Chamber and committees

Our new strategy takes a fresh approach to tackling the inequalities that lead to suicide. This is reflected in our key priorities for 2023-24 which include a commitment to support new peer support groups across Scotland; drawing on the extensive feedback and evidence we considered when developing our strategy.

We are providing funding of £389,150 to the Scottish Recovery Network over the next 3 years to continue its vital work to build peer support capacity across Scotland. The innovative Creating Hope With Peer Support project is developing and co-designing peer support training with a range of community based suicide prevention groups and services. Our aim is to enable high quality peer support to be provided across the country for those in crisis, contemplating suicide or who have been affected by suicide.

The training will be piloted in winter 2023-2024 and rolled out to other groups and services across the country when finalised, helping to increase the number and range of people who can access peer support.

We are working with key partners to implement the recommendations of the 2022 evaluation of the first-year of the Suicide Prevention Bereavement Support Services. This showed how well the service meets the needs of family members, whilst also flagging a number of operational aspects (such as support for staff and young people) where further work would be helpful in order to inform roll out planning.

We are therefore investing a further £255,000 in 2023-24 to extend the pilot Suicide Bereavement Support Service until March 2024. This ensures continuity of service and we will use this time to gather further evidence about its impact. The final independent evaluation report is due to be published in early 2024. This will inform subsequent roll out of support for families bereaved by suicide across Scotland.

This forms part of our ambitious work on suicide prevention, which is underpinned by significant investment of £2.5m in 2023-24, and a Programme for Government commitment to double suicide prevention annual funding to £2.8 m by 2026.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-20718 on 5 September 2023. 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 second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) was published in December 2022, which marked the completion of over 3 years of detailed technical appraisal. It will inform the Scottish Government’s transport investment programme over the next 20 years and will help to deliver the vision, priorities and outcomes set out in the National Transport Strategy.

Recommendation 14 of the STPR2 advises that bus priority interventions are implemented within Scotland’s cities and towns where congestion is highest. In the case of the motorway network around Glasgow, Transport Scotland will continue to progress plans for the M8, M77 and M80, considering actively managed hard shoulders for buses like those already operating on the M90/M9 Queensferry Corridor and on the M8 eastbound approach to Hermiston Gait.

The STPR2 Delivery Plan is in development and will provide further insight on the programming of the recommendations including those interventions detailed in recommendation 14.

As set out in the answer to question S6W-17996 on 30 May 2023, due to budgetary pressures we are unable to provide a capital funding package to support the SEC’s proposed expansion package. To date there have also been no further approaches nor discussion with the SEC management team on this issue since it was raised with the Cabinet Secretary for the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture in April 2022. However, we continue to engage with the SEC and others on how the national event strategy review can build on the industry’s success, and deliver on government priorities. 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 .

We are aware of local authority interest in Compulsory Sales Orders and continue to work with them to explore the justification for, and potential practical operation of this tool. In the meantime, Compulsory Purchase Order powers are available, and are being well utilised to return empty homes into use. We have committed to progress work to reform and modernise Compulsory Purchase Orders, starting with the appointment of an expert advisory group in 2023-24.

The Scottish Government continues to recognise the valuable contribution that organisations like Glasgow Life provide to communities across Scotland. Whilst Glasgow Life is a registered charity, the Scottish Government acknowledges that it operates as an arms-length external organisation to Glasgow City Council.

Councils are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities separate from the Scottish Government. It is for Glasgow City Council to decide how to use their resources as efficiently as possible. This is both to best meet the needs of their local communities and deliver local and national government’s three shared priorities as set out in the Verity House Agreement: tackling poverty; transforming the economy through a just transition to net zero; and, delivering sustainable person-centred public services).

Scotland's Gross Fixed Capital Formation in 2022 was £34,384 million. This was 18.4 percent of onshore GDP in that year.

Public transport operators undertook detailed planning for the UCI Cycling World Championships.

With regards to the rail network, ScotRail ensured it was capable of meeting the demands of both competitors and spectators alike during the period of the Championships.

Specifically for the Argyle Line, many services were strengthened from 3 to 6 carriages, serving Dalmarnock for the Velodrome, Scotstounhill for the BMX venue and for general travel across Glasgow. Additionally, to take account of events at the Velodrome, on 6 and 13 August, all train services before 1000 hours and after 1800 hours made an additional stop at Dalmarnock Station.

The Scottish Government has not carried out work to assess the impacts of buddleia on Scotland’s forests, natural habitats and riparian areas. Due to the preference of the species for disturbed open ground, its impact on these areas appears to be low. It is not considered to be forest-invasive at this time, and as such, currently poses limited concerns for woodland management or creation. We will continue to record and monitor its presence in the habitat restoration plans we will produce as part of our work to restore Scotland’s Atlantic rainforest.

We understand that buddleia is only likely to establish in buildings where there is a lack of building maintenance. Investing in overall repair and maintenance, therefore, will reduce problems caused by buddleia. Historic Environment Scotland has produced guidance, on both building maintenance and on the effect of biological growth on masonry, which is freely available on its website.