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The Scottish Government is committed to achieving fair and equal political representation in the Parliament and local government. Since the 2021 Parliamentary Election, women account for 45% of MSPs, with two women of minority ethnic background for the first time in history. This is the highest percentage of women MSPs since the Scottish Parliament was re-convened in 1999. At a local level, women account for 35% of councillors, the highest percentage of women councillors to date.

In their first report in 2018, the National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) recommended the introduction of gender quotas into legislation to address the lack of gender parity. The Scottish Government accepted the recommendation. Although this is currently out with the competence of the Scottish Parliament, Scottish Ministers will continue to call on the UK Government to introduce gender quotas themselves or give Scotland the power to do so. A scoping review of international practice in relation to candidate quotas has been prepared and will be published on the Scottish Government website in 2023.

To mitigate the lack of devolved powers, the Scottish Government will continue to support non-legislative actions to increase women’s representation.

Through our Equality and Human Rights Fund (2021 – 2024), we fund several projects designed to support women through their political journeys. We are providing £305,888 over three years to Elect-Her, who work to support and equip women to stand for political office, through hands-on workshop and peer-support circles. 57 women were supported by Elect-Her in the 2022 Scottish Local Authority Elections, with 27 women winning their elections. We are also supporting the Young Women Lead Programme, which provides a safe space for up to 100 young women under 30 to explore gender equality and develop new and innovative ways to lead change.

We know from existing research that targeted work with political parties is essential if we want to dismantle the barriers that women face in politics. The Scottish Government provides £82,798.94 to Engender to progress the Equal Representation project. The project post works with political parties to increase the representation of diverse women and to progress a second phase of work with the Equal Representation Coalition. The Coalition developed a toolkit for political parties to assess their diversity and policies around inclusion. Parties receive an individualised action plan to improve the participation of under-represented groups.

The Scottish Government funds a post based in CoSLA until March 2024, to support the work of the Cross-Party Barriers to Elected Office Special Interest Group. The group involves elected members from each of COSLA’s Political Groups, and seeks to identify changes in culture and practices, and support our ambition to deliver greater equality and diversity within local democracy.

We recognise that councillor pay may be a barrier to people standing to become a councillor. The Scottish Government and COSLA have jointly committed to undertake an independent review of Councillor remuneration. The inaugural meeting of the Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee (SLARC) was held in April 2023. A report with recommendations for Ministers will be published at the end of November 2023.

The Scottish Government has worked with stakeholders to improve the availability of data on the diversity of election candidates and elected representatives in Scotland. We conducted a survey on diversity in political representation at the 2022 local council elections which will help inform next steps around the diversity agenda. The Local Government Candidates Survey 2022 was published in November 2022.

The survey suggests that of those who responded (around 28% of candidates in the elections), 40% identified as female. This figure is lower than the National Records of Scotland data for the entire Scottish population, which records 52% of the population identifying as female. A significantly higher proportion of candidates identified as male in the 18-24, 25-35 and 65+ ranges compared to the overall Scottish population for those age groups. In contrast, the age groups between 35 and 64 showed much less notable gender imbalance, both with regards to those who were successful at election and those that were unsuccessful, as compared to the overall population.

In total, 57% of successfully elected candidates who responded to the survey identified as male, and 42% as female. 60% of unsuccessful candidates identified as male, and 38% female. The survey data suggests that those identifying as female made up a higher percentage of elected candidate respondents with a limiting condition (54%). Note that these are not the figures for all candidates in 2022, only those who responded to the survey.

The proportion of female local government candidates rose by only four percentage points between 1999 and the 2017 local government elections, from 26.8% to 30.5%.

The SFC’s Fiscal Sustainability Report is an important contribution to the debate on fiscal sustainability and highlights potential impacts of demographic change on the Scottish public finances over the next fifty years. These challenges are not unique to Scotland, and are prevalent in many high-income countries. However, Scotland lacks a full range of levers to deal with these in the way that other countries can, particularly over migration.

Within the powers at its disposal, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring the public finances are on a sustainable trajectory. This will mean growing our economy and by extension our tax base, and embedding delivery and value for money at the heart of our public services. Central to this will be overseeing public service reform, focused on delivering more efficient, person-centred public services. The Fiscal Framework review will also be vital and must ensure the Scottish Government and Parliament has the necessary powers to manage the risks we face within our devolved responsibilities, and to support economic recovery. The Scottish Government’s approach to managing the public finances over the medium-term is set out in the Medium Term Financial Strategy, due to be published in May 2023.

