Asked by: Whittle, Brian (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - South Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42980 by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 21 January 2026, whether any training is provided to (a) benefits advisors, (b) benefits assessors and (c) any other staff at Social Security Scotland on the importance of disabled people remaining physically active.
Answered by Somerville, Shirley-Anne - Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice
As noted in the previous question, S6W-42980, Social Security Scotland makes it clear on their website that disabled people are encouraged to improve their wellbeing by being more physically active, in a way that suits them, without it impacting their eligibility for disability benefits.
Social Security Scotland staff receive training on disability awareness, equality and trauma-informed practice, with in-house health and social care practitioners focusing on how conditions affect daily living.
Social Security Scotland does not provide training on promoting physical activity, as it is not a healthcare provider.
Asked by: Cole-Hamilton, Alex (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Edinburgh Western)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government by what date in 2026 it will the publish its renewed AI Strategy, and whether this will include a health-specific plan for AI in public health and the NHS.
Answered by Lochhead, Richard - Minister for Business and Employment
The Scottish Government will publish a new AI Strategy in March 2026. Building on the 2021 AI Strategy, it will outline the Scottish Government’s approach to harnessing the economic opportunities of AI.
Through the Service Renewal Framework, the Scottish Government and COSLA have committed to developing a framework for the safe, efficient and ethical application of AI across health and social care. This is expected to be published in March 2026 and will set out key requirements across the policy and regulatory landscape, define organisational AI readiness and establish a shared AI lifecycle model to support consistent, accountable decision-making across the system.
Asked by: Eagle, Tim (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the anticipated lifespan is of all of ScotRail’s rolling stock, broken down by class unit.
Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Cabinet Secretary for Transport
ScotRail currently operates a diverse fleet of 145 diesel trains and 203 electric trains. The typical design life of a train is around 35 years, although in practice this depends on the quality of construction and may be extended through appropriate investment in obsolescence management and effective heavy maintenance.
We are replacing ScotRail trains as they reach the end of their useful life. This is outlined in the Rail Recharged: Scotland’s Fleet Transition Strategy - Delivering a Modern Fleet for a Connected Scotland | Transport Scotland.
Asked by: Kerr, Stephen (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Central Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-42739 by Ivan McKee on 9 January 2026, what sources provided the evidence for the internal review to implement the 40% in-person working target, and whether it will set out what these sources advised.
Answered by McKee, Ivan - Minister for Public Finance
Details of the sources of evidence used by, and related advice provided to, the Scottish Government’s Executive Team during an internal review of its hybrid working policy have been available on the Scottish Government website since July 2025 at: Scottish Government hybrid working policy evidence and findings: FOI release - gov.scot. In particular, the sources of evidence considered are set out at annex 6 and advice in annexes 1 to 5 of that publication.
Asked by: Golden, Maurice (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answers to questions S6W-31743 and S6W-31744 by Alasdair Allan on 6 and 5 December 2024, whether it will provide an update on the (a) location of the remaining populations of grey squirrels and (b) population of Scottish (i) grey and (ii) red squirrels.
Answered by Martin, Gillian - Cabinet Secretary for Climate Action and Energy
Further to the answers which Alasdair Allan MSP provided to questions S6W-31744 and S6W-31743 on 5 and 6 December 2024, I can confirm that there has been no change to the estimated ranges given below.
The most recent review of the population of British mammals, published in 2018, estimated the Scottish population of grey squirrels to be between 249000 and 808000 individuals; and the Scottish population of red squirrels at between 181,000 and 444,000 individuals.
Regarding the locations of the remaining populations of grey squirrels they are broadly distributed within three main zones as follows:
The South of Scotland population stretches across much of Dumfries & Galloway and the Scottish Borders, although not continuously, as there appears to be a gap in the species’ distribution from approximately Moffat to Langholm. In the east, grey squirrels occur in a strip near the coast from the English Border up to Edinburgh and up the Tweed Valley north-westwards into South Lanarkshire, thereby linking the southern population with the “Central Belt” population.
The “Central Belt” population extends from South Ayrshire northwards to Glasgow, Lanarkshire and the Firth of Clyde, extending up to the south of Loch Lomond (including several of the islands) and the Cowal Peninsula and eastwards to include Falkirk, Edinburgh and the Lothians. Northwards grey squirrels extend up to Stirling and Perth, across Fife and Clackmannanshire and over much of lowland Perthshire and Angus up to just north of Montrose.
The isolated Aberdeen population is restricted almost entirely to the City of Aberdeen and is the subject of an ongoing eradication programme as part of the Saving Scotland’s Red Squirrels project.
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.
Asked by: Eagle, Tim (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Highlands and Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it is exploring the possibility of installing satellite Wi-Fi in rural railway stations that have no nearby mobile phone masts, and, if so, whether it will provide details of this.
Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Cabinet Secretary for Transport
This is an operational matter for ScotRail Trains Ltd. The member may wish to contact ScotRail Trains Ltd directly to obtain this information.
Asked by: Webber, Sue (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - Lothian)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it is ensuring that freight infrastructure investment is aligned with wider economic development zones and industrial strategy areas.
Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Cabinet Secretary for Transport
The Scottish Government works through established national and regional governance structures to ensure that freight-related infrastructure investment aligns with wider economic and industrial priorities. Regional Economic Partnerships and City Region and Growth Deals provide coordinated engagement between local authorities, industry, and national agencies, supporting investment in freight corridors, ports, and logistics assets. This approach is guided by National Planning Framework 4, which sets clear spatial priorities for development, including regeneration areas and energy transition zones where improved freight connectivity is essential to unlock economic opportunity. Local Development Plans are also required to align with these national and regional strategies.
The draft Infrastructure Strategy, published for consultation on 13 January 2026, further strengthens this alignment, highlighting the role of national developments such as Green Freeports, where public and private investment in transport and enabling infrastructure is coordinated. As part of the Green Freeports Programme bidders were required to show how seed capital proposals aligned with regional and local transport plans, regional Economic Strategies, Local Development Plans, and skills plans.
In addition, the second Strategic Transport Projects Review(STPR2), published in 2022, provides the evidence base for future transport infrastructure investment. It highlights the economic importance of safe, efficient, and resilient movement of goods to Scotland’s economy and the predominance of road freight. It also notes the need for the freight sector to support Scotland’s 2045 net zero ambitions, identifying opportunities to increase rail freight and reduce dependence on road haulage alongside advances in low-maritime, rail and road technologies.
Asked by: Chapman, Maggie (Scottish Green Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government how the Ending Homelessness Together Fund will be monitored to ensure that it delivers systemic change, including targeted resourcing to lay any essential groundwork for the "ask and act" duties with non-housing services.
Answered by McAllan, Màiri - Cabinet Secretary for Housing
The largest part of the ending homelessness together fund goes to local authorities to support the transition to rapid rehousing, including the roll out of housing first. The Scottish Government carries out monitoring to understand from local authorities how that investment is helping them to prioritise settled housing and reduce the use of temporary accommodation. We report to parliament annually on progress against actions in our homelessness strategy – most recently in December 2025 - and this captures the impact of our continued investment in prevention, rapid rehousing and housing first and other initiatives.
The Scottish Government is committed to full and successful implementation of the new homelessness prevention duties. The Housing (Scotland) Act 2025 includes a provision that Part 5 (homelessness prevention, including ask and act) should be commenced no later than three years from Royal Assent (given November 2025). However, we are clear that relevant bodies named in the Act do not have to wait for the duties to come into force to adopt the ask and act approach.
We provided targeted funding of £4 million this financial year for 15 homelessness prevention pilots, which will run until December 2026. Learning from the pilots will help inform the development of guidance and secondary legislation on ask and act and support smooth implementation of the new duties.
A further £4 million is included in the 2026-27 homelessness budget and we are working with stakeholders to identify the most effective use of this funding.
Asked by: Kerr, Liam (Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party - North East Scotland)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-08117 by Jenny Gilruth on 6 May 2022, whether the deliverables listed for the rail improvement project will be completed by the end of 2026; whether any are projected not to be completed, and, if so, which ones, and what the (a) original projected cost was and (b) current projected cost is of each deliverable.
Answered by Hyslop, Fiona - Cabinet Secretary for Transport
I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32369 on 8 January 2025. The Aberdeen to Central Belt Service Improvement Project arose from an agreement between Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeen City Council, and the Scottish Government which committed to invest an initial £200 million additional funding to help improve journey times and increase capacity on key rail links between Aberdeen and the Central Belt.
A timetable reference group was then established with stakeholders to agree the outputs and scope of the project thereafter.
Cost estimates will be developed through further design and subsequent agreement of the final scope of infrastructure enhancement works selected.
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.
Asked by: Wishart, Beatrice (Scottish Liberal Democrats - Shetland Islands)
Question
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the findings of the joint report by the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission, which highlights that unpaid carers are often involved too late in hospital discharge planning despite their legal rights under the Carers (Scotland) Act 2016, what steps it is taking to ensure that NHS boards receive clear training and guidance on involving unpaid carers from the point of admission, and how compliance with these duties will be monitored.
Answered by Arthur, Tom - Minister for Social Care and Mental Wellbeing
We have funded NHS Education for Scotland to develop three training modules for the health and social care workforce, to help them to identify, include and support unpaid carers. This includes highlighting carers’ right to involvement in hospital discharge decisions. These were launched in January 2024.
We have also funded Healthcare Improvement Scotland to improve practice on carer involvement across health, with a focus on carer involvement in hospital discharge.
The Discharge without Delay and the Home First approach is based on the Discharge without Delay Discussion Best Practice Guidance. This is the foundational document outlining how key interventions like Planned Date of Discharge should be implemented, and specifies the requirement to include unpaid carers in discharge conversations.
This is further demonstrated in our publicly available guidance on our Home First approach (https://www.nhsinform.scot/care-support-and-rights/access/home-first/), developed in collaboration with the DWD National Steering Group in 2024, makes clear that discharge conversations and assessments should include unpaid carers to ensure both the patient and carers are prepared for the next stage of the patient’s journey.