity to scrutinise a Bill following introduction, and I look forward to engaging with colleagues on how we can ensure the legislation has the maximum, beneficial impact for the people and communities we serve.

We have undertaken detailed analysis of respondents’ feedback to our public consultation, which has informed the development of Community Wealth Building legislation and our overall approach to Community Wealth Building as an economic policy with strong relevance to other policy areas.

As set out in our Draft Just Transition Plan, the Scottish Government is committed to supporting a long term and sustainable future for the Grangemouth industrial cluster.

Alongside the UK Government, we have jointly funded £1.5m to support the development of ‘Project Willow’ which has identified a shortlist of low carbon alternatives which could be deployed in the future at the Refinery site. These alternatives include low carbon hydrogen, eFuels and sustainable aviation fuel.

The work is due to conclude shortly and key outputs and recommendations will be made available via a public communication. As I set out in my reply to S6W-31864 on 10 December 2024, the Scottish Government will provide an update to Parliament on the findings of Project Willow in due course.

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 results and key findings report from the 2023 Scottish House Condition Survey (SHCS) were published at 9:30am on Tuesday 28 January 2025 and will be available on the SHCS homepage at: Scottish House Condition Survey - gov.scot.

A 12 month calendar of forthcoming official statistical publications is available in spreadsheet format at Official statistics: forthcoming publications - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government have confirmed that the replacement of the Eye Pavilion is a strategic priority and the 2025-26 Draft Budget has provided the necessary funding to allow the development of the business case to restart.

NHS Lothian’s Eye Pavilion replacement program had progressed to an Outline Business Case, the second of three approval stages, and therefore no Full Business Case or final estimate of costs has ever been produced.

We also do not yet have an updated cost estimate of a new eye hospital in Edinburgh, therefore it is not currently possible to answer this question. NHS Lothian are in the process of re-establishing the project team and will provide an updated forecast in due course.

The CARES allocation of £11.7 million for 2025-26 announced in the draft budget represents an increase on the budget allocated to CARES in 2024-25. Plans for CARES in 2025-26 will be informed by lessons learnt from the Community Energy Generation Growth Fund pilot. This fund supported community groups with up to £1.5 million to develop their own community energy projects.

The Scottish Government is committed to growing the community energy sector and communities are at the heart of our renewable energy ambitions. CARES funding for 2025-26 will include dedicated development funding and support to help communities with the early stage development of community owned energy projects, increasing the accessibility of community energy and helping to ensure communities see the benefits of our energy transition.

The proposed allocation of £15.9 million capital to the Just Transition Fund for 2025-26 announced in the draft Budget demonstrates our ongoing commitment to supporting a just transition in the North East and Moray and will enable us to build upon what’s already been delivered through the Fund.

To date, the Fund has allocated £75 million, supporting projects and communities across the region to create jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future.

The Fund sends a clear signal of our support, but we recognise that it needs to be part of a wider stream of investment from the UK Government and others, including the private sector, to deliver a just transition to net zero.

Local authorities are responsible for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes.

Five flood protection schemes were due to complete in 2024 and the relevant local authorities have advised that Millport Coastal, Upper Garnock and Stranraer are complete. Campbeltown and Hawick FPS are at an advanced stage and nearing completion.

STPR2 is a long term framework for investment in transport infrastructure, which will drive decision making for Scotland’s strategic transport system.

Recommendation 40 notes that safety, resilience and reliability improvements are made on both the A75 and A77 trunk roads. Progress on this recommendation is being made. Specifically, regarding the further investigation of the bypassing of Springholm and Crocketford. Whereby, technical advisors have recently been appointed to take forward the design development work for this section of the A75. Furthermore, signalisation of the Cuckoo Bridge roundabout is due to commence in March 2025. Moreover, there are works programmed for signage improvements in Crocketford and junction improvements at the A75 Haugh of Urr junction in 2024/2025 financial year.

Recommendation 40 also endorses a review of an upgrade or relocation of Stranraer Railway Station. Transport Scotland and Network Rail continue to engage with the community and wider rail industry partners as these plans develop. Any future changes to the railway station will require a robust business case, available funding and the following of standard railway industry processes.

Regarding part (b) of the question, as announced in the Draft Budget statement on 4 December, we will invest more than £2.6 billion in 2025-26 to support public transport across Scotland and make our public transport system more available and accessible for all.

The Scottish Government is committed to keeping the public transport as affordable as possible for the users through a range of measures which help incentivise and maximise use.

Members and the public are encouraged to use clips from Parliament TV on social media. This is an effective mechanism for sharing information about the work of Members and reaching new audiences.   

This material should not be used for party political purposes. This is set out in the Parliament’s copyright policy and license which governs the use of Parliament TV clips.  These restrictions apply to anyone using our clips, not only Members.    

The SPCB last considered this matter in April of this year when it agreed new guidance for Members and their staff on the use of clips for social media.    

The guidance was subsequently published in May 2024 and includes illustrative examples of what is and isn’t acceptable in line with both the copyright policy and the policy for MSPs’ on the use of parliamentary resources.  The material can be used to make a fair and accurate report of parliamentary proceedings and should not be edited, added to, distorted or digitally manipulated except to add accessibility features.  

SPCB policies and guidance are kept under review. Feedback is welcome so we can ensure they are as clear and useful to Members as possible.

The Rail and Sail service is managed by Stena Line who makes decisions regarding the provision of the service on a commercial basis. There have been no meetings, since 1 April 2022, including all parties mentioned by the Member in their question.