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The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

Anyone who wishes to control mountain hares must apply to NatureScot for the appropriate licence.

The Scottish Government does not expect all persons or businesses conducting peatland restoration work will be required to control mountain hares, therefore, in these instances, an application to NatureScot for a licence would not be required.

Guidance on Mountain Hare licensing, which includes licensable purposes, is published on NatureScot’s website at Mountain hare licensing - Guidance for applicants | NatureScot

On 7 August, the Scottish Government published the latest 6-month prison population projections, based on court activity and prison population data, up to the end of 2025. Due to the uncertainty surrounding factors that influence prison population flows - such as crime rates and justice system activity - the projections included several possible scenarios, including a reasonable upper estimate and a reasonable lower estimate. Taking the scenarios together and assuming that recent trends in justice demand, policy and practice continue, it was projected that the average daily prison population could be between 7,950 and 8,750 in December 2025. The design capacity of the prison estate is currently 7,805.

The most recent mountain hare population estimate that NatureScot has available was published in 2018 (Mathews et al) which gives a figure of 132,000 (with a possible range of 79,500-516,000) and comes prior to the March 2021 amendment of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981.

Since 2021, NatureScot have been running (in partnership with the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO), the Mammal Society and the Game and Wildlife Conservation Trust (GWCT)) the Volunteer Mountain Hare Survey (VMHS) https://www.nature.scot/scotlands-biodiversity/biodiversity-what-can-you-do/volunteer-mountain-hare-survey. The survey encourages hill-goers and other interested volunteers to participate in citizen science mountain hare surveys in order to improve our understanding of mountain hare distribution, but there aren’t sufficient data as yet to generate any meaningful population trends.

There is some current trend information available via the BTO Breeding Bird Survey mammal data. Based on these data the 5 year trend from 2018 -2023 shows a statistically significant 50.51% decline for Scotland. However, due to the natural cycling that occurs within many mountain hare populations (typically occurring over approx. 10 year periods), it is unclear whether this reflects a genuine long-term downward trend or is indicative of the downward phase of a population cycle.

The information as requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Government funds hundreds of organisations and does not monitor which organisations have campaigned for gender self-identification.

Conditions attached to Scottish Government grant funding will vary based on the organisation and project being funded. Some organisations are given core funding to meet general costs while others receive funding strictly associated to a specific project. The specific details of these conditions are set out individually in grant offer letters for each piece of funding.

All grants are actively managed in line with the Scottish Public Finance Manual: Grant and grant in aid - Scottish Public Finance Manual - gov.scot. In particular, grants have outcomes and objectives associated to them which mean that payments are only made when the grant manager is content that value for money is being achieved. Furthermore, all Scottish Government grant offer letters specify that funds are not to be used for party political purposes. Beyond the auspices of projects for which organisations have been given grant funding, organisations are free to campaign on any issues as we would expect in a democratic society. It is not for the Scottish Government to interfere with this freedom, to ensure that the third sector can have an independent voice.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-40154 on 17 September 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government published revised guidance for education authorities and schools in November 2024. This guidance includes advice on prejudice-based bullying and is available from Anti-bullying guidance for adults working with children and young people - gov.scot. In addition, in 2025/26 we are providing £298,480 to respectme, Scotland’s national anti-bullying service, to provide advice and resources to schools, parents and carers to support and educate young people on the impact of bullying and build confidence and capacity to address bullying.

Since 2021, Scotland has led globally on embedding LGBT inclusive education across the curriculum, providing online resources, staff training modules, teaching toolkits, and creative materials like Scots-language poetry, all aimed at helping schools integrate LGBT+ themes and foster equality. In December 2024, the Scottish Government published the National Approach to LGBT inclusive education guidance for Scottish schools and teachers, which sets out the steps we have put in place to ensure LGBT inclusive education can be delivered consistently in schools across Scotland. The Scottish Government also continues to support LGBT and other organisations to help address concerns about bullying in schools. This includes support for LGBTQI+ equality by funding organisations such as respectme, LGBT Youth Scotland and Time for Inclusive Education (TIE).

LGBT Youth Scotland’s Charter Programme also helps schools, colleges, and universities create safe, inclusive environments for LGBTQ+ learners and staff, an effort made more urgent by rising attacks on the community.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the Supporting Transgender Young People in Schools guidance remains up to date and fit for purpose. As with any significant legal or policy developments, we are considering whether the guidance requires to be updated to reflect these. That consideration is ongoing.

The Scottish Government will engage with organisations representing a range of interests, as appropriate.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the Supporting Transgender Young People in Schools guidance remains up to date and fit for purpose. As with any significant legal or policy developments, we are considering whether the guidance requires to be updated to reflect these.

In the meantime, the Scottish Government has ensured that education authorities and schools have been made aware of the interim update provided by the EHRC, the regulatory body for the Equality Act 2010.