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Following our declaration of a national housing emergency in May last year, we set out a response plan to focus in the short term on housing supply. This includes delivering more high quality, permanent homes - growing the economy and supporting affordable housing as a vital public service through increased private and public sector investment across all housing tenures.

The 2025-26 budget allocation of £768m represents an increase of over £200m when compared to the original 2024-25 published budget of £556m. This investment will help tackle the housing emergency while contributing towards our target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032.

Alongside our Housing Emergency response work, the Housing Investment Taskforce will identify actions that will unlock both existing and new commitments to investment in housing – across all tenures – by bringing together key interests of investors and investees.

There are strong legislative protections that protect tenants living in the private rented sector, including the right to seek an independent adjudication of a rent increase.

It is critical that tenants are aware of their rights. We have therefore launched another wave of our Renters Rights Campaign to support private tenants understand their housing rights and exercise them.

I visited Salmar Aker Ocean’s Ocean Farm One, the world’s first offshore salmon farm, in Norway in August 2023, where I learned about high farmed fish survival rates, alongside reduced environmental impacts, made possible through farming in higher energy locations.

SalMar Ocean (previously Salmar Aker Ocean) has since met with the Scottish Government to discuss the consenting process for developing a salmon farm between 3 – 12 nautical miles.

Alongside work which builds on the fish farm consenting pilots aimed at delivering improvements to our consenting system, we have also been working to address regulatory gaps and to consider the long-term policy and regulatory framework required to support ‘offshore’ salmon farming in Scotland, as committed to in our Vision for Sustainable Aquaculture.

This includes our recent consultation on proposals to extend marine planning zones, to allow developers to submit planning applications for aquaculture developments out to 12 nautical miles to the relevant local planning authority. Results of the consultation are currently being analysed and will be published in due course.

Due to the innovative nature of the proposed development, Scottish Government officials and aquaculture regulators have met with the business to advise on consenting processes.

Scotland already has the strongest protections for tenants in the UK. The rent adjudication process is in place to protect tenants from above market rent increases and it is one of a number if protections tenants have in place. An appeal can be made to the First Tier Tribunal if a landlord or tenant is not happy with a rent adjudication decision.

Raising awareness of the strong existing rights tenants have is critical. That is why we have launched a further Renters’ Rights Campaign. This will support tenants understand their rights, how to use them and where to seek further advice and support.

The Scottish Government has engaged with individual tenants and representative tenant bodies and more information can be found in the Housing Policy Memorandum and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) .

Since introduction of the Bill, the Scottish Government continues to engage with tenants and their representatives.

The Scottish Government has engaged with individual landlords and representative bodies and more information can be found in the Housing Policy Memorandum and Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA)

Since introduction of the Bill, the Scottish Government continues to engage with landlords and their representatives.

The Scottish Government does not routinely disclose the content or source of any legal advice it has received on any topic or whether it has received any legal advice.

Scottish Government provide a wide range of training to Agricultural Officers to ensure officers have the suitable skills and knowledge to deliver their inspection duties. This training includes structured learning, job shadowing and the provision of detailed written guidance.

This training does not include modules on trauma-informed interviews and working with interpreters.

I discussed the subject of the HSE improvement notice at a meeting with the SFRS Chair and Chief Officer on 6 March. I received and welcome the reassurances provided that SFRS is committed to addressing the concerns raised through the formation of a working group to ensure robust management of actions planned to meet the requirements of the improvement notice. SFRS is engaging with HSE, local councillors, staff and unions on this subject.

The recently passed Scottish Budget for 2025-26 includes £412.2 million for SFRS, £47m of which is capital funding. In terms of capital funding this is a £4 million increase over 2025-26 which will allow SFRS to continue to invest in better facilities, property, fleet and equipment. Operational decisions on the allocation of resources are a matter for the SFRS board and Chief Officer.

The Scottish Government does not routinely disclose the content or source of any legal advice it has received on any topic or whether it has received any legal advice.

Agricultural Officers do not all carry out the same duties and the type of work is not evenly distributed across Scotland. This means a single reply applicable to every Agricultural Officer is not possible.

Resource planning information shows that agricultural wages inspections currently take between 5% to 20% of time for those officers who carry out this duty. Rural payments take between 5% to 60% of an Agricultural Officers time for those officers who carry out this duty.