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The Scottish Government takes the welfare of farmed fish very seriously and has already committed to exploring options for how to best to set welfare standards for farmed fish during production, as set out in its response to the Rural Affairs and Islands Committee’s recommendations (13 March 2025) following its enquiry into salmon farming in Scotland.

Funding was approved for the school programme of the Edinburgh International Book Festival on 28 March 2025, some months prior to the appointment referred to.

Edinburgh International Book Festival have confirmed that appointments to their Board for directors, which are unsalaried and unremunerated, follow fully advertised and formal open recruitment processes.

Officer wellbeing is an operational matter for Police Scotland. I refer the member to my response to S6W-35420 on 17 March 2025 and S6W-37984 on 9 June 2025.

The Chief Constable has stated to the Criminal Justice Committee that the wellbeing of police officers and staff is one of her main priorities. Police Scotland has made a £17 million investment in workforce wellbeing, which includes a 24/7 Employee Assistance Programme and enhanced occupational health services, to support officers and staff wellbeing.

Police Scotland has provided reassurance that they have a healthy recruitment pipeline and has recruited around 1,370 officers since the start of 2024.

Addressing allegations of sexual misconduct is an operational matter for the Chief Constable. The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

As the Agency Accountable Officer, I am accountable to the Scottish Ministers for the day-to-day operations of SPS, this includes, but is not limited to, legal compliance with the Prison and Young Offenders Rules (Scotland) 2011.

As defined in these rules, the Governor in Charge (GiC) must establish a System of Privileges, taking into consideration numerous factors, including security.

SPS remains committed to prepare those in our care for a return to their communities and, for some, this includes accessing personal items through various forms of media. However, access to watching DVDs is at the Governor's discretion and remains a privilege, not a right.

There are currently no plans to review this practice.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39151 on 24 July 2025. 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.

Scottish Government funding in 2024-25 enabled Police Scotland to undertake the highest level of recruitment since its inception, and Scotland continues to have more police officers per capita than England and Wales.

Furthermore, the Scottish Government has increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £14.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013, with £1.64 billion being invested in policing in 2025-26.

Decisions on how these resources are allocated, including the deployment of police officers, is a matter for the Chief Constable, who confirmed to the SPA Board on 27 March 2025 that the “Scottish Government funding allows us to continue officer recruitment for a full time officer establishment of around 16,500, while modernising the workforce to release experienced officers from roles which don’t need warranted powers so that we can prioritise, maximise, and support the frontline to deliver for our communities.”

The Scottish Government is aware of the changes introduced by the Scottish SPCA in respect to how it deals with the euthanasia of wild animals. The Society has assured the Scottish Government that it is taking every step to ensure that animal welfare is not compromised by its recent decision and that its National Wildlife Rescue Centre is operating normally and continues to receive animals in need of care.

The Islands Cost Crisis Emergency Fund is distributed as part of the General Revenue Grant to island local authorities which decide where, and how, funding will be directed based on their local knowledge and understanding of the impacts of the cost crisis on their island populations.

There is no requirement for local authorities to use an application process to distribute monies, although some may choose to. The Scottish Government does not, therefore, hold this information.

I recognise the importance of housing co-operatives and the need to support and encourage them. While we already have powers to make amendments to this section, given the importance of HMO licensing in protecting tenants in Scotland, any decision to make such a change should not be taken lightly, and certainly not before full consideration of any unintended consequences and mitigations had been undertaken. On that basis, the Scottish Government has no immediate plans to change the legislation relating to Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) licensing requirements.

England and Wales operate a different HMO licensing regime from Scotland.