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To date, 369 hectares of publicly owned land have been made available for 2024-25. The FONE has done this by one of its core functions, which is to get public bodies around the table to explore what opportunities they can offer agricultural new entrants, use FONE members to publicise the opportunities where they can and where they wish they can utilise the FONE scoring matrix.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-33363 on 28 January 2025. 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 Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and Land Reform last met the FONE group on 14 March 2024 and I met the FONE group on 12 September 2024.

In addition, both the Cabinet Secretary and I regularly meet with the FONE chair and members on a number of occasions, including the following dates in 2024: 5 April 2024, 18 April 2024, 20 June 2024, 28 August 2024 and 7 November 2024.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-33492 on 28 January 2025. 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 Scottish Government has a centrally-managed contract with Office Papers to supply newspapers on an ad-hoc rather than subscription basis. The contract allows for newspapers to be bought according to requirement and cancelled when not required, for example during Parliamentary recess.

On software subscriptions, the SG's IT Division, iTECS make use of tools such as our IT Service Management Tool and our Information Asset Tracker for monitoring software assets and purchases, which provides visibility into licence usage to manage compliance efficiently.

iTECS has an appointed licensing office whose role is to manage licencing, including taking regular audits of software and software usage to ensure compliance and value for money.

Software that is inadequately licenced, or out of vendor support, is removed from our network as its presence jeopardises our Cyber Essentials and other security accreditations we maintain.

Our central finance team also undertakes an annual exercise to track the continued usage of software assets to ensure that spend is current.

As explained in the answers to questions S6W-33501 and S6W-33502 on 28 January 2025, decisions on professional memberships, including assessing whether they deliver value for money, are made by senior staff in Directorates, Divisions and Departments. 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 total cost of gas and electric for Core Scottish Government buildings broken down by building type is:-

Number of hospital admissions of pedestrians injured is shown in the following table. The source is SMR01, Public Health Scotland, extract: January 2025.

As part of our commitment for the decarbonisation of the Scottish Government vehicle fleet, our replacement policy since 2015 has been to consider the overall environmental impact of the fleet and actively reduce the emissions produced by replacing end of life petrol and diesel vehicles with zero or ultra-low emission alternatives where possible.

The Scottish Government's use of official cars aligns with its environmental and sustainability targets through a focus on reducing emissions and promoting low-carbon transportation solutions. This includes key initiatives including the transition to low-emission and zero emission vehicles.

The Scottish Government consultation “Managing deer for Climate and Nature” proposed implementing the recommendation from the independent Deer Working Group’s report of January 2020, to make changes to the close season for female deer. These changes may be made by order under the Deer (Scotland) Act 1996. However, following consultation with stakeholders, I have concluded that, in most cases, the cull levels required to reduce the overall deer population to support nature and climate objectives can be achieved within existing deer seasons. Where it is necessary to cull outwith existing seasons, there will continue to be the ability to apply to NatureScot for authorisations. In coming to this decision, I have taken careful note of the potential distress caused to many stalkers by being required routinely to shoot heavily pregnant female deer and I have decided against any wider change to the timings of the female close season.