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Falling birth rates are a trend across many high-income countries, with significant implications for our economies, communities and public services. It is not for government to dictate or influence whether an individual should have children, which is rightly a matter for individuals and couples.

Our 2021 Population Strategy sets out our ambition that Scotland is the ideal place to raise a family, and that people are enabled to have the number of children they wish to. In December 2024, the Ministerial Population Taskforce considered potential lessons from family friendly policy interventions internationally, and officials are currently exploring next steps in the Scottish context, including scoping further research into the role of parental leave uptake on decisions to have children.

NatureScot did not hold any direct discussions with (a) NFU Scotland and (b) Scottish Land and Estates regarding its recent decision to grant licences for the release of six beaver families at two sites in the River Beauly catchment

The main engagement for conservation translocations is carried out by the applicants, in this case, Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS).

The FLS application followed two years of engagement by Trees for Life and FLS. The Abriachan application followed local community consultation hosted by the Abriachan Forest Trust and Scotland the Big Picture. Scottish land and Estates and NFUS were invited to attend a consultation event, which NFUS attended.

The Affric engagement reports can be found here:

https://treesforlife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Glen-Affric-and-Strathglass-beaver-consultation-report.pdf

https://treesforlife.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Deciding-Matters-Beaver-Consultation-Report-28-May-2024.pdf

NatureScot received correspondence from NFUS on this topic on behalf of members prior to and after the application was submitted by FLS.

As Licensing Authority and recognising there remained concerns amongst land and fisheries managers in Beauly and Strathglass about beaver release proposals, NatureScot carried out further engagement over the summer 2025 to better understand these concerns. Site visits were requested by 12 landholdings and three groups representing fishing interests. NatureScot staff met with the land and fisheries managers directly on site to discuss their concerns. A representative from NFUS was present at one of these meetings.

The 2025-26 budget provides £139 million additional investment for health infrastructure which allows some work to resume on delivering new acute facilities, and supporting Boards’ priority maintenance.

Despite this increase, following the outcome of the UK Government’s Spending Review, the capital funding position remains challenging. As a result, it remains the case that we cannot replace or upgrade health infrastructure as quickly as we might wish to –a position that is not unique to Scotland.

We are working with all health boards, including NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, to develop a whole-system NHS infrastructure plan to inform strategic investment priorities across the NHS estate. This work supports continued safe operation of existing facilities and will inform determination of longer-term investment priorities.

A key part of this longer-term planning work is development of an investment strategy for primary care, considering both priorities and delivery model.

We are developing a Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG) Needs Assessment Tool which will help build a robust picture of the specific needs of women, children and young people experiencing VAWG in the different local authority areas across Scotland. This follows discussions with a range of specialist stakeholders about the importance of understanding the extent of need for VAWG services across Scotland.

The tool is seen as an important aide in bringing together partners from across different services and policy areas to raise awareness of everyone’s role, help identify opportunities to drive forward improvements and maximise the safety and wellbeing of women, children and young people.

The Needs Assessment Tool is entering a testing phase, supported by £350,000 of Scottish Government investment in 2025-26.

All Scottish Government staff are subject to SG Terms & Conditions and are managed & supported via our internal policies and processes. This is currently in a live legal process and we do not comment on any individual staffing matters or circumstances.

While the impacts that AI will create are not yet fully understood, the Scottish Government will develop improved methods for assessing the potential impact of AI on jobs in Scotland, recognising the urgent need to understand both the risks and emerging opportunities in a rapidly evolving labour market.

Scotland already has some of the strongest rights in the UK for tenants, and we are taking forward measures in the Housing Bill that will strengthen these protections further including the introduction of rent control.

We recognise the concerns raised about how rent adjudication currently operates, particularly the potential for rents to be set at a level greater than that proposed by the landlord. We have taken action through the Housing Bill to ensure the Rent Officer, or Tribunal, cannot raise the rent above that requested by the landlord, should the Bill be passed by Parliament.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting the specialist third sector services that provide crucial support to survivors of violence against women and girls.

That is why the Delivering Equally Safe Fund has been extended into 2025-26, allowing for the continuation of vital support to survivors of violence against women and girls across Scotland. The fund has benefited from a £2.4 million increase, bringing the total investment in the Delivering Equally Safe Fund to £21.6 million for 2025-26.

Our Equally Safe Delivery Plan commits to the development of a flexible and stable funding model that reflects the ambitions of Equally Safe.

Prior to the implementation of Oracle Cloud, the Scottish Government’s previous HR Information System did not require Job Title to be a mandatory field for completion. This meant that individuals could be operational in substantive posts, but with missing or out of date job titles recorded on the system.

There are 45 civil servants, directly employed by the Scottish Government, whose Job Title does not appear on the organisation’s HR Information System, Oracle Cloud, when a report is downloaded. Further information on Scottish Government workforce numbers is available here Scottish Government workforce information - gov.scot).

A Professions Strategy is in operation within Scottish Government. This enhances workforce management by adopting a classification system that links all jobs to a profession and a related job family and job type. While the majority of jobs have been through this classification system in preparation for Oracle Cloud going live, there is a small minority of roles (~7%) still to be formally classified which Scottish Government are currently progressing.

The Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill includes an exemption for new homes intended for social or affordable use, defined as homes let under Scottish secure or short secure tenancies and those funded under the Housing (Scotland) Acts of 1988 or 2001. The Bill also includes an exemption for developments occurring on islands.

The Scottish Government recognises that smaller developers can face proportionately higher development costs compared to others operating in the sector. Therefore, section 12 of the Bill enables Scottish Ministers to introduce a levy-free allowance. This is an annual number of units that will not be subject to the Levy, which will apply over and above any units covered by other exemptions. The Scottish Government is working with developers and industry stakeholders to gather evidence to inform the decision on where to set the allowance, which will be legislated for in secondary legislation.

The Bill as introduced includes build-to-rent developments within the scope of the Levy, consistent with the arrangements in place for the Building Safety Levy in England. The Scottish Government will continue to engage stakeholders throughout the legislative process to gather evidence and assess whether exemptions should be extended to include, for example, build-to-rent and mid-market rent properties.