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I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16363 on 25 April 2023. This set out which justice organisations received resources through the ‘Recover, Renew, Transform’ (RRT) Fund in 2021-22 and 2022-23, and how much each organisation received. A central aim of the Fund was to support the justice sector to address backlogs, by increasing capacity across the system.

Before the establishment of the RRT Fund, the Scottish Government had provided £12.077 million to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service in 2020-21 for the establishment of remote jury centres. By enabling jury trials to proceed at a time of strict public health restrictions, these centres helped to prevent the court backlog increasing further.

The 2023-2024 Budget allocates £42.2 million of RRT funding. This includes £26.5 million to the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service to support them in continuing to address the court backlog by maintaining enhanced court capacity.

We also allocated an additional £10.75 million to frontline support services during the pandemic, to ensure that they could continue to respond to the needs of survivors of gender-based violence at a time when services were under increased pressure.

The requested information is not held centrally. The Official Statistics on Police recorded crime include offences recorded under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991, such as section 1 on dogs bred for fighting and section 3 on keeping dogs under proper control. However they do not identify specific circumstances where an individual has been harmed.

This information is not held centrally. Criminal Proceedings data counts people proceeded against and convicted in Scottish courts. It does not include details of disposals relating to animals.

The latest population projections data for Scotland is available on the Office for National Statistics website . This includes various breakdowns, including by age group and single year of age. For ease, see the following table for the data requested on the projected population aged 65 and over up to mid-2050:

Firearm and shotgun licensing is an operational matter for the Chief Constable of Police Scotland. This information is not held by the Scottish Government.

NHS Ayrshire & Arran advises that no services have transferred during this period. The Health Board has an interim plan to transfer the three Intensive Care Unit beds to ensure safe medical cover.

Scotland's Blue Economy Vision has been developed from the fundamental principle that Scotland's economy is embedded within nature, not external to it. At its core, our Vision recognises that economic prosperity and well-being are underpinned by nature and in order to secure long term economic prosperity from our seas, we must transform our economy and society to thrive within the planet’s sustainable limits.

The marine sectors within Scotland's Blue Economy depend on nature but current trends in nature degradation place a significant risk on Scotland's economic prosperity.

Scientific studies indicate that fish stocks can increase in HPMAs, providing spill over benefits for fishers and making sure there are sustainable levels of fish and other marine products to be derived and benefitted from our seas. For example, a study by Lenihan et al in California has shown spill over benefits with increased stocks of spiny lobster.

As set out in our initial consultation, which closed on 17 April, any specific potential impacts can only be considered once specific site proposals have been developed, following close stakeholder and community engagement.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02113 on 19 April 2023 and can be found: Meeting of the Parliament: 19/04/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website .

The Scottish Government does not hold this data, however it is collected by the Scottish Social Services Council and can be found in their annual data report here .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02113 on 19 April 2023 and can be found at: Meeting of the Parliament: 19/04/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website .

The Scottish Government does not hold this data, however it is collected by the Scottish Social Services Council and can be found in their annual data report here .

Housing Benefit has been replaced by Universal Credit in all but a small number of specific circumstances. Recipients of Universal Credit need to notify their Work Coach of any additional income in a given monthly assessment period. A person’s income could increase, for instance, if they did additional hours or overtime in that period. Most recently, NHS Scotland staff received a one-off additional payment in their April salaries as part of the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay settlement.

Additional income reduces or stops Universal Credit but it is important to stress that everyone should be better off overall as the taper rate is 55%, so for every pound in extra payments, the person keeps 45 pence. Universal Credit will then increase or begin again if someone’s income reduces in the next assessment period unless, for instance, the higher income represented by the substantive part of the NHS Scotland pay settlement places them above the qualifying criteria for Universal Credit.

Spreading the one-off payment over multiple months was considered at the time the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay settlement was negotiated. However, it was not clear this would provide any advantage to the lower paid and indeed it may be more helpful to get the payment within one assessment period and return to a steady state following that.