Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government has demonstrated its commitment to the culture sector across Scotland with an increase of £34m in 2025-26 to the culture budget. The largest part of this is an additional £20m for Creative Scotland to provide core funding through its Multi Year Funding programme. This is a foundational moment for culture and the arts in Scotland which means that more organisations than ever, in more parts of the country, will benefit from the stability of core funding. 251 organisations have been successful in securing support, up from 119 currently, and a further 13 organisations will join a development stream and have the possibility of joining the portfolio of funded organisations from 2026-27.

I recognise of course that those organisations that have not been successful in the Multi Year Funding process, such as Cumbernauld Theatre, and their communities will be deeply disappointed. While these funding decisions have been for Creative Scotland to take, I am reassured that the small number of unsuccessful applicants will all be offered bespoke support from Creative Scotland.

I would encourage the Cumbernauld Theatre to continue to engage with Creative Scotland to understand the basis of this decision and take up opportunities offered through the transition support that they will be eligible for.

The primary reasons for the deer management activities on Scottish government-owned land is as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland

FLS culls deer primarily in order to protect, enhance and restore a wide range of woodland across the 640,000 hectares of public forests and land which it manages which can be damaged by deer overgrazing and trampling vulnerable habitats, preventing young trees from growing. The proportion of the cull carried out for ‘environmental protection’ purposes is 96%-100%. FLS also cull deer to protect grazings and crops as and when required. The proportion of the cull carried out for agricultural purposes is 0%-4%. They do not carry out culling for population control purposes.

NatureScot

The primary reason for deer culling on NatureScot-owned land is environmental protection. This information is not broken down proportionally.

Scottish Water  

The primary reasons for deer culling on Scottish Water land include for population control, environmental protection and agricultural purposes. This information is not broken down proportionately.

The Scottish Government has been actively working to increase the number of wind turbines on land it owns. The vast majority of the land owned by Scottish Government is occupied by croft tenants. Third party lease negotiations require the support of the crofting tenants and approval by the Scottish Land Court before the development can proceed.

Scottish Government does not directly use any electricity generated by wind turbines on land it owns. We do not hold information on the amount of electricity supplied to the grid.

We regularly monitor the performance of the organisation, including our managers, and have a comprehensive offer, in line with our Leadership Development Strategy, to develop the capabilities of managers at all levels to deliver ministerial priorities.

As direct imports into Scotland are a small proportion of food placed on the market in Scotland, Food Standards Scotland (FSS) funded surveillance is undertaken on a risk basis and will include imported food when certain goods, irrespective of origin, are considered a higher risk to consumers (for example smoked fish or raw milk cheeses). Imported food must meet at least the same regulatory standards as domestically produced food and the legislative basis for the import checks that apply is set out in what is known as “the official controls regulation” (OCR). The OCR is in process of being amended to implement the Border Target Operating Model which was published by the UK Government in 2023. Responsibility for enforcement of import controls and food safety standards (other than in certain meat establishments) is the responsibility of local authorities.

VAT is a reserved power of the UK Government. Under the Barnett formula the Scottish Government is not entitled to a proportion of revenues raised by the UK Government under reserved powers. Changes to the Block Grant are calculated by reference to UK Government spend in devolved areas.

The UK Government had initially indicated that funding raised from the removal of the VAT exemption on independent schools would be ring-fenced and applied to the budget for the Department of Education in England to increase teacher numbers in England.

Under this arrangement the Scottish Government would effectively have received a population share of the total funding raised under the Barnett formula.

Following discussions with HM Treasury we have now been advised that there is no ring-fencing being applied to this funding stream by the UK Government. While additional funding was applied to the Department for Education as part of the UK Government’s Autumn Budget, on which Barnett consequentials were received, we cannot confirm the extent to which this has been funded by the removal of VAT on independent schools.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with the UK Government, including the Ministry of Defence, with the aim of developing a solution that opens up the possibility of onshore wind deployment in the Eskdalemuir area whilst ensuring the protection of the seismological array. Any such development would be subject to the normal consenting consideration process.

The Onshore Electricity Policy Unit leads on Eskdalemuir related matters for the Scottish Government. Discussions within the Eskdalemuir Working Group are ongoing, with the Scottish Government aiming to publish a consultation on new draft Eskdalemuir guidance in due course.

Before any Scottish Government guidance is put out to public consultation, a series of related work packages must be completed and then approved by the Ministry of Defence.

As head of the system for the prosecution of crime as Lord Advocate, I remain accountable and responsible for every case, regardless of not being personally involved.

Prosecutors take decisions independently, free from political influence or external interference, relying on evidence and the law in accordance with the principles set out in the Prosecution Code.

It is standard procedure that the identity of prosecutors considering individual cases is not publicly known until a case progresses to court.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-34982 on 26 February 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