Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government does not produce estimates or collect data on the number of trees that have died and the age when this occurs.

All forests once established will experience some mortality and natural thinning through competition between individual trees. This will vary according to the planting density, management regimes, effects of pests and diseases, woodland type and location, and is an understood and accepted part of sustainable forest management.

However, any woodland creation that is publicly funded through the Forestry Grant Scheme is required to attain a specified stocking density when established, normally by year five, as set out in published guidance on the Rural Payments website at https://www.ruralpayments.org/topics/all-schemes/forestry-grant-scheme/woodland-creation/

Forest Research publishes data on forest yields and management information on the patterns of tree growth that can be expected in forests of different tree species, with varying growth rates, and when managed in different ways. This can be found at https://www.forestresearch.gov.uk/publications/forest-yield/ . These data, which factor in mortality rates, provide forecasts for the number of live tree over time and are used for example to estimate timber yields, forest biomass and carbon stocks, and the modelling of forest greenhouse gas balances.

Parliamentary question S6W-15763 asked “how many patients under 18 have been admitted to an NHS facility for vaping-related illnesses or disorders in each year since 2019”. At that time (March 2023) Public Health Scotland (PHS) responded that these data were not currently held. However, PHS are now carrying out work to identify the number of individuals with vaping related illness in Scotland and will publish figures in July 2023.

I’m very much looking forward to meeting with police officers and staff across Scotland as the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs.

My predecessor met with police officers at Wester Hailes Police Station on 14 December 2023 and was pleased to attend the Chief Constable’s Bravery and Excellence Awards at Tulliallan Police College on 10 February.

The Scottish Government is not required to hold this information. As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, I have asked Douglas Millican, Chief Executive, to respond. His response is as follows:

The average wait time for customers calling Scottish Water’s customer helpline between 1st April 2022 and 1st April 2023 was 19 seconds. The chart below provides information about how many calls were handled by Scottish Water in each year since 2016.

The results of the Health and Wellbeing Census Scotland 2021-22, and reports from schools and parents about young people vaping, are of great concern to the Scottish Government.

Vapes are an age restricted product and should not be sold to anyone under the age of 18. In October 2022 we wrote to all registered retailers of these products to remind them of their duty of sale and we regularly meet with Trading Standards on enforcement.

Our recent consultation proposed restrictions on vaping products and we are aiming to bring forward new regulations in 2023. Any action we seek to take will build on the regulations already in place to restrict the marketing, promotion and sale of vaping products to under 18s.

We will publish our refreshed Tobacco Action Plan this year, which will include actions to reduce vaping among young people.

We are reviewing vaping education for young people in schools and have also funded ASH Scotland to work with a range of youth organisations on the risks associated with vaping.

ScotRail has confirmed that 422 train carriages across the fleet have the capacity to store bicycles which equates to 1,506 spaces for bikes available on ScotRail trains.

There are 343 stations across the network that have cycle storage facilities available.

The Scottish Government’s Senior Responsible Owner (SRO) for the Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme (ESMCP) attended the Home Office ESMCP Programme Board on 22 March 2023.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to tackling serious and organised crime and strongly condemns the illegal practice of ‘cuckooing’ and the subsequent misery it causes victims.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the operational intelligence on incidents involving cuckooing. This information should be requested from Police Scotland directly.

The Scottish Government is working with partners on the Serious Organised Crime Taskforce to disrupt cuckooing and County Lines networks.

CalMac are focussing their efforts on the Ar Turas Go-Live event. However, TS officials have had an initial meeting with CalMac to investigate potential options for eBooking of multi-journey tickets. This is at an early stage. It is important to note the wider benefits that the Ar Turas System will bring for both customers and staff.

Wider fares policy will be considered as part of the Islands Connectivity Plan and future fares options will be considered through that process.

Please see the data requested on Police recorded forced marriage related offences in Scotland since 2016 in the following table.