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Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) do not hold resources of their own. CPPs’ partner organisations direct and align resources they hold towards collective action in pursuit of priorities agreed by the CPP. These resources can take the form of staff time and expertise, premises and other assets, as well as financial investment.

The statutory purpose of CPPs is to improve outcomes on locally identified priorities; and CPPs are not required to report to Scottish Government on their use of resources. As a result, Scottish Government does not hold information about the value of resources partners deploy in pursuit of CPPs’ priorities.

The Scottish Prison Service are committed to treating everyone in their care with dignity and respect and do not provide the personal information of prisoners.

Any transgender individuals in custody are supported and managed through an individualised risk assessment and case conference process that protects their rights and needs, as well as the welfare and rights of others around them, including staff, in order to achieve an outcome that balances risks and promotes the safety of all.

We are currently reviewing the proposals put forward in the Climate Change Committee’s Progress in reducing emissions in Scotland: 2022 Report to Parliament and will publish our response in due course.

The second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) will inform the Scottish Government’s transport investment programme in Scotland over the next 20 years. The Scottish Government have set out 45 recommendations for future investment in Scotland’s strategic transport network, published on 08 December 2022, with 38 of the 45 recommendations already underway.

The scope and timescales of the rail freight market study have yet to be determined. However, a Delivery Plan to provide further insight on the prioritisation of the STPR2 recommendations will follow in the coming months, when there is more clarity and greater certainty on the available capital budget and fiscal policy for the coming years.

The Scottish Government has repeatedly made the case, to all relevant departments of the UK Government (in correspondence and in a range of established forums) for a guaranteed role in all stages of the negotiation and implementation of UK Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to protect and promote Scottish agricultural priorities. This is because, while the negotiation of FTAs is reserved to the UK Government, trade deals cover many devolved issues which have significant implications for Scottish agri-food producers and for our economy.

The Scottish Government had previously not been given full sight of relevant FTA chapter texts or supporting data from the Department of Business and Trade in the negotiation of the recent agreements such as UK-Australia and New Zealand deals. Through a recent information sharing agreement with the Devolved Administrations, the UK Government has now accepted the benefits of sharing greater information on trade negotiations, such as the agri-food elements of the agreement in principle on CPTPP accession.

We welcome this progress, and the Scottish Government will continue to work regularly and collaboratively with the UK Government in the interests of the Scottish agri-food sector, including by seeking further assurances from the UK Government about the agri-food elements of the UK-CPTPP agreement at the recent 17 April meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Group on Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

20 projects were funded through the 2022 Islands Programme resource funding to support delivery of the National Islands Plan. These can be found in the following table:

The Scottish Government consulted on proposals for a Circular Economy Bill - Delivering Scotland's circular economy: Proposed Circular Economy Bill - Consultation analysis - gov.scot ( www.gov.scot ). A Bill will be brought forward before summer recess.

The number of full-time employees and their pay scale for each Cabinet Secretary's office and Minister's private office are as follows.

The Scottish Government remains committed to the Orkney Internal Ferry Replacement Task Force. The timing of the next meeting will be agreed with relevant stakeholders in due course.

As I set out in my recent answer to S6W-16591 on 26 April 2023, the Scottish Government has no plans to reintroduce lynx or any other large carnivorous species into Scotland. However, the Scottish Government is aware that appropriate species reintroductions can be beneficial to ecosystems and restoring biodiversity.

Neither the Scottish Government, nor NatureScot, have carried out any formal assessment of any potential impact that lynx would have on livestock in Scotland.

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