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There are no chalk streams in Scotland. The Scottish Government, therefore, does not hold information on the protection of chalk streams from pollution and damage.

A broad range of organisations from across marine sectors, including restoration and community groups, were invited to attend an introductory meeting about the marine and coastal restoration plan on 4 December. Initial thinking on the plan and its development process was presented, and organisations have been asked to confirm whether they would like to take part in the advisory group. Based on this we anticipate membership will be finalised in the new year.

The Level 4 tables that were published with the draft Budget 2025-26 provide a summary of the changes from the previous year but it is not practical to list the full detail of all the changes associated with the Local Government Settlement, particularly where that detail is already available to the Scottish Parliament.

The specific details of the £1.5 billion of Local Government transfers processed at the Autumn Budget Revision 2024-25 are published in Schedule 3.1 of the Autumn Budget Revision 2024-25: supporting document.

The Finance and Public Administration Committee recommended that the Budget (Scotland) Act 2024 Amendment Regulations 2024, which give effect to the Autumn Budget Revision, should be agreed at their meeting on 12 November 2024. The regulations were subsequently approved by the Scottish Parliament on 4 December 2024.

In the context of unauthorised work and listed buildings, Historic Environment Scotland’s role is advisory. Historic Environment Scotland has no legal powers in relation to enforcement and listed buildings in general, nor in ensuring that consultation occurs or that the minimum works needed to make a dangerous building safe are carried out. Legal powers related to enforcement and listed buildings lie with the planning authority and, in some circumstances, Scottish Ministers.

The 2025-26 draft budget provides £139 million additional investment for health infrastructure, allowing some work to resume on delivering new acute facilities, including the Princes Alexandra Eye Pavilion.

NHS Lothian have been invited to progress the business case and design work, however, the exact timeline has not been established as to when construction will start or when the project will be completed.

In March this year we consulted on legislative proposals to facilitate marine nature restoration. In the consultation document we set out concerns raised by community groups and restoration organisations with regards to the complexity of the regulatory environment for restoration projects. In response to these concerns we developed proposals to address one element of the complex issues, and while there was broadly support for the proposals, there was a lack of consensus on the detail of the scheme proposed. We will continue to listen carefully to restoration groups and coastal communities throughout the development of the marine and coastal restoration plan, and will identify actions to address barriers to restoration as part of the plan.

Decisions on non-domestic rates for 2026-27 will be considered in the context of the Scottish Budget 2026-27.

The Scottish Budget 2025-26 announced a new 40% relief for hospitality premises, including grassroots music venues with a capacity of up to 1,500, which have a rateable value of up to £51,000, capped at £51,000 per business. Following the passage of the budget, the Scottish Government will update the MyGov website setting out the non-domestic rates reliefs available to provide information to applicants on this new relief.

The Scottish Government routinely increases the Local Government budget in-year, including through transfers from other portfolios. The anticipated transfers for 2025-25 are as shown in Table 4.12 of the Scottish Budget and indicate that at least £1,438.3 million of resource and £25 million of capital will be transferred into the General Revenue and General Capital grants at the 2025-26 Autumn or Spring Budget Revisions. Further funding outwith the Local Government Settlement is outlined in Table 4.15 and paid directly by the relevant portfolio.

As with all previous years, any unanticipated transfers in year will also be given effect at the relevant budget revision and processed in the Local Government Finance Order 2026-27.

As outlined in Tables 4.12 and 4.15, it is anticipated that most Scottish Government portfolios will transfer additional funding to Local Government in 2025-26.

The Scottish Government relies on independent forecasts produced by the Scottish Fiscal Commission in arriving at policy decisions on Income Tax. These forecasts include the impact of any possible behaviour change that may result from policy decisions.

The impact of Income Tax policy decisions taken at the 2025-26 Scottish Budget on taxpayers and households is presented in the following publications:

• Scottish Income Tax Factsheet: Income Tax Policy Proposal: Scottish Budget 2025-26 - Scottish Income Tax 2025 to 2026: factsheet - gov.scot
• Distributional analysis of the Scottish Budget: Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026: distributional analysis of the Scottish Budget - gov.scot

Regarding consultation, in advance of the Scottish Budget, the Scottish Government conducts annual research on public attitudes to tax.

This research also includes information on where people find information on tax and their knowledge of the tax system. The information which has been collected is available online: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-budget-2025-26-pre-budget-engagement-summary/pages/1/

This year, we also conducted a broad programme of business engagement on tax policy, used to inform the Tax Strategy, which gave businesses the opportunity to express their views regarding behavioural responses to Scottish Income Tax policy.

The Scottish Government takes the safety of buildings very seriously and works closely with members of the public and organisations to address concerns about cladding. Since January 2019, notifications regarding potentially unsafe cladding have been received on an ongoing basis. These have been managed in collaboration with relevant public bodies to ensure appropriate actions are taken. The Government continues to prioritise public safety and supports affected parties in addressing these issues.

There are 107 entries in the pilot phase of the Cladding Remediation Programme. Entries in the pilot can comprise a single block or building, or a development, or part of a development consisting of multiple blocks or buildings.

We are aware that pilot assessments have been undertaken for 30 of the pilot entries. A pilot assessment includes any assessment carried out prior to the publication of the Single Building Assessment specification on the 21 June 2024. These numbers relate to known pilot assessments only as developers, home owners or other organisations could have commissioned assessments without informing the Scottish Government and therefore the true numbers may be higher and could increase as further information becomes available.

Pilot works to mitigate or remediate risks have started for five of the pilot entries. Works in this context refers to any action taken to address known cladding-related risks, including Urgent Interim Measures. These numbers relate to known works on a pilot entry only, as developers or other organisations could have carried out works without informing the Scottish Government, and therefore the true numbers may be higher and could increase as further information becomes available.