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The Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) report sets out the ratio of total revenue to GDP for Scotland, which in 2022-23 was 41.1%. This presentation is consistent with the UK Public Sector Finances. The latest GERS publication is available at:

Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland 2022-23 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Sheku Bayoh Public Inquiry commenced evidentiary hearings on 10 May 2022. As of 2 May 2024, 102 days of evidence have been heard by Lord Bracadale including detailed evidence on the events at Hayfield Road on 3 May 2015; post-incident management by Police Scotland, COPFS and PIRC; cause of death; and Police Scotland training. The Inquiry will hear evidence on race, and whether it was a factor in Mr Bayoh’s death, in June 2024.

As the Public Inquiry is independent of Ministers, it is for the Chair to direct how the Inquiry carries out its duties. Lord Bracadale has previously confirmed that he anticipates that all the remaining evidence should be completed by the end of the year and a final report will be prepared and produced once all evidence has been heard and reviewed.

This called-in case is still under consideration and a decision will issue as soon as possible. A response on the project is expected to issue by 29 May.

A real terms uplift to health funding has been prioritised in the opening Budget position for 2024-25. We have invested £2 billion in the 2024-25 budget for social care and integration, which is an increase of over £1 billion compared to 2021-22. This delivers on our Programme for Government commitment to increase social care spending by 25% (£840 million) over this Parliament, two years ahead of our original target.

Despite this significant investment the financial climate remains extremely challenging, and we are working with partners to understand and address the challenges, within the context of a finite budget.

The Scottish Government is taking action to prevent and support the removal of plastic pollution in seas and waterways through measures detailed in the Marine Litter Strategy.

The refreshed Marine Litter Strategy aims to address the amount of litter entering the marine environment, as well as to help tackle existing litter, in order to achieve ecological, economic and social benefits. The Strategy’s action plan focuses on the most problematic types of marine litter including fishing and aquaculture gear, sewage-related debris, and plastic pellets, and will drive forward our work up to 2027 co-ordinating the efforts of our stakeholders and partners, working at a national and international level to help tackle this global problem.

The Scottish Government supports the removal of existing litter through funding the work of organisations that support and co-ordinate beach cleans and local community engagement, such as Local Coastal Partnerships. We have also funded litter removal offshore through KIMO’s Fishing for Litter scheme, and at our rivers with Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Upstream Battle project, preventing litter entering waterways, travelling downstream, and ultimately reaching the sea.

The Scottish Government currently monitors plastic pollution in the sea through microplastics in surface water, sea-floor litter, and beach litter. We have initiated work to collect data on plastic pollution in waterways though supporting and funding Keep Scotland Beautiful’s Upstream Battle project. The National Litter and Flytipping Strategy action plan contains a number of actions related to improving data capture on litter and flytipping, with the aim of improving our knowledge of these issues.

The Scottish Government microplastics monitoring programme began in 2013, and has undertaken annual surveys since that time. Microplastics are present in the surface waters of all Scottish Marine Regions, although have not been found to be present at all sample sites. Scottish Marine Regions next to the most urbanised and industrialised areas of the country have been shown to have higher concentrations of microplastics. Annual surveys continue to gather data, and would contribute to any baseline developed in the future.

Sea-floor litter data is collected during Scottish Government fish surveys which sample Scottish waters. There is now over 10 years of data, from 2012 onwards, which is used nationally and internationally as part of wider efforts to monitor changes in marine litter levels in the North-East Atlantic. There is evidence of an apparent decrease in litter density over time for some areas of Scotland’s seas.

The density and type of litter found on Scotland’s beaches has been recorded by the Marine Conservation Society since 1993. This data has been used by the Scottish Government to produce the pilot Scottish Beach Litter Performance Indicators. Beach litter loadings have been calculated for five sub-regions around the Scottish coastline. The amounts of litter found in the five sub-regions show a variety of trends, dependent on the litter type and location.

Information on these monitoring programmes has been published in Scotland’s Marine Assessment 2020 and can be found at https://marine.gov.scot/sma/assessment-theme/marine-litter

Research and monitoring shows that the majority of litter which ends up in the sea or in waterways has come from land-based sources. These sources include on-the-go food and drinks containers, sanitary items incorrectly disposed of through the sewer system, and flytipping. Maritime and aquatic sources also contribute to litter found at sea and in waterways, and these include maritime industries such as fishing, aquaculture, and shipping, as well as other sources such as angling.

Forestry and Land Scotland do not create policy but follow Scottish Government Policy created by other Scottish Government agencies.

Forestry and Land Scotland a) encourage raptor and owl conservation and monitoring by following the principles within Scotland’s Biodiversity Strategy, Scotland’s Forestry Strategy and by complying with all relevant wildlife legislation.

Forestry and Land Scotland b) are engaged with a range of local community conservation programmes, including those supported by Scottish Raptor Study Group. In 2023, FLS launched its Communities Strategy which is an invitation for community groups to come forward with ideas for projects and activities including conservation work on Scotland's National Forests and Land managed by FLS.

The deadline for nominations from communities and organisations that would like their area to be considered for designation as a new National Park was 29 February 2024. Nominations were received from the Galloway, Lochaber, Loch Awe, Scottish Borders and Tay Forest. The nominations are currently being appraised against the criteria outlined in the published appraisal framework - New National Parks: nominations guidance and appraisal framework - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . This appraisal framework was finalised following public consultation.

Following the completion of this appraisal process and the submission of a report, Ministers will decide which of the nominations should be taken forward to the next stage. The National Park proposal(s) will be published and will set out the area which it is proposed should be designated as a National Park.

A statutory process will then commence, starting with a detailed exploration of the National Park proposal that will be led by a ‘reporter’. This process is estimated to take around 9 months and will involve extensive consultation and engagement with local communities, stakeholders, businesses, local authorities, community councils and relevant public bodies and interest groups in order to further develop, test and refine the National Park proposal in light of local views and circumstances.

The reporter’s report to Scottish Ministers will take into account any views on the National Park proposal that are expressed during the consultation. The report will be published and laid before Parliament.

Following the publication of this report, and subject to legal conditions being met, the Scottish Government will then lay a designation order before Parliament in order to establish the new National Park(s). This process will include a 12-week public consultation on the draft designation order. Following this period of consultation a final designation order would then be laid before parliament.

As outlined, the Scottish Government will develop a Just Transition Plan for the Mossmorran industrial complex following delivery of the Grangemouth Just Transition Plan. Work will commence in early 2025 and as such, detailed timetable is not yet available, however we would anticipate taking a sequential approach, working to develop data driven baseline, an outline vision for 2045, a corresponding action plan and monitoring framework. The Scottish Government intends to publish the Just Transition Plan for Mossmorran by the end of the parliament.

The Scottish Government is working on a contribution to the UK's report to the Aarhus Convention Compliance Committee- detailing the actions being taken to ensure to ensure compliance with the convention. It will be published this summer.