In 2023 we will also launch a new Talent Attraction and Migration Service for Scotland, and publish an Addressing Depopulation Action Plan. And we will continue to press the UK Government to make the vital immigration reforms required to meet Scotland’s needs.

While the Scottish Government will continue to manage the public finances diligently with the powers we have, it is our view that the current constitutional settlement is insufficient to properly tackle the long-term challenges that Scotland faces. Ultimately, Scotland must be independent with full control over the economy and powers over migration to secure the stability of our public finances.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16686 on 28 April 2023. 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 .

Transport Scotland is unable to estimate the annual daily traffic flow (AADT) for the entire A1 trunk road within the Scottish Borders. However, the following table provides the AADT taken from the two traffic counters Transport Scotland operate on the A1 trunk road in the Scottish Borders.

As non-executive directors (NXDs) are not employees of the Scottish Government but appointees of the Permanent Secretary, they are remunerated through the payment of quarterly Fees as opposed salaries. Alongside receiving quarterly Fees for their services, NXDs are also entitled to be reimbursed for relevant travel and accommodation expenses in line with the Scottish Government’s Travel and Subsistence policy.

Remuneration of NXD Fees and Expenses in each year since 2016:

Lambing and calving are now underway in many parts of Scotland and it is troubling to see reports on social media of irresponsible behaviour by dog owners. The Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021 has been in force for over a year and provides Police Scotland and the courts with greater powers to deal with those who allow their dogs to worry, attack or kill livestock in Scotland’s countryside.

We want everyone, including dog owners, to enjoy their right to access Scotland’s stunning countryside and landscapes responsibly. I would encourage people to familiarise and remind themselves of the Scottish Outdoor Access Code and to exercise caution and vigilance when in and around farms and fields with livestock to help prevent livestock worrying incidents.

HIV Scotland, along with all our third sector organisations, have made a significant contribution to Scotland’s goal of eliminating HIV Transmissions by 2030.

We were saddened to hear of the decision to close the organisation, and thank HIV Scotland for their support for people living with HIV in Scotland, and their valuable input across the sector.

Whilst their contribution will be missed, Scotland has a number of other excellent third sector organisations who share our ambition to eliminate HIV transmission within Scotland by 2030, and to improve the lives of those living with HIV. By working in partnership, I remain confident that we will meet those goals.

As one example, HIV Scotland were previously funded to lead the HIV self-test pilot which expands testing services so people can order a test in the privacy of their own home. Terrance Higgins Trust will now be funded to provide the service and mitigate any risk to the at-home testing service.

The majority of divorce actions are undefended and therefore do not require the non-applicant party to incur the expenses involving in entering the proceedings.

Where a divorce action is defended, either party may be eligible for civil legal aid.

The courts may make orders on how legal expenses incurred in a case should be met. The Scottish Government’s understanding is that in doing so the court can take account of a party’s behaviour in making or defending their case.

If the member wishes to write to me with additional information, I may be able to offer further comment.

I am absolutely delighted that today, Japan based cable manufacturer Sumitomo has announced plans to establish a manufacturing plant in Scotland to supply the country’s growing renewable energy sector. This is a real statement of intent that demonstrates the strength of confidence that investors have in our vision for a net zero economy.

Sumitomo have a proven track record in renewables technology which will be invaluable to supporting Scotland’s rapidly expanding offshore wind sector and the Scottish Government, together with our partners, will continue to work closely with Sumitomo to foster this important partnership and unlock the opportunities the global renewables revolution presents.

The Scottish Government is committed to a fair, inclusive and fiscally sustainable form of local taxation. Scottish Ministers have convened the ‘Joint Working Group on Sources of Local Government Funding and Council Tax Reform’, which is chaired by the Scottish Government and COSLA. The group is initially discussing and reviewing targeted changes to Council Tax to reflect the current circumstances created by the cost crisis. The group will also consider approaches to longer term reform, utilising the development of effective deliberative engagement, on sources of Local Government funding and Council Tax.

The 2023 non-domestic rates revaluation took effect on 1 April 2023. The next revaluation will take effect from 1 April 2026, implementing the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates recommendation for three yearly revaluations which was legislated for in the Non-Domestic Rates (Scotland) Act 2020.

The tax rates which are used to calculate non-domestic rates bills are reviewed and set annually in the context of the Scottish Budget.