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In our Programme for Government we have committed £500 million over the course of this Parliament to protect and restore our natural environment. This includes funding to create a new National Park and to improve visitor facilities, safety measures and access opportunities in existing National Parks and in regional parks. This will support progressive development, address the climate emergency in the way we use our land, and improve public and community wellbeing .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02907 on 28 September 2021. 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

Our Programme for Government 2021-22 commits to the creation of at least one new National Park by the end of this Parliament, provided relevant legal conditions can be met.

This is a significant project which will involve widespread consultation, Parliamentary engagement and secondary legislation. There are a number of stages to this work, including scoping of candidate areas and analysis of proposals. The process for selecting and establishing a new National Park is set out in the National Parks (Scotland) Act 2000 which has a number of consultation and drafting stages. The legislation sets out that the first step to identify appropriate candidate areas is a thorough consultation process. Once that consultation has been carried out and a location agreed upon, work can begin on establishing a new public body. Assessment of the resources required to take forward this work is under way and recruitment will follow, with work expected to commence in Spring 2022.

The Just Transition Plan for energy will be an integral part of the Energy Strategy Refresh which is due for draft publication in Spring 2022.

Please refer to S6W-00255, answered on 23 August 2021 which provides information on the area of responsibility of the Special Advisers and pay scales.

Special Advisors are contracted to work a minimum of 37 hours per week. For the period 7 May 2021 to 16 September 2021 an average of £13.20 per week was claimed on expenses in total by Special Advisers.

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

The Biodiversity Intactness Index is one of several indices devised to assess the current state of nature, with attribution to a range of drivers. The Biodiversity Intactness Index focuses on nature in the past, and the many pressures in the past over which we now have no control. The index is predicated on the history of land use in each country, with the UK having a long history of deforestation and agricultural intensification which resulted in a lower score relative to other countries.

We have committed to introduce a new Environment Bill which will include targets for nature restoration that cover land and sea based on an overarching goal of preventing any further extinctions of wildlife and halting declines by 2030, and making significant progress in restoring Scotland’s natural environment by 2045.

In December 2020, we published our Statement of Intent on biodiversity, which sets out our ambitions for biodiversity and announces our new biodiversity strategy, which will be published in autumn 2022. We will continue to consider the best mix of targets and indicators to measure success as we develop our strategy and response to the global post-2020 biodiversity framework.

The number of Special Advisers as at 26 May 2021, broken down by pay band, is set out in the answer to S6W-00255 on 23 August 2021. One further Special Adviser was appointed on 27 September 2021 taking the current total to 16.

For the period 1999-2000 to 2002-03 the available data is:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02466 on 28 September 2021. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02466 on 28 September 2021. 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

Since August 2021, there have been nine Cabinet Secretaries (including the Deputy First Minister), and 17 junior Ministers.

The following table sets out the numbers of (a) Cabinet Secretaries (Ministers appointed under section 47 of the Scotland Act 1998) and (b) junior Ministers (appointed under section 49 of the same Act) in each year since 1999, with the dates from which any changes were made: