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The Scottish Government is aware of recent announcements from the banking industry to further close bank branches and withdraw mobile branch services. This is an unfortunate continuation of a trend witnessed across the sector to reduce in-person services in Scotland.

The regulation of financial services is ultimately a reserved matter for the UK Government. Recently they have legislated in this space, through the Financial Services and Markets Act, to grant the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) greater powers to protect access to cash in the UK. The FCA launched a public consultation on these new powers on 7th December and my officials are working to arrange a meeting with their Chief Executive, Nikhil Rathi, in early 2024. I look forward to discussing this increased regulatory remit with Mr Rathi and exploring what more can be done to ensure the unique cash and banking requirements of Scotland’s rural and island communities are being addressed.

The Scottish Government absolutely recognises the important role in-person services still play to our communities – particularly in rural and island regions. Therefore, myself, ministerial colleagues and officials have met with senior representatives from the banking sector in recent months. In these meetings we have expressed concerns about how branch closures not only impact the most vulnerable customers but also the dynamics of town centres, particularly when the last bank in town closes. I have also reminded banks of the social responsibility they have to the communities they are choosing to leave. The Scottish Government are committed to working constructively with banks, not only to ensure that individuals and businesses can access the services they require, but also to encourage banks to engage with the communities they serve and understand the concerns of customers who live there.

Following the inclusion of squash in the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics, squash will now be eligible for the UK Sport investment process. UK Sport strategically invests in the summer and winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and other major championship events to maximise the performance of UK athletes.

The Scottish Government is a strong supporter of Scottish Squash and recognises its contribution to raising Scotland’s profile on the international sporting stage, as well as promoting the wider benefits of sport and physical activity.

sport scotland, our national agency for sport, is investing up to £494,700 into Scottish Squash in 2023-24, an increase of 14.9% in investment from the previous year. sport scotland’s investment supports a wide range of activity that encourages and supports people to participate in squash at all levels, including school, club and coach development, and its performance programme. The additional investment in 2023-24 is specifically aligned to the continued development of a broader and more inclusive player pathway.

The Scottish Government is determined to ensure that Scotland operates to the highest environmental standards, and that we protect the strengths of Scottish agriculture and food production.

Regulation of genetic modification (GM) is a devolved area of responsibility. The Scottish Government is opposed to the cultivation of GM plants in Scotland, and any change to our current definition of what a GM plant is would need to be carefully considered.

The views of stakeholders in Scotland – scientists, farmers, food producers and manufacturers, but especially, consumers and the public as a whole – will inform what we do in relation to new genetic technologies such as gene editing.

We are aware the European Commission’s legislative proposal is currently undergoing scrutiny, and we continue to monitor its progress to inform this consideration.

The Scottish Government has not conducted any feasibility studies but Hybrid Air Vehicles produced the “Airlander feasibility study for the Highlands & Islands of Scotland” in September 2023. Hybrid Air Vehicles are a consortium member of the Sustainable Aviation Test Environment (SATE) project at Kirkwall Airport and the Airlander could be tested in the Highlands and Islands in the future.

Ministers will take decisions about where the funding is allocated in 2024-25 and future years subject to the outcome of the Scottish Budget process and associated approval by the Scottish Parliament.

The draft budget will be published later this year and will be the subject of Parliamentary scrutiny in early 2024. The Scottish Government intends to present the Draft Budget 2024-25 to Parliament on Tuesday 19 December 2023.

Support for the refurbishment of cultural assets, such as small-scale building renovations, accessibility improvements or installing fixed assets, can be accessed by individuals and organisations applying to Creative Scotland’s Open Fund.

On a select case-by-case basis, a Regularly Funded Organisation (RFO) by Creative Scotland may also be authorised to use some of its regular funding towards refurbishment costs. This would require the organisation to demonstrate to Creative Scotland how the refurbishment represents value for money, public benefit and supports the delivery of their overall creative programme.

The Scottish Government doesn’t inform the Met Office about landslips, as this is not an operational requirement of this UK Weather Agency. The role of the Met Office is to make meteorological predictions across all timescales from weather forecasts to climate change.

It should be noted however, The Met Office is one of a number of stakeholders the Scottish Government liaise with in the course of preparing responses to resilience and weather related events. The Met Office provide weather related advice to the Scottish Government, which in turn serves to inform our wider resilience response, including consideration of landslip risk in areas such as the A83, Rest and be Thankful.

I have asked Janet Egdell, interim Chief Executive of the National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

The Migration Statistics Quarterly Summary for Scotland (MSQS) provided Scottish-specific secondary analysis of the Migration Statistics Quarterly Report (MSQR) which used to be published by ONS. The MSQR - and therefore MSQS - have been paused while ONS are progressing a transformation programme of the population and migration statistics system. During this programme, there is limited migration data available at Scotland level, particularly for the headline measures of long-term international migration flows as well as migrant stocks. Once these releases are being updated regularly again, we will explore the options for reinstating the MSQS.

I have asked Janet Egdell, interim Chief Executive of The National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

These statistics are planned for publication in February 2024. The publication date has been delayed in order to incorporate the new census data.

It is for the Church of Scotland to make decisions about its estate management based on the changing needs of its own membership.

The Scottish Government has been engaging with Historic Environment Scotland, Church of Scotland and other stakeholders on the closures of historic and listed churches. We will continue to work closely with the Church of Scotland and leaders of all faiths and denominations, to regularly discuss issues impacting on their communities.