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Compliance is assessed by the Marine Directorate in the following calendar year.

The first criteria for compliance for a vessel to have landed more than 10 tonnes of the eight named species. A vessel landing less than 10 tonnes total of the eight named species is exempt from the economic link condition.

To meet the landing target element of the economic link condition a minimum of 55% of all landings must be made into Scottish ports.

Vessels which do not meet the landings threshold must make a quota payback in order to meet their obligation.

Data provided by the Forensic Mental Health Service Managed Clinical Network to Scottish Government has advised that, from their report of week commencing 30 June, 15 patients with learning disabilities are being treated at the State Hospital. This data is not broken down by length of stay.

No Scottish vessel has failed to comply with the economic link licence condition since 2019. Twenty-one different Scottish vessels have complied with the requirements by making a quota payback in the same period.

While the deployment of police officers is an operational matter for the Chief Constable, it is for the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) to undertake risk assessments to identify and mitigate any potential risks to court users, court staff, Judiciary and justice partners. I can confirm that Police Scotland and SCTS to work in partnership to ensure that court security is maintained, whilst making best use of resources.

Non-compliance with the Economic Link licence occurs where a vessel has failed to meet the 55% landings threshold and failed to agree a quota payback.

Vessel owners are provided with the opportunity to query the landings data and the quota payback calculation.

There have been no instances of a vessel seeking to appeal the application of quota pay-back for not meeting the Economic Link compliance criteria since 2019.

The following table shows the share of the eight species landed into Scottish ports as a percentage of the total Scottish landings of each species. It should be noted that landings for 2024 are still management data and are not currently available for publication.

The Scottish Government is working with law enforcement partners such as Police Scotland, the National Cyber Security Centre as well as the financial industry in combatting fraud.

Police Scotland has established a cyber and fraud specialist division to enhance their response in Scotland, working with UK law enforcement and partner agencies. They will develop capability through cyber and online training, ensuring support and guidance for officers and staff. We encourage everyone to report suspicious sites to NCSC using the reporting tool on their website. We also encourage anyone who believes they have been the victim of a crime to contact Police Scotland.

The Scottish Government is in the process of conducting a review of the amended economic link license condition. This will be published in due course

All public bodies in Scotland, including National Parks are required to demonstrate value for money in the discharge of their functions via compliance with the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM) and Accountable Officer (AO) Framework. The use/publication of cost-benefit analysis as a tools to support and inform spending decisions is an operational matter for individual organisations to consider with the overarching financial framework of governance and accountability set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM).

Scotland’s National Parks generate significant economic benefits via tourism, employment and investment. Like all Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs), National Park’s Annual Reports & Accounts are formally reviewed by external auditors before being laid in the Scottish Parliament for public scrutiny. The Scottish Government has not routinely raised concerns about these formally audited records of public spend, and nor have concerns been raised by other bodies.