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The National Flood Resilience Strategy does not make reference to ‘pilot programmes’.

The National Flood Resilience Strategy sets out our vision for working with partners to deliver shared outcomes for people and places and supporting a broader range of flood actions where evidence suggests they can provide a positive contribution to improving flood resilience.

This aligns with our National Planning Framework 4 whereby blue and green infrastructure are supported as an integral part of early design and development processes; designed to deliver multiple functions including climate mitigation, flood prevention and water management.

Scottish Government consulted on policy proposals regarding water, wastewater and drainage in early 2024, with respondents broadly agreeing with the proposals that Scotland’s drainage system should be a combination of grey and blue/green infrastructure, with significant support for blue/green infrastructure. Sustainable drainage systems (SUDS) are already required in new developments, aligned with NPF4, and along with retrofitting blue/green infrastructure into urban spaces, can help make a positive contribution to flood resilient places.

Developing a National Flood Advisory Service to improve Scotland’s flood resilience and embed best practice on a nationwide scale is one of the actions in Scotland’s first National Flood Resilience Strategy. The Service will provide support and advice on building flood resilience to delivery partners and communities and provide the governance framework for progressing high value flood actions such as flood protection schemes.

The implementation plan for the Strategy will focus on the six priority action areas, starting with the establishment of the Flood Advisory Service. That plan will be developed with partners over the coming months.

In addition to existing Scottish Government funding commitments to support Local Authorities with flood resilience, £15 million has been provided in the draft 2025-2026 Scottish Budget to support the delivery of the Strategy’s actions, wider flooding resilience and coastal adaptation work.

There have been no comparative analyses undertaken of spending relative to similar devolved administrations.

When opening an international office, we consider a range of options to best represent Scotland’s interests while ensuring we are delivering value for money.

Working with the UK Government as part of the FCDO platform currently provides the preferred overall solution for our requirements and seven of our eight overseas offices are based within a British Embassy or High Commission.

No.The Scottish Government’s international network delivers tangible benefits to our people, businesses and institutions, and accounts for less than 0.02% of the Scottish Government’s overall resource spending plans.

As with all previous years, level 1 funding for each portfolio will be adjusted following the Autumn and Spring Budget Revision to reflect changes in funding and expenditure plans such as in-year transfers between portfolios.

The transfers identified in Table 4.12 of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget would reduce Education and Skills portfolio budget by £689.6 million, reduce the Justice and Home Affairs budget by £1.0 million, reduce the Health and Social Care portfolio budget by £593.0 million, reduce the Social Justice portfolio budget by £179.7 million and increase the Finance and Local Government portfolio budget by £1,463.3 million compared with the published 2025-26 budget position.

Any new funding commitments or changes to existing funding will also be adjusted at Autumn or Spring Budget Revision, following approval through the formal financial governance process which requires agreed recommendations from the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Officers’ Settlement and Distribution Group and political agreement from Scottish Ministers and COSLA political Leaders.

Table A.07 in the 2025-26 Scottish Budget shows an adjusted 2024-25 resource position removing the impact at portfolio level of the recurring transfers actioned at ABR, to allow a like-for-like comparison against the 2025-26 initial allocations. The table shows the year-on-year movement at portfolio level in cash and real terms on a comparable basis.

I meet with Trade Union representatives on a regular basis to discuss all matters pertaining to Scotland’s Railway, including investment plans.

Rail is already a very low carbon form of transport for passengers and freight, accounting for in the region of 1.2% of all transport emissions in Scotland.

Therefore the principal contribution of rail to decarbonisation is secured through modal shift to rail from less sustainable transport modes.

Information on passenger numbers is publicly available on the website of the Office of Rail and Road.

The subsidy for rail services has been published in TS accounts. This can be found here: Annual Accounts | Transport Scotland