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The Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) consultation on its proposals regarding its approach to safeguarding the Eskdalemuir Seismological Array closed on 20 December 2024. The MOD is currently reviewing the consultation responses.

The Eskdalemuir Working Group (EWG) receive a verbal update from the MOD on the timescales for completion of the review process at each EWG meeting. The next EWG meeting is scheduled for 1 April 2025.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the nation is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. This includes NatureScot and Scottish Water. Further detail on the deer management activities of these organisations is as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland

FLS collects data, on a daily basis, for each deer culled on SNFL by its Wildlife Rangers and contractors, and on a monthly basis for recreational stalkers.

The data collected includes; species, sex, whether adult, yearling or juvenile, lactating females or whether a foetus is present, the presence of disease, the date, time, location (6-figure grid reference) and forest structure in which the deer was shot, whether it was shot by an FLS ranger, contractor or recreational stalker, shot placement, the larder in which the carcass was processed/chilled and length of time in the larder, carcass weight, whether shot under out of season or night shooting authorisation, and the end-use of the carcass (ie private sale, sold to venison dealer or is for domestic use by recreational stalker).

NatureScot

In addition to the annual cull data that NatureScot collects they also make regular and frequent assessments of deer populations on the NNRs it manages. This is done on a priority basis with the larger NNRs where deer management is a priority They use a range of techniques including; helicopter, drone and foot counts as well as dung counting. They also undertake Herbivore Impact Assessments to better understanding the impacts of the deer on the vegetation and habitats.

Scottish Water

Scottish Water does not monitor or keep records of deer numbers on their operational property, the data they do collect relates only to their rural catchment estate in East Grampian and is provided in the answers to S6W-34627 and
S6W-34630 on 26 February 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

We closely monitor the impacts of our policy decisions on taxpayers, businesses, and the economy using a range of evidence such as real time economic data, formal evaluations and engagement with stakeholders, including the business community.

We have also funded HMRC to produce two separate pieces of analysis, a longitudinal dataset and a behavioural study, measuring the impact of our Income Tax policies on behaviour change, both published April 2024.

Since the introduction of Scottish Income Tax more taxpayers have come to Scotland than have left with net inflows averaging almost 4,200 per year. In 2021-22, the latest year of data, net migration of taxpayers was positive across all tax bands and almost all age groups.

In line with commitments in the Tax Strategy, we will publish further research on the impacts of Scottish Income Tax policy on businesses and competitiveness in Scotland in 2025. We will also evaluate the impact of changes to Income Tax in 2023-24 and 2024-25 once outturn date is available.

The Scottish Government has taken a progressive approach to the overall arrangements for Land and Buildings Transaction Tax, prioritising support for first-time buyers and home movers while raising vital revenue to support public services.

The Scottish Fiscal Commission has forecast that increasing the rate of the Additional Dwelling Supplement will raise an additional £32m in 2025-26. The Scottish Fiscal Commission assume that half of those Additional Dwelling Supplement transactions which do not proceed will be replaced by first-time buyer and home mover transactions in 2025-26 and that this will increase to three-quarters from 2026-27 onwards.

The priorities set out in the Tax Strategy will enable us to deliver tax policy which considers the whole tax system, informed by a programme of evidence, evaluation and engagement.

For audiology services provided in hospital settings, information on provision of delivery is held within Boards and not by the Scottish Government.

While the Scottish Government remains committed to its vision for an integrated and community-based hearing service in Scotland, re-phasing of funding has meant that not all the challenges we are facing will be addressed in a single budget.

These issues are not caused by Social Security Scotland systems. They are being caused by the way DWP systems are sharing information about Carer’s Allowance and Carer Support Payment awards, which is impacting a small number of carers’ wider support including Housing Benefit, Council Tax Reduction and Universal Credit. We are engaging with DWP who are continuing to investigate. DWP have issued advice to Local Authorities and Universal Credit staff setting out how to access the correct data to administer their benefits. Any carers who are experiencing problems or have any concerns with their Housing Benefit or Council Tax Reduction should contact their local authority, or contact DWP for any concerns with their Universal Credit, who can investigate their award and correct any issues.

Whilst regulation for decommissioning of offshore oil and gas infrastructure is a reserved matter, the Scottish Government supports this vital activity happening in a way that facilitates an orderly, managed and just transition to net-zero and maximises the benefits for Scotland’s businesses and communities.

Through the Decommissioning Challenge Fund, the Scottish Government invested over £10 million over the period 2017 to 2020 to support innovation and build capacity in the Scottish decommissioning sector.

The Scottish Government has no current plans to introduce such legislation.

The role of the National Specialist Services Committee (NSSC) is not to "sign off" procedures. Instead, it provides oversight and governance for the commissioning of new specialist services and networks, reviews potential decommissioning of existing services and undertake an annual prioritisation process in relation to service business cases for development.

Numbers of prioritised procedures by NSSC are provided below:

a) Prioritisation by NSSC for the last 10 years:

Deer numbers in forested or woodland environments are very difficult to estimate due to dense cover and the mobile nature of deer.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. This includes NatureScot and Scottish Water. Further detail on the deer management activities of these organisations is as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS)

FLS estimate Scotland’s National Forests and Land’s (SNFL), deer population to be around 130,000 deer. This estimate is based on culling data. The break-down by species is as follows: