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The Scottish Government’s commitment to tackling retail crime was reaffirmed in our Programme for Government, which makes clear our strong support for Police Scotland’s robust approach in addressing this issue.

The Scottish Government has commenced work on developing a multi-year Scottish Spending Review, which will deliver on its priorities in a fiscally sustainable way. The Government’s core priorities will sit at the heart of the spending review process, and guide how and where we will allocate funding.

Decisions on the future of the funding for retail crime, will be taken in the context of developing the 2026-27 budget and the Scottish Spending Review.

The licensing regime for offshore oil and gas is a matter currently reserved to the UK Government, with the North Sea Transition Authority as its regulator.

The Scottish Government is clear in our support for a just transition for Scotland’s valued oil and gas sector, which recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments.

That is why we continue to call on the UK Government to approach decisions on the North Sea on a rigorously evidence-led, case by case, basis – with climate compatibility and energy security as key considerations.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials engage with both energy industry bodies and the North Sea Transition Authority on a regular basis.

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is engaging Historic Environment Scotland regarding the future of HMP Barlinnie and whether any part of the buildings at the prison would be considered for listed building status. This is an important part of SPS’ considerations around the future direction of the site and sale.

The Scottish Government has not given consideration to a blanket ban on dredging or bottom trawling, however, it is standard management practice to put in place measures that limit these and other types of fishing methods for a variety of reasons relating to fish stock management and conservation management as required.

The Scottish Government is aware of opportunities to utilise hemp cake for animal feed in Scotland. There is currently no active policy with regard to utilisation of hemp cake in Scotland. We would encourage innovation from animal feed suppliers in Scotland which provide farmers with choice on animal feed while supporting efforts to deliver emissions reduction in the sector.

The Public Service Obligation (PSO) contract for services between Glasgow and Campbeltown does not include a limit on the number of flights that can operate. As with any PSO, the specification sets out the number of flights for which subsidy will be paid. This number is based upon anticipated demand. The airline is, however, free to operate additional services on a commercial basis if they wish.

Trade policy is reserved to the UK Government. The UK Environment Act 2021 enables the introduction of controls on palm oil, cocoa, beef, leather and soy in an effort to ensure that are not linked to illegal deforestation. Similar provisions have been introduced in the European Union. Through the ENRA (Environment, Natural Resources and Agriculture) research programme, the Scottish Government is directly funding work to develop sustainable feeding strategies that reduce reliance on imported soya.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39465 on 29 July 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.

At time of the transition to public ownership and control of ScotRail, in order to maintain service levels while minimising disruption to staff, it was decided that the contracts for the contact centre, finance and payroll which were delivered to ScotRail by a third party provider, would remain external.

The contract for the contact centre, which is coming to an end, has been awarded to Teleperformance Ltd, who will maintain the continuity of providing the service.

ScotRail will bring the abovementioned functions in-house, as soon as it is practicable to do so.