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In the past three years, SFRS has procured the following 4x4 and multi-role vehicles:

• 10x Ford Ranger Wildfire Units for dedicated wildfire management @ £44,050 each (£440,500);
• 4x Iveco Daily Wildfire Support Units for supporting and providing additional equipment to Wildfire Units @ £95,394 each (£381,576);
• 10x Polaris Ranger 4x4 All-Terrain Vehicles for dedicated wildfire management @ £33,450 each (£334,500);
• 21x Ford Ranger Multi-Role Units for use in rural communities, adverse weather, towing, and off-road access as needed @ £35,402.93 each (£743,461.53); and
• 8x Ford Ranger Ultra-Light Pumping Units for wildfire management at volunteer stations, road traffic accidents, and other operational activities as needed @ £123,043.40 each (£984,347.20).

All vehicles listed in the answer to question S6W-42094 on 26 November 2025 have been deployed except for two of the Ford Ranger Multi-Role Units (which are at the final stage of commissioning work expected to be deployed by next month) and the Ford Ranger Ultra-Light Pumping Units. These units required additional configuration from the supplier. As present, five of eight are completed, and all eight units are expected to be deployed within the next few weeks. 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.

In the past decade, Scottish public sector-led digital infrastructure programmes have enabled over one million faster broadband connections. Through the Reaching 100% (R100) and Project Gigabit in Scotland (PGiS) programmes, we are continuing to accelerate access to future-proofed full fibre broadband for those who need it most, despite Scotland having some of the most challenging terrain in which to deploy digital infrastructure in Europe.

The switch-off of the Public Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) in the UK is industry-led, with oversight from the UK Government’s Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), reflecting that telecoms legislation is reserved.

The Scottish Government is awaiting the final business case from the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) for a new pre-hospital emergency critical care replacement service.

The development of this business case has been a complex process and work is now nearing completion.

Once received, it will be reviewed through the relevant governance processes. Until that review is complete, it is not possible to confirm a commissioning date for the new service to replace Medic One. Interim arrangements continue to provide critical care.

NHS Highland received financial support from the Scottish Government of £49.7 million to deliver a breakeven position in 2024-25. This support is repayable once the Board returns to financial balance.

A breakdown is available from NHS Highland in their 2024-25 Annual Report and Accounts and publicly available Board papers.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) is a non-ministerial department of the devolved Scottish Administration. The NRS Chief Executive is supported by an advisory board in the effective discharge of their statutory responsibilities. It would not be appropriate for the Scottish Ministers to attend these meetings.

In the last twelve months, I have met the NRS Chief Executive on 11 separate occasions. The NRS Chief Executive also provides me with routine written updates.

Since May 2021, Ministerial oversight of Historic Environment Scotland (HES) has been led by the Minister for Europe and International Development until January 2022, then the Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development from January 2022 until May 2024. I took over Ministerial oversight of HES in May 2024.

In that time period, I have not attended any board meetings of HES. However, the Cabinet Secretary and Ministers have met regularly with the Chief Executive as is normal convention for non-departmental public bodies.

The Scottish Government offers a competitive non-domestic rates regime delivering in 2025-26 the lowest property rate in the UK for the seventh year in a row, ensuring that over 95% of non-domestic properties continue to be liable for a lower property tax rate than anywhere else in the UK.

The package of rates relief to support businesses and communities is worth an estimated £730 million in 2025-26, with nearly half of all non-domestic properties in Scotland paying no rates. This includes the Small Business Bonus Scheme (SBBS), the most generous relief scheme of its kind in the UK, which reduces the rates bill for small businesses by nearly £250 million as at June 2025.

The retail sector continues to be the largest beneficiary of SBBS relief, with 30,000 shops receiving SBBS, reducing their collective rates bill by £86 million as at June 2025. Overall, 34,000 shops receive rates relief, worth over £110 million, and half of all shops in Scotland pay no rates.

Decisions on non-domestic rates, including the poundage and any reliefs, are generally considered in the context of the Scottish Budget in line with other government priorities.

The figures above relate to the ‘shops’ property class, as defined by the Scottish Assessors. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property and does not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

The Scottish Government continues to offer a competitive non-domestic rates regime and the 2025-26 Budget delivered the lowest Basic Property Rate in the UK for the seventh year in a row.

Over 95% of shops in Scotland are liable for the lowest rate in the UK, and this is estimated to have saved them £11.5m over the same timeframe compared with what they would have been liable for under English rates (note that this is a gross estimate and has not been adjusted for any reliefs).

In addition, the Small Business Bonus Scheme remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK, and the retail sector continues to be one of its main beneficiaries, with 30,000 shops receiving SBBS relief, reducing their collective rates bill by £86 million as at June 2025. Overall, 34,000 shops receive rates relief, worth over £110 million. Half of all shops in Scotland pay no rates.

These figures relate to the ‘shops’ property class, as defined by the Scottish Assessors. Property class is a classification used by Scottish Assessors to describe the type of property and does not necessarily accurately reflect the actual use of a property.

The Scottish Government has considered the impact of single-year budgets on court backlog recovery and does not consider them to have constrained progress. Despite the challenges of annual settlements, the criminal court recovery programme has delivered substantial results, supported by over £181 million of targeted investment through our Recovery, Renewal and Transformation Fund since 2021.

The number of scheduled trials across all criminal business types is now below 16,000, compared to a peak of 43,606 in January 2022 - a reduction of over 64%.

While this demonstrates the success of recovery efforts, court modelling shows that criminal business has yet to stabilise. Solemn case volumes remain significantly higher than pre-pandemic levels, with current levels around twice those seen in 2019-20. COPFS plans to register approximately 600 indictments per month over the coming year, well above historic levels, further demonstrating the sustained increase in solemn business.

Future planning must also take account of major reforms, including the establishment of a standalone National Sexual Offences Court, which is expected to ease pressure on High Court and Sheriff and Jury courts.