In the years of its operation, this valuable support has helped enable the construction of over 900 new croft houses and the improvement of a further 200 existing croft houses.

The Scottish Government has held informal discussions with a number of crofting stakeholders and these have informed the terms of a review of the croft house grant scheme launched on 7 January 2015. The Scottish Government’s proposals include a significant increase in the level of support to be offered.

The Scottish Government does not currently provide information to the public regarding public transport etiquette in relation to disabled people. Encouraging good behaviour on buses is primarily a matter for operators, including through their conditions of carriage.

The Scottish Government will continue to consider with operators and disability groups whether more could usefully be done regarding attitudes and behaviour towards disabled bus users.

Legislation governing technical standards for buses and the obligations of bus operators in relation to disability is reserved to the UK Parliament. The UK Government has no plans for changes to legislation to introduce such an authorisation system.

Legislation governing the obligations of bus and train operators in relation to disability has not been devolved to Scottish Ministers and remains a matter that is reserved to the UK Government.

Any wheelchair, mobility scooter or buggy larger than the reference wheelchair dimensions in the Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 may be too large to travel safely in the allocated space. In these circumstances, passengers should contact bus operators before travelling to confirm their policy in this respect as permission to board may be refused if the operator or driver considers there may be a risk to health and safety.

A number of major bus operators have signed up to a code of practice published by the Confederation of Passenger Transport which requires them on request to assess mobility scooter users and their vehicles and issue a photo ID providing a permit to travel if the scooter meets standard requirements in the code.

The Technical Specification for Interoperability: Persons with Reduced Mobility requires train operators to provide manual wheelchair spaces on trains large enough to accommodate a reference wheelchair, the maximum dimensions of which, including the occupant are 1200mm long, 700mm wide and 1350mm high.

Train operators are not required to carry class two electrically powered motability scooters, but some, including ScotRail do, provided these are not excessively large or heavy. Details are provided on request to ScotRail.

The primary responsibility for ensuring bus and train services are accessible rests with the operators of such services.

Legislation governing technical standards for buses and the obligations of bus operators in relation to disability is reserved to the UK Parliament. The Public Service Vehicle Accessibility Regulations 2000 (PSVAR) require new vehicles to have low floor boarding devices and state that any regulated public service vehicle shall be fitted with no less than one wheelchair space. All buses carrying more than 22 passengers and used on local services are required to be fully PSVAR compliant by 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Local authorities have powers to support bus services to meet local needs where the market is not doing so on a commercial basis and are also primarily responsible for the provision of infrastructure such as bus stops and bus stations. Funding for this comes from their general funding settlement.

Similarly, there is a requirement for all mainline trains to be accessible by 2020.

Legislation governing the obligations of bus and train operators in relation to disability has not been devolved to Scottish Ministers and remains a matter that is reserved to the UK Government.

The Conduct of Drivers, Inspectors, Conductors and Passengers Regulations 2002, place specific obligations on drivers, including allowing a wheelchair user to board a bus where there is an unoccupied wheelchair space, unless the wheelchair is too large or otherwise unsuitable or the carrying capacity of the vehicle would then be exceeded. Where other able-bodied passengers are occupying the wheelchair space, the driver should ask them to move. Passengers are not compelled to move in response to such a request.

The Technical Specification for Interoperability: Persons with Reduced Mobility requires train operators to provide manual wheelchair spaces on trains and ensure that these can be reserved in advance. Where an advance reservation has been made, any unauthorised person occupying that space will be compelled to vacate it. If however if no reservation has been made, whilst any able-bodied persons occupying the space will be asked to move, they are not compelled to move in response to such a request.

We are not aware of any plans for the UK Government to change these regulations. The Scottish Government will consider with operators and disability groups whether there is more that could be done within existing legislation to encourage able-bodied passengers to act responsibly when requested to make way for a wheelchair-using passenger.

An exemption from business rates for ‘shootings, deer forests, fishing and fish counters’, often referred to as ‘sporting rates’ has been in place since 1995-96.

The Scottish Government does not hold records of the amount of sporting rates collected, broken down by local authority area, but notes that UK Ministers advised the UK Parliament in 1994 that annual sporting rates income in Scotland were estimated at £2 million.

The warning letters stage of the Penrose Inquiry, which is a complex and detailed part of the process, is not yet complete. I have recently received a letter from Lord Penrose providing a progress update on the work of the inquiry. Lord Penrose has advised that the warning letter process is still ongoing, but he will be in a position to announce a publication date for his report as soon as that process is complete.

All persons who may be the subject of significant or explicit criticism in the report will receive warning letters. There is a duty of confidence in relation to the warning letters, so disclosure of the contents is not permitted. The obligation of confidentiality only ends when the final report is published, which prevents any discussion of the content with the Department of Health at this stage.

My predecessor wrote to Lord Penrose on 11 November 2014, asking if he was yet in a position to provide an update on the publication of his report.

A reply has now been received from Lord Penrose and he has advised that the warning letter process is still on-going but he will be in a position to announce a publication date for his report as soon as it is complete.

As the member will be aware, the Penrose Inquiry is independent of Scottish Ministers and it is for the Chairman, Lord Penrose, to decide on the progress and timetabling of the Inquiry.

My predecessor wrote to Lord Penrose on 11 November 2014 asking if he was yet in a position to provide an update on the publication of his report.

A reply has now been received from Lord Penrose and he has advised that the warning letter process is still on-going but he will be in a position to announce a publication date for his report as soon as it is complete.

As the member will be aware, the Penrose Inquiry is independent of Scottish Ministers and it is for the Chairman, Lord Penrose, to decide on the progress and timetabling of the Inquiry.