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The financial assumptions contained with the Final Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) published in December 2021 show the projected cost to businesses in terms of compliance with the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme (DRS). The UK Government is responsible for providing details to industry regarding the potential financial impact of its DRS. We will continue to work closely with the UK and devolved governments to maximise interoperability of the schemes when they go live.

The primary responsibility for controlling feral pig populations in the wild lies with land managers who should work in partnership with local communities.

It is an offence under Section 14 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release any type of pig, including wild boar. It is also an offence to allow them to escape from captivity.

Further information can be found on the NatureScot website at Managing feral pigs in Scotland | NatureScot

The Scottish Government published the following datasets within the Constitution, External Affairs and Culture portfolio in the last 12 months:

In partnership with the Scottish Strategic Network for Genomics Medicine (SSNGM), we have been developing our Strategic Intent for Genomics Medicine which will be published in the coming weeks.

While early in its’ development, we will also publish our first Genomics Strategy for Scotland and associated implementation plan in the course of 2023.

The Scottish Government accepts the Supreme Court’s judgment as to whether the Scottish Parliament has the power to legislate for an independence referendum without a Section 30 order.

There is however a democratic mandate for an independence referendum, and we stand ready to engage with the UK Government to give the Scottish people the right to choose their constitutional future in line with the result of the 2021 Scottish Parliament election which resulted in a clear majority in the Parliament in favour for a referendum.

Given the legislative and other arrangements that would be necessary, the Scottish Government is not planning for a referendum in October of this year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15269 on 8 March 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website .

Work to develop the prospectus is drawing on a range of officials across the organisation who will contribute to varying extents as part of their wider responsibilities in supporting the Scottish Government. The exact number of officials contributing as part of their wider responsibilities is not known as the Scottish Government has no need to record this information.

The Constitutional Futures Division coordinates work on the Building a New Scotland series. As of 22 February 2023, it comprises 24 civil servants, including one Deputy Director. This equates to 23.3 FTE .

The global pandemic was the biggest shock our NHS has faced in its 74 year existence. Our NHS Recovery Plan published on 25 August 2021 invests £1 billion of targeted funding over five years to increase NHS capacity, deliver reform, and ensure everyone has the treatment they need at the right time, in the right place, and as quickly as possible.

Work on the Easy Read version of the third paper in the Building a New Scotland series is nearing completion and we expect the document will be published in due course.

The Scottish Government informed all relevant applicants on 19 December 2022 that the intention is to communicate next steps in relation to the Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning third sector fund by the end of March 2023.