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The current value of the fleet, as at 31 December 2024, is £2,381,991.

2020 – 2 buildings £4,874,534

2021 – 5 buildings £6,605,939

2022 – 1 building £929,705

2023 – 1 building £290,018

2024 – 0 buildings £0

No energy efficiency projects were implemented in 2024 due to emergency budget controls.

We do not have any current plans to replace these vehicles, however when the vehicles approach the end of their operational life, a vigorous assessment will be conducted by our fleet management team to identify suitable fit for purpose replacements available on the open market. This will include assessing electric and any other zero or ultra-low emission vehicles as potential replacements.

The Scottish Government has a centrally-managed contract with Office Papers to supply newspapers on an ad-hoc rather than subscription basis. The contract allows for newspapers to be bought according to requirement and cancelled when not required, for example during Parliamentary recess.

On software subscriptions, the SG's IT Division, iTECS make use of tools such as our IT Service Management Tool and our Information Asset Tracker for monitoring software assets and purchases, which provides visibility into licence usage to manage compliance efficiently.

iTECS has an appointed licensing office whose role is to manage licencing, including taking regular audits of software and software usage to ensure compliance and value for money.

Software that is inadequately licenced, or out of vendor support, is removed from our network as its presence jeopardises our Cyber Essentials and other security accreditations we maintain.

Our central finance team also undertakes an annual exercise to track the continued usage of software assets to ensure that spend is current.

As explained in the answers to questions S6W-33501 and S6W-33502 on 28 January 2025, decisions on professional memberships, including assessing whether they deliver value for money, are made by senior staff in Directorates, Divisions and Departments. 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.

Whilst NHS Boards are encouraged to protect planned care, they must ensure that patients who require urgent care, including cancer treatment, are prioritised. In the case of Aberdeen Royal Infirmary patient cancellations have affected orthopaedic elective procedures. Where cancellations do take place, the large majority are routine procedures – although this should not underestimate the impact on the patient involved – and patients are rescheduled as quickly as possible.

To improve the availability of post-operative beds we are developing ‘Once for Scotland’ pathways, harnessing all opportunities to deliver patient care in the right place and closer to home, this includes maximising day case procedures to avoid any unnecessary stays in hospital.

This includes NHS Grampian’s bed base review to increase beds, which will reduce the need to board into planned care beds.

As part of our commitment for the decarbonisation of the Scottish Government vehicle fleet, our replacement policy since 2015 has been to consider the overall environmental impact of the fleet and actively reduce the emissions produced by replacing end of life petrol and diesel vehicles with zero or ultra-low emission alternatives where possible.

The total cost of gas and electric for Core Scottish Government buildings broken down by building type is:-

Number of hospital admissions of pedestrians injured is shown in the following table. The source is SMR01, Public Health Scotland, extract: January 2025.

The Scottish Government's use of official cars aligns with its environmental and sustainability targets through a focus on reducing emissions and promoting low-carbon transportation solutions. This includes key initiatives including the transition to low-emission and zero emission vehicles.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Operational decisions on matters such as this are for Police Scotland with oversight from the Scottish Police Authority. You may wish to contact them directly.