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During the last five years 500 desk chairs have been purchased – these include chairs for Local Offices, Holyrood and Homeworkers (which include the covid years). We cannot provide the costs due to commercial confidentiality.

The beekeeper takes measures to prevent diseases and pests, maintains the hygiene and safety of the bee colonies  and ensures that all disease prevention treatments are provided. This includes checking for notifiable pests and diseases, which if found would be reported to the Honey Bee Health Inspectors.

The beekeeper maintains accurate beekeeping records, carries out hive inspections during the summer months and provides appropriate care and/or preventative maintenance as required.

The SPCB owns and operates five number flagpoles, and they are approximately 8.2 metres in height. There has been no general maintenance works needed to the flag poles in the last 15 years with the only cost for each being the annual LOLER inspection. LOLER stands for Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations and the flag poles are included within other inspections of the same type carried out across the parliament. The cost for LOLER inspection is included within the planned building maintenance contract and we do not hold information in a format which allows us to identify the flagpole inspections as an individual item. 

The operating costs for the crèche over the last five years has been as follows –

2023/24        £108k

2022/23        Service closed

2021/22        Service closed

2020/21        Service closed

2019/20        £145k

The Parliament currently owns 180 flags for external and internal use. There is not a published list of which flags we own. 

The following table summarises the value of hospitality costs on the Scottish Government’s financial reporting system for each of the last 5 full financial years.

We are unable to provide information predating 2024. In 2024, we had one flag which was stolen.

As referenced in the answer to S6W-34140 on 20 February 2025, the format in which locus information is recorded and in particular whether the locus for each case is a trunk road or otherwise would require a manual check of each case. This question cannot be readily answered by COPFS.

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 Design Advisory Group (DAG) was working with Scottish Government to help develop plans for the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland. As the group was working independently, it took responsibility for minuting its own meetings.

We understand that due to some resourcing and capacity issues within the group, there has been a delay in finalising and publishing the minutes. However, the DAG, like the Scottish Government, is committed to transparency and accountability and will aim to publish the minutes by the end of March 2025.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information