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Notice is not required to be given as the beekeeper has a security pass and is fully security cleared.

The purpose of having bees at the Parliament is not to produce honey but to partially demonstrate our compliance with the biodiversity duty under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 which places a statutory duty on all public sector bodies in Scotland to further the conservation of biodiversity. The honey is a by-product from having bees and is sold at a profit minus any costs for bottling and labelling.

The Scottish Government See Hear Strategy, published in 2014 and endorsed by COSLA, sets out a framework where everyone with a sensory impairment, including older adults, should expect seamless provision of assessment, care and support. The recommendations contained within the See Hear Strategy are being implemented via local partnerships, including statutory and third sector partners, to ensure alignment with local priorities and approaches. Funding is made available to each local authority area to support implementation of the strategy. For the last five years, Aberdeenshire has received £15,340 per annum for this purpose, with Aberdeen City receiving a further £13,281 per annum.

Details of how this funding has been spent, including to support older adults, is a matter for the relevant local authority. Information on provision of optometry and audiology services to older adults with sensory impairments is a matter for the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership. This information is not held centrally.

Scottish Government also funds two projects through the Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund which support people in Aberdeenshire experiencing social isolation and loneliness due to sensory impairment.

- Grampian Society for the Blind, operating as North East Sensory Services (NESS) and based in Aberdeen (Moray), offers social groups and activities for people with a visual impairment. Over the period 2023-2026 they will receive £55,083.

- The British Deaf Association (based in Glasgow but covering Aberdeen) provides information and support to the deaf community, online and in person. Over the period 2023-2026 they will receive £71,794.

These projects support people of any age experiencing social isolation and loneliness due to a sensory impairment. However, the likelihood is that older people will be benefitting from these services.

From 2018 to 2023, the Scottish Government invested £28.75 million to build 55 new mobile masts in longstanding ‘notspots’, bringing 4G connectivity for the first time to communities and businesses across rural and island Scotland. The Scottish Government has also funded the creation of Infralink. This is a dedicated toolkit designed to help Scotland’s public sector organisations more easily leverage publicly owned property and assets in the rollout of new telecommunications infrastructure.

The Scottish Government has a contract with Office Papers to supply newspapers on an ad-hoc rather than a subscription basis. This contract was renewed in February 2022 to run for three years. Review meetings with the contractor take place on a quarterly basis. Business units making purchases under the contract are expected to ensure these are justified.

The current contract runs until March 2025. The usual tendering process is being run for the bee keeping services.

The beekeeper attends as is required and does not need to make an appointment as he has a security pass.

In the five calendar years from 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2024 134 mobile phones were reported lost or stolen. The Scottish Government has robust processes and procedures in place when mobile phones are reported lost or stolen. This includes removing access to corporate data and suspending or cancelling the mobile number.

As part of the Scottish Government’s commitment to reducing single use plastics, the use of plastic straws was discontinued in Scottish Government buildings in February 2018.

Since August 2022, there has only been one purchase of 1,500 paper straws in 2023 at a cost of £17.21.

Due to a change of catering contractor following a contract re-let, information is not available prior to August 2022.

The Scottish Government recognises the particular health challenges faced by those in rural areas. In addition to the support outlined in response to S6W-33562 on 3 February 2025, we have invested in a number of funding streams which have included allocations for community-led health initiatives in rural areas, including:

• £66 million in our Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults since 2021, with more than 4,800 grants made to local projects across Scotland over the first three years. Of these more than 900 grants were made to community projects supporting people disadvantaged by geographical location (including rural areas) - Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults Year 3 – Monitoring and Reporting Summary
• Over £65 million since 2020 to fund community-based mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children, young people and their families, including those in rural areas -

Independent-Evaluation-of-Community-Mental-Health-Supports-and-Services-April-2023.pdf

Access to counsellors in secondary schools and children and young people’s community mental health services: summary report - January to June 2023 - gov.scot

• Over £29 million of Community-led Local Development (CLLD) funding since 2021 to deliver over 1000 grassroots community-led projects across rural & island Scotland in partnership with rural organisations. Some of which have health related benefits ranging from mental health and wellbeing to physical health. Communities are empowered and supported to design and implement the solutions to the challenges and opportunities they identify in their local area, which may include community led health and social care provision
• A further £11.4 million in 2024-25 to support Community-led Local Development and similar initiatives in our rural and island communities.

Links to the most recent evaluation reports of each of these initiatives, including information on outcomes, are included above where available. A review of CLLD funding began in 2024-25, and will continue throughout 2025-26.

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