Seòmar agus comataidhean

Local Authorities are democratically accountable to their local communities for the service outcomes they deliver. As independent corporate bodies, local authorities are responsible for managing their own budgets and allocating the total financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities in line with their statutory obligations and a small number of jointly agreed national priorities.

The Local Government Benchmarking Framework (LGBF) is a high-level benchmarking tool designed to support senior management teams and elected members to ask questions about key council services. The LGBF, which is run by the Improvement Service on behalf of the Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers (SOLACE) (Scotland), helps councils compare their performance against a suite of efficiency, output and outcome indicators that cover all areas of local government activity.

All new policy commitments or changes to existing policy, that have a financial impact on local government, must be approved 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.

The Scottish Government also publish the Scottish Local Government Financial Statistics (SLGