Seòmar agus comataidhean

On 3 March 2022, when Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy, I wrote an open letter to business in Scotland asking them to review their links to Russia, however indirect, and to sever them, with due regard for the safety of any employees or individuals they may work with.

It remains the position of the Scottish Government that it, and its economic agencies, will not support trade and investment activity with Russia. This policy is additional to the UK government’s regime of sanctions against Russia.

We cannot however, force businesses to sever links if what they plan is otherwise lawful, including not breaching the UK sanctions regime. There may also be legitimate reasons why links cannot be severed, for example: if staff safety might be jeopardised; contractual reasons; and/or being prohibited from selling assets due to Russian law.

The Scottish Government proposes that an independent Scotland would apply to join NATO. Further details can be found in the publication https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-independent-scotlands-place-world/

The strategic objectives of acquiring the additional land at Glen Prosen was to create a contiguous area of 10,000 ha of land in public ownership that could provide an opportunity for the development of an exemplar of integrated land management that furthers Scottish Government aims for people’s well-being, nature recovery at scale, and long-term climate resilience.

The framework document agreed between Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) and Scottish Ministers details how FLS will carry out Scottish Ministers’ functions under the Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018.

It details the key roles and responsibilities of:

• Scottish Ministers; and
• the FLS Chief Executive (and Accountable Officer).

Those roles and responsibilities, include those relevant to the acquisition and disposal of land. The framework document is a key part of the accountability and governance framework and as a live document is reviewed by SG and Forestry and Land Scotland regularly.

The Scottish Government’s Fisheries Management Strategy sets out actions to support the fishing fleet to modernise, and for appropriate use to be made of new and additional technology, including remote electronic monitoring (REM). The Scottish Government has already delivered on our commitment to introduce REM requirements for pelagic and scallop vessels, with legislation being passed in June 2024. The legislation can be found at: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2024/165/contents/made

Pelagic vessels will be able to undertake REM system test trips from 7 September 2025 in advance of the pelagic REM measures becoming mandatory from 7 March 2026. A number of vessels have already started installing REM equipment and we expect this number to increase as the March 2026 date draws closer. The Scottish Government has published both REM technical specifications and guidance for the pelagic industry and continues to engage extensively with stakeholders to support vessels as they prepare for REM.

Further rollout of remote electronic monitoring to other fleets is under review and options will be developed alongside our Future Catching Policy.

A significant amount of work on the 21 Scottish-led Fisheries Management Plans (FMPs) has been completed. This work is complex and requires further stakeholder engagement and consultation. The Marine Directorate has undertaken pre-consultation with stakeholders which will inform the first formal consultation planned for autumn 2025. Discussions with stakeholders were held last year and, more recently, in February, May and June, we held workshops on demersal and Nephrops FMPs with plans for further workshops on pelagic FMPs in the coming months. The fisheries policy authorities intend to deliver the FMPs according to the timescales set out in Annex A of the Joint Fisheries Statement by the end of 2026.

For offshore Marine Protected Areas, the Scottish Government has completed its public consultation on proposed fisheries management measures and published the consultation analysis. The Scottish Government expects to announce the final measures in autumn 2025, with implementation to follow within the same calendar year. For inshore Marine Protected Areas, the Scottish Government is completing the necessary statutory assessments and aims to consult on proposed measures in the coming months

Public Inquiries which are established under the Inquiries Act 2005 are independent of the Scottish Government. Public Inquiries relevant costs under the Inquiries Act 2005 are funded via the sponsoring Ministerial portfolio within the Scottish Government, but publication in relation to costs is undertaken independently by each inquiry.

The cost of a public inquiry varies and is very much determined by the complexity of the issue to be investigated, the number of witnesses, and the amount of technical expertise that may be required. There is a statutory duty placed on Chairs of independent inquiries, set out at section 17 of the Inquiries Act 2005, the they "must act with fairness and with regard also to the need to avoid any unnecessary cost".

All Inquiries are encouraged to engage with sponsor teams to communicate likely budget requirements in order to inform development of the Scottish Government budget each year, and to advise sponsor teams if expected requirements change or evolve.

We have not done a formal assessment of barriers at this stage, however we discuss issues such as this through our engagements with industry and will consider barriers in the course of our work to develop a climate change action plan for fisheries.

The Forestry and Land Management (Scotland) Act 2018 grants FLS the powers to enter arrangements, acquire land by agreement, and/or compulsory purchase land.

Following acquisition, FLS has undertaken extensive public and stakeholder consultation, and environmental survey work, to enable the development of a comprehensive Land Management Plan to meet the aims and objectives for the acquisition.

The process undertaken by FLS to establish a Land Management Plan for Glen Prosen for subsequent approval by Scottish Forestry, follows current best practice and current legislative requirements.

Investment in Glen Prosen will result in a wide range of environmental, social and economic benefits through the opportunity it provides for landscape scale habitat restoration and a more joined up approach to land management substantially within the Cairngorms National Park. These benefits will be realised over time and as the approved Land Management Plan is implemented.