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The National Flood Resilience Strategy sets out our vision for working with partners to deliver shared outcomes for people and places and supporting a broader range of flood actions where evidence suggests they can provide a positive contribution to improving flood resilience.

This aligns with our National Planning Framework 4 whereby blue and green infrastructure are supported as an integral part of early design and development processes; designed to deliver multiple functions including climate mitigation, flood prevention and water management.

Scottish Government consulted on policy proposals regarding water, wastewater and drainage in early 2024, with respondents broadly agreeing with the proposals that Scotland’s drainage system should be a combination of grey and blue/green infrastructure, with significant support for blue/green infrastructure. Sustainable drainage systems (SUDS) are already required in new developments, aligned with NPF4, and along with retrofitting blue/green infrastructure into urban spaces, can help make a positive contribution to flood resilient places.

The National Flood Resilience Strategy sets out a long-term vision for a flood resilient Scotland through to 2045, this will continue to require significant public and private investment.

Scottish Government already provides substantial funding to support flood resilience. Since 2008, the Scottish Government has made available £42 million per year to local authorities to invest in flood risk management actions and the 2020 Programme for Government committed an additional £150 million over the course of this Parliament for flood risk management actions. In addition, £15 million has been provided in the draft 2025-2026 Scottish Budget to support the delivery of the Strategy’s actions, wider flooding resilience and coastal adaptation work.

The Strategy will be delivered via an implementation plan which will be developed with partners over the coming months.

The National Flood Resilience Strategy commits to review available flooding budgets to assess how a proportion of flood funding can be directed to support a broader range of flood actions - including smaller flood protection schemes and property level flood resilience.

The Strategy recognises that in order to balance flood resilience actions across a range of locations, communities and situations it will be necessary to understand in more depth relative benefits. The Scottish Government is working with COSLA and local authorities to reform flood resilience funding and governance to maximise benefit to communities.

The Scottish Flooding Forum, funded by Scottish Government, already makes a broad range of resources available to individuals and households. These cover preparation and protection, what to do if flooding occurs, recovery and guidance on actions communities can take together. The SFF also have an online Property Protection Advisor tool.

If someone lives in an area that may flood they can also contact the Scottish Flooding Forum enquiry telephone line for advice, information and support to protect their property.

All of ScotRail and Caledonian Sleeper carriages are leased from private sector companies. The locomotives for Caledonian Sleeper trains are provided and operated by GB Railfreight Ltd. The cost of these leases and service provision is funded by passenger revenue and the Scottish Government subsidy.

The Scottish Government vehicle fleet, broken down by vehicle and fuel type, is provided in the following table.

The Scottish Government does not have a specific policy, however we don’t currently own or use personalised number plates on official vehicles and have no future plans to do so.

Other than Brussels, Scottish Government international network offices outside the UK are based in the corresponding British Embassy or High Commission. Scottish Government staff in these locations regularly engage with their UK Government counterparts, sharing information to ensure opportunities for collaboration are maximised and to avoid any risk of duplication. All our offices prepare business plans setting out priorities and activity for the year. Where possible we seek to collaborate around key Scottish events in the diplomatic calendar including Burns Night and St Andrew’s Day. Similarly, our teams based in Scotland regularly engage with the FCDO’s devolution unit and with various operational teams and governance structures to ensure a good flow of information.

In addition to contributing to our climate change targets and net zero ambitions by capturing and storing carbon, Scottish Government recognises that restoring Scotland’s peatlands will provide many additional benefits: including reducing risks of flooding and wildfires as well as supporting nature, biodiversity and improving water quality.

Scotland has a significant area of peatlands, and they are an important method of mitigating and adapting to the linked climate and nature emergencies. The Scottish Government has committed funding to restore 250,000 hectares of degraded peatlands by 2030.

No.The Scottish Government’s international network delivers tangible benefits to our people, businesses and institutions, and accounts for less than 0.02% of the Scottish Government’s overall resource spending plans.