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(a) Total FTE – 281.4, which includes (b) Part-time staff 64.4 FTE; and (c) 59 temporary roles.

It is important to note that as a registered charity, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh receives multiple income streams that contribute towards its headcount. This can include, for example, Scottish Government Grant in Aid, funding from research grants or self-generated income.

Information on funding provided to the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (RBGE) is available, within published annual reports and accounts. These are available at Accounts | Corporate Information | What We Do | Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

The Scottish Government does not have the powers to impose financial penalties on operators in the event of turbine failure.

If a failure results in a serious breach of health, safety, or environmental obligations, particularly where harm to people or the environment occurs, operators must notify the Scottish Ministers within 24 hours for developments consented under Section 36 of the Electricity Act 1989, including details of the incident and any remedial actions taken.

The Scottish Government will continue to actively engage with our partners and our farming industry through Autumn 2025 to inform the drafting of the first Rural Support Plan and to meet the requirements set out by the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 on engagement. This process will not involve the publication of a draft plan. The 2024 Act requires the Scottish Minister to lay a statement describing the engagement undertaken in respect of the plan at the same time as laying the plan. The Scottish Government intends to complete this process and publish the first Rural Support Plan in December 2025.

For further background I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39056 on 10 July 2025. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39888 on 9 September 2025. 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.

This information can be found in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh‘s (RBGE) Annual Reports and Accounts: Accounts | Corporate Information | What We Do | Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.

Under the North East Operating Company contract, there are no Payment Adjustment Factors applicable to delays to completion of work for unforeseen events outwith the control of the contractor, such as un-charted services and environmental/ecological issues. As such no contractual penalties have been applied for the completion of the repair and refurbishment work at the A96 Union Bridge in Keith.

The Scottish Government supports local authorities to meet the statutory duties stemming from Part 9 of the Community Empowerment Act (Scotland) 2015 through a range of guidance and collaborative networks, supporting and strengthening local expertise.

In partnership with the Association for Public Service Excellence (APSE), earlier this year the Scottish Government arranged workshops to provide a high-level overview of the legislative requirements of Part 9 and an opportunity for allotment officers to share best practice and network. As a direct consequence of positive feedback received from these workshops, ongoing networking and mutual support will be facilitated when APSE establish a specific allotment and community growing network in the coming weeks.

The Scottish Government has also published detailed guidance to assist local authorities in fulfilling their Part 9 statutory duties:

• Allotments: duty to prepare a food growing strategy – guidance for local authorities
• Allotments: guidance for local authorities – Introduction to Part 9 of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015

While the Scottish Government provides support and guidance, decisions regarding allotment provision ultimately rest with individual local authorities. As per the statutory duties under Part 9, they are expected to take reasonable steps to meet their obligations where specific demand for allotments is met.

The scoring process for applications is based on criteria that do not require information on whether the applications are creating new, expanding or reinvigorating existing growing sites. Since 2021 we have awarded over £491,000 to Green Action Trust, with 55 community organisations and projects across Scotland receiving a share of this funding.

Organic farming statistics for the UK are published annually by Defra. The following table shows the area of fully organic land farmed in Scotland since 2007: