Seòmar agus comataidhean

Data from cull returns for the last three years is not yet complete, and in particular most of the data for the 2022-23 season is still outstanding. The following table is a snapshot of the latest position.

Evidence on behavioural responses is an essential consideration for tax policy decisions.

The Scottish Government is acutely aware of the risks and benefits arising from behavioural responses to changes in devolved taxation policy, and actively works with stakeholders, such as HMRC, and subject matter experts, to monitor and continually improve the evidence base to help inform policy development. We will consider opportunities to update Parliament in the future, when appropriate.

In line with our Framework for Tax, and to further transparency and public debate, HMRC and the Scottish Government published studies on the Scottish Government’s 2018-19 Income Tax reforms which showed limited evidence of Scottish taxpayers lowering their taxable income in response to increasing tax rates.

Alongside regular monitoring of the tax base, the Scottish Government also works with tax administration authorities to proactively consider and address any possible emerging compliance issues.

The Scottish Government has not carried out analysis on any association between local authority budgets and delivering waste collection and recycling services.

The Scottish Government has provided an additional £793 million to local government in 2023-24, which is a real terms increase of £376 million or 3 per cent. However, it is for locally elected representatives to manage the allocation of resources and the level of services that are delivered to their local communities, taking account of local needs and priorities.

Scottish Government continues to engage and support local authorities with waste and recycling operations. This includes our £70 million Recycling Improvement Fund, to support local authorities in improving recycling infrastructure and deliver modernised services.

This information is not held by the Scottish Government. Local authorities are able to purchase gift cards from the Love Local website hosted by Scotland’s Towns Partnership who are delivering the gift card scheme, working with local authorities.

The Scottish Government recognise that social prescribing can be an effective method of improving an individual’s physical, mental and social health. There is growing interest in social prescribing approaches in Scotland and we are currently looking at how we can help develop these further.

At its core, social prescribing is a person-centred approach to supporting people to address the underlying causes of ill-health and an understanding of the importance of non-clinical community resources in helping with these challenges.

The Scottish Government already provides funding to third sector organisations to deliver a range of services, including social prescribing.

A review of distribution and management options for American signal crayfish in Scotland was carried out under the Species Action Framework . This concluded that introductions of this invasive species can lead to permanent, adverse, changes in the ecology of fresh waters and that awareness and prevention are key elements for control of this species.

Control and eradication using biocides is expensive and only possible in enclosed water bodies, such as ponds, while conventional control measures for signal crayfish, such as trapping, are ineffective. The uncontrolled use of traps is likely to result in the spread of this species to new areas, therefore the trapping of signal crayfish is not permitted in Scotland for control or consumption. This position was reached as a result of the evidence gathered in relation to Parliamentary Petition PE01558 , in 2015, which concluded that allowing commercial trapping of signal crayfish, even as a control measure, is likely to lead to the expansion of its range.

An unintended consequence of selective harvesting is the increased growth and earlier maturation of juvenile crayfish, which can cause the population to increase. Maintenance of strict licensing controls and improved surveillance for illegal harvesting activity are essential. The keeping and movement of signal crayfish is prohibited in Scotland, except for authorised surveys or research, and can be prosecuted as a criminal offence. Scottish agencies work with Police Scotland whenever there are reports of illegal activity.

In 2019 SEPA entered into a Species Control Agreement with Forestry and Land Scotland to ensure biosecurity is enacted in all forestry activities in the Galloway Forest area, where a high risk of spreading signal crayfish within and out of the area had been identified.

Agencies such as SEPA and NatureScot also work with partners to promote biosecurity good practice through the Check Clean Dry campaign to prevent the spread of all invasive non-native species; key partners in this are Fishery Trusts, Boards and Foundations, the Scottish Canoe Association, Scottish Canals and the Royal Yachting Association.

The Scottish Government is not looking to revise the GP contract to affect the ability of GP practices to charge for voluntary completion of Debt and Mental Health Evidence Forms in Scotland. This is not work that could be considered covered by general medical services funding so if GP practices are not permitted to charge, there is a risk they will not carry out the work when requested.

The majority of civil servants are not allocated to work directly for individual Ministers as part of their roles in supporting and delivering the Scottish Government’s priorities. Work related to my responsibilities is no different.

I have one member of staff allocated to work in my private office.

Members of the public should report flytipping incidents directly to the relevant local authority.

Local authorities will involve other enforcement agencies such as SEPA and Police Scotland into relevant investigations as required, as they do currently, when reports are made through a local authority reporting system.

We arrived at our current target of restoring 20,000 hectares per year of peatland based on evidence from the Scottish Government’s second report on proposals and policies (RPP2) in 2013 which highlighted that it would be technically feasible for Scotland to restore 20,000 hectares of peatland a year.

Based on this the Scottish Government subsequently established firm annual peatland restoration targets in 2018 in its Climate Change Plan: third report on proposals and policies 2018-2032 (RPP3) .

We have adopted this as a target and in 2020 set out ambitious plans to invest more than £250 million over ten years to restore at least 250,000 hectares of degraded peatlands by 2030.