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The inspection of independent schools as outlined in the question were carried out for the following reasons:

• "special inspections" which are generally in response to concerns being raised over the quality of provision for children and young people or safeguarding concerns being identified. HM Inspectors carried out inspections in independent schools in response to requests from Scottish Ministers.

• "post registration inspections" which, in line with Scottish Government guidance, should be carried out by HM Inspectors within nine months of opening. Post registration inspections continued to be carried out as soon as was practicable taking account of the impact of the pandemic. HM Inspectors carried out inspections in independent schools for post-registration purposes.

Since March 2020 HM Inspectors have focused on engaging with schools, colleges, and services throughout Scotland to provide support and contribute to the overall recovery of the education system. In academic year 2021-22, HM Inspectors engaged with over 400 schools and settings. This included visits to 112 schools, settings and services that were identified, pre-pandemic, as requiring a further inspection. It also included recovery visits to 148 schools and settings to learn about their own current priorities as they responded to the impact of the current pandemic, what was working well, and the challenges education practitioners faced. HM Inspectors carried out four national thematic inspections involving engagement with 148 schools, settings and services.

We are progressing the recommendations made in the independent Deer Working Group (DWG) report , published in December 2020. The Scottish Government response to the DWG report is at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/news/deer-working-group-response/

The recommendations that require legislative changes are being taken forward via the legislative workstream of the Deer Management Strategic Board which has been established under the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy Programme. The legislative recommendations will be implemented in this parliamentary session, as we set out in our 2021-22 Programme for Government. We will provide more detail on the timing of changes to legislation in due course. We expect to consult on any proposed changes to primary legislation in the normal way.

Regular updates on all of the work from the Deer Management Strategic Board can be found at the following website: https://www.gov.scot/groups/strategic-deer-management-board/

We continue to take forward a range of actions in schools, including the Mentors in Violence Prevention Programme, which tackles gender stereotyping and attitudes that condone violence against women and girls; and piloting a whole school approach to tackling gender-based violence with Rape Crisis Scotland and Zero Tolerance.

The Gender-Based Violence in Schools Working Group is developing a national framework document for schools to help tackle sexual harassment and gender-based violence. This will set out the practical prevention and intervention measures that can be used to ensure the safety, health and wellbeing of children and young people. This work is expected to be completed in 2023.

The review of the British Wool Board is being conducted by Defra in collaboration with British Wool and the Devolved Administrations. The review is intended to produce a set of recommendations for improvements to the current model which will be agreed by UK and Devolved Ministers. In part this will be looking at:

• The merits of the current model for UK producers and Administrations and what improvements could be made within the existing framework:
• An Assessment of the changes that would be needed to the legislation, along with a timescale for implementation

The final report and recommendations is expected to be completed and signed off by all Ministers by the end of the year.

NatureScot has provided the information below on the number of Deer Authorisations issued between 1 January 2021 to 31 October 2022:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11774 on 8 December 2022. 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

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-11493 on 26 October 2022 and S6T-00915 on 25 October 2022 respectively.

The answer to Topical Question S6T-00915 can be found here: https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/official-report/search-what-was-said-in-parliament/meeting-of-parliament-25-10-2022?meeting=13939&iob=126317#16180

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

On 22 September 2022 we published spending at Independence referendum Supreme Court referral: legal costs - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . Of that £113,824.04 was spent on counsel. There has been no spending on external solicitors. An additional £350 has been spent on Supreme Court filing fees.

We will be publishing updated costs of the reference in December.

The aim of the split is to allow a wide range of applications for different types of innovations, including for potential capital support which can be of higher cost.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11671 on‎ 8 November 2022. You can find ICIAs completed by the Scottish Government on the publications section of the Scottish Government website alongside other impact assessments.

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