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In 2022-23, Transport Scotland undertook a desk-based review of each Scottish local authority’s application process. Based on the findings, Transport Scotland provided local authorities a list of recommendations, including improved signposting, considerations for applicants requesting paper applications, regular updates on estimated waiting times and publicising the consequences of Blue Badge misuse.

Transport Scotland continues to work closely with local authorities, DfT and Social Security Scotland to continually improve the online application process. More recently, this has resulted in the successful introduction of new Social Security Scotland benefits and their eligibility towards Blue Badge.

The Scottish Government’s plans for woodland creation will also raise woodland cover to 23% by 2045. Scotland is leading the UK, planting 75% of all new woodland in the past 10 years. The Government will continue to use the Forestry Grant Scheme and other levers such as the Woodland Carbon Code to maximise the resources available for woodland creation.

The national Good Food Nation Plan and section 3(3) statement will be laid in Parliament before the end of the period of 3 months, which begins on the expiry of the 60 day period of parliamentary scrutiny.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38137 on 10 June 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.

Of the 44 public inquiries into renewable energy applications held since January 2020, 4 related to developments located within the Scottish Borders local authority area. Case references WIN-140-5; WIN-140-6; WIN-140-8 and WIN-170-2007 refer and can be viewed here: Scottish Government - Planning and Environmental Appeals Division (DPEA).

We remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 70% of these for social rent and 10% in rural and island areas, including new build, rehabilitation and acquisitions.

Backed by £768 million of investment this year, we are continuing to work with partners to increase the delivery of more affordable homes. We will report on all homes delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme via our quarterly official statistics. Official statistics for the Affordable Housing Supply Programme are available on the Scottish Government website at Housing statistics - gov.scot.

Local authorities, as strategic housing and planning authorities, are responsible for assessing affordable housing needs in their area and setting out their investment priorities in their Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs). These plans set out planned proposals for affordable housing supply over a five year period, and should be available on each local authority’s website.

From 23 March 2022 to 31 December 2024, a total of 26,039 affordable homes have been delivered towards the target of 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, consisting of 19,945 (77%) homes for social rent, 3,644 (14%) for affordable rent, and 2,450 (9%) for affordable home ownership.

The Scottish Government is unable to create a strategic Bitcoin reserve. As a devolved government we must operate within rules laid down by the UK Government and as set out in HM Treasury’s financial framework. These rules preclude speculating on currency movements.

We will update parliament in due course on the progress made against the recommendations set out in Project Willow.

For the majority of current or concluded Scottish Public Inquiries none have overrun their original timeframe since the Inquiries (Scotland) Rules 2007 came into effect. This is because Ministers have not sought to specify in the Terms of Reference a fixed date by which the inquiry must conclude, to ensure that there is no impediment to the ability of the Chair to follow evidence wherever it may lead, and that their independence from government is manifest to all those with an interest in the inquiry.

However, the exception to this would be the concluded Vale of Leven Inquiry. The Terms of Reference included a provision “to report by 30 September 2010 unless otherwise provided by the Cabinet Secretary for Health and Wellbeing”. The Chair of the Inquiry made an application to the Cabinet Secretary for the deadline for the report to be extended, with the final phase of oral hearing not being completed until June 2012. The Chair confirmed in the inquiry’s report that they “did not consider it possible to report by a specified date” explaining that “until the work of an inquiry is well underway any prediction about a time limit cannot be accurate and may be totally unrealistic”.

The current Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry Terms of Reference provide an example of how an overall expectation in relation to reporting timeframes can be set, whereby they include an expectation of the inquiry “To provide reports to the Scottish Ministers as soon as practicable”. How the Scottish COVID-19 Inquiry fulfils that expectation in practice is, under the legislation, a matter for its independent Chair.

In relation to costs, there is no single record maintained by Scottish Government of cost information relating to current and former inquiries. Costs are determined to a large extent by how each inquiry is run by its independent Chair and, for this reason, the Scottish Government does not set a fixed budget or cost limit for an inquiry. Under section 17 of the Inquiries Act 2005, the Chair is responsible for the procedure and conduct of an inquiry, and has a duty to avoid any unnecessary cost. Publication of information in relation to costs is undertaken independently by inquiries themselves.

Our Income Tax policy supports our progressive approach to tax, which balances the need of supporting households through a challenging economic period, while raising revenue to sustain our investment in public services.

We continue to deliver on our commitment to protect lower income households, ensuring more than half of taxpayers pay less than they would elsewhere in the UK for the remainder of this Parliament.

As part of the Tax Strategy published alongside the Budget, we are providing a period of stability for Income Tax for the lifetime of this Parliament which includes committing to uprating the Starter and Basic rate bands by at least inflation.

Whilst Employment Legislation is reserved, the Scottish Government has continued to use the levers at our disposal to encourage employers to adopt Fair Work practices for all workers including flexible and inclusive and family friendly workplace practices that can help reduce barriers faced by women in the labour market. Scotland has a lower gender pay gap across full and part-time earners compared to the UK and has been so since 2003.

We continue to closely monitor the impacts of our tax policy decisions on taxpayers, businesses, and the economy using a range of evidence such as real time economic data, formal evaluations and engagement with stakeholders, including the business community.