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Scottish Ministers have said they expect to spend at least the equivalent of the £97.1 million received inconsequential funding on Cladding Remediation, and will do so when it is appropriate.

The Scottish Government expects that the cost of cladding remediation work to be met through a combination of responsible developers assessing and remediating their own buildings, funding allocated through the Scottish Government budget, and receipts from the proposed Scottish Building Safety Levy.

We publish spend relating to the programme on a quarterly basis. Further information regarding this can be found at Single Building Assessment programme: spending information - gov.scot. The figures will be updated in due course to reflect Q4 2024-25 spend.

Our spending on remediation costs can only follow a full end to end process. This includes checking buildings are in scope, commissioning a Single Building Assessment, completing that robust technical assessment, identifying the works that need to be carried out, designing those works and gaining the necessary approvals, and then carrying out the remediation itself.

Investment in the programme continues with £52.2m allocated in the 2025-2026 Scottish Government budget to support delivery and acceleration.

Scottish Government officials met with environmental and conservation stakeholders on at least 55 occasions and with fishing stakeholders on at least 65 occasions in a range of different forums to discuss Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) from 1 January 2022 until 18 April 2025.

Applications for fishing gear, which is the subject of assistance through the Marine Fund Scotland, are considered against the aims of the Fisheries Management Strategy with further input where required from Marine Directorate fishing technology and science leads. Projects are also subject to Post Project Monitoring, where applicants are asked to confirm whether the gear has achieved the intended outcomes such as greater selectivity & sustainability.

The Scottish Government recognise that people in rural areas, particularly those who are vulnerable, can experience particular challenges in relation to their mental health, wellbeing and social care support.

Decisions around the provision of mental health services are a local responsibility and are delivered through a mixture of NHS, local authority and third sector organisations. Mental Health services will vary depending the local population needs and will be guided by clinical decision making.

While we expect service decisions to be taken locally, we have invested £66 million in our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults since 2021. The Fund has a strong focus on prevention and early intervention and prioritises a range of ‘at risk’ groups including those people disadvantaged by geographical location (particularly remote and rural areas) with over 900 awards being made to community projects supporting people disadvantaged by geographical location (including rural areas) since its inception.

Social care funding has been increased by this government to ensure quality care is delivered in Scotland. We expect all partners involved to work together for the benefit of people supported in care across Scotland and ensure the continuity of care for all those who need it.

While we are investing almost £2.2 billion for social care and integration we do recognise that there are particular challenges faced in rural areas such as the Highlands and despite substantial funding increases, significant these challenge remains – prevention, early intervention and reform remain critical to delivering an effective, efficient and sustainable health and social care system.

Scottish Ministers have statutory processes they must adhere to in developing and implementing fisheries management measures. As outlined previously in PQ S6W-29794, developing evidence-based and effective fisheries management measures for more than 160 sites and areas within the inshore region is a complicated and challenging process.

Developing evidence-based and effective fisheries management measures, and robustly undertaking statutory requirements, for more than 160 sites and areas within the inshore region is a complicated and challenging process. It is on a scale not previously undertaken therefore it is not possible to give a definitive timeline for how long it will take following the consultation as this will be impacted by a number of factors including: the length of the consultation, number of responses and the output of the statutory assessments. We are continuing to work at pace to ensure progress is made as quickly as possible.

We fully recognise the significant efforts that have been made by Forestry Land Scotland, Trees for Life, and partners to consult with local communities and stakeholders as part of the process to apply to NatureScot for a licence to translocate beavers to Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin in Glen Affric.

It is clear, however, that there remains considerable concern about the proposal among the local community and its representatives. In light of this and given we are now in the beaver kit dependency period when young beavers are reliant on their parents and trapping and translocation is not appropriate, NatureScot plan to undertake further engagement over the summer with those most likely to be affected before any licensing decision is made.

Takeaway meal containers (lunch boxes) and single use coffee cups in the Garden Level Restaurant are fully compostable, made from a fibrous by product of sugar cane.  Single use coffee cups at the coffee bar are made from paper, paperboard and recyclable materials and are designed for industrial composting.

Compostable items are placed in the food waste bins located throughout the building and are taken by a commercial food waste recycling company to the Anaerobic Digestion Plant at Millerhill just outside Edinburgh.

19 tonnes of food and compostable packaging were taken to the Anaerobic Digestion Plant at Millerhill in 2024/25. This represents 26% of our operational waste stream.

For the period of April 2024-March 2025, 36% of hot beverages sold were served in single use cups. And for the same period, 31% of sales made in the Garden Level Restaurant were in single use lunch boxes.

In partnership with our catering supplier we are implementing many measures to reduce the consumption of single use disposable items such as;

• continuation of the disposable hot drink cup charge to encourage colleagues to use their reuseable cups.
• Removal of disposable cutlery and placing collection caddies at each tea point to return metal cutlery back to the kitchen for cleaning
• Introduction of reusable take away food containers and various campaigns to encourage uptake.
• Actively exploring further options to support reusables and educating users on environmental benefits
• Holding a stock of reuseable hot drink cups for customers on a return basis
  

More information about our Sustainability Plan including waste minimisation is available on our website Sustainability | Scottish Parliament Website.

A domestic commercial fishing licence provides a general authority to fish within the UK Exclusive Economic Zone (UK EEZ). UK Fisheries Administrations operate a restrictive licensing scheme, this means that a regulatory ceiling is maintained on the total fleet capacity (engine power - kilowatts and registered tonnage).

Individual licenses have attached a defined value of tonnage and kilowatts which may be transferred (moved to another vessel/owner), detached from a vessel and placed on an entitlement document, aggregated or disaggregated. There can be multiple changes involved in one licence transaction, for example, transfer of vessel and/or licence between owners or Fisheries Administration and a change of vessel name.

Fishers also trade licence commodities across the UK market. It is important to note that this happens externally to the Scottish Government (and likewise the other UK fisheries policy authorities) and as such we do not ascribe a monetary value and do not participate in any financial transaction.

For the reasons detailed above recorded licence transactions do not directly correlate with the Scottish fleet and fishing method data provided in table 41 of the Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics series of publications.

We have provided the number of Scottish recorded licence transactions by year: