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Marine Directorate officers do not record how many boxes of fish they physically check. When undertaking a monitor of a vessel, officers are expected to assure themselves that the quantities landed are consistent with quantities declared. Where species are sorted and landed together, officers are required to undertake sample checks by physically inspecting containers to check that all fish is the same species and correctly recorded. Where fish is not sorted and landed by species, officers are required to inspect each box.

The Scottish Government publish Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics. In the latest publication, supplementary table 19 details the Tonnage and value of landings by foreign vessels into Scotland by main species 2018 to 2022. See Supporting documents - Scottish Sea Fisheries Statistics 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The European Convention on Human Rights is fundamental to our legal framework in Scotland. Our proposals in the Bill are fully compliant with the ECHR, including the right to private property.

More details on the consideration of the effect of the provisions of the Bill on human rights can be found in the Policy Memorandum accessible (parliament.scot).

As this is a matter for SEPA, outlined in answer to S6W-28593, the Scottish Government does not hold the information being requested. I will therefore ask SEPA to write to the member to provide any further detail on the matter, where it is available.

The Scottish Government publish Enforcement Data which details the number of inspections by nationality. Marine and fisheries compliance: boardings of vessels in Scottish waters - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) The latest period will shortly be published. The Marine Directorate has observed 421 inspections of non-UK landings between 1 July 2021 and 30 June 2024.

In 2023, Coastal officers carried out 177 inspections from 266 non-UK vessel landings into Scotland, or 67%. Routine inspections by Coastal officers include document checks, box counts, species identification and assurance sampling checks of catch landed. The level of sample checks will depend on risk, which considers the likelihood and impact of an infringement.

The Scottish Government does not make estimates of the percentage of fish transported out of Scotland without appropriate landings documentation, this is because no vessel would be given authorisation to land without appropriate Port State Control authority, a condition of which is that all documentation is correct. All non-UK vessels landing into Scotland are subject to documentation checks prior to landing.

It is important we work together to understand and plan for coastal change. The Scottish Government’s Dynamic Coast (DC) project is helping us understand the erosion threat to Scotland’s coast including in the Highlands and Islands.

DC2 assesses coastal erosion rates nationally and considers how these rates might be exacerbated by climate change. This report has been published and can be found at the following link;

https://www.crew.ac.uk/dynamic-coast

Throughout the project, we have worked closely with local authorities, including in the Highland and Islands, to help them plan for coastal adaptation. To support them, we have provided an additional £11.7 million of funding for coastal change adaptation from 2022-23 to 2025-26.

In 2024-25, the funding of £2.7m will be distributed to local authorities in two ways. £1.65m in direct allocation to coastal local authorities including the Highlands and Islands and £1.05m for case studies, including a study in Nairn looking at monitoring coastal data.

The civil service that supports Scottish Ministers is structured into eight Director-General areas, each containing a number of directorates and related public bodes which are responsible for proposing legislation and putting Scottish Government policy into practice.

Directors General are referred to within our governance processes as the accountable officers (AOs). They are accountable to Parliament for the duties given to them by the Permanent Secretary as the Principal Accountable Officer, and participate across the corporate governance system.

Each Director General and their accountabilities align to Cabinet Secretary and Ministerial portfolios to enable oversight and leadership for their respective Ministerial responsibilities.

These Directors General and their Directorates are all part of the Scottish Government organisation, referred to as core Scottish Government, that operates as a single employer. This structuring allows for the more flexible deployment of resources across portfolios to respond quickly and efficiently to Ministerial priorities and external events. It also supports the wider approach set out within the National Performance Framework, to focus the organisation on working and leading collectively to improve the National Outcomes for the people of Scotland.

Further details of the government structures can be found on the Scottish Government website Government structure - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Accessibility obligations for taxi and private hire car drivers and Local Licencing Authorities are reserved to the UK Government under the Equality Act 2010.

However, the taxi licensing system is devolved under the Civic Government Act 1982 and is implemented by (local authority) licensing authorities. Therefore, the day-to-day administration of the licensing regime for taxis and private hire cars rests with independent local licensing authorities, who are best placed to take local circumstances into account in the decision making process to ensure that they provide safe and appropriate services for members of the public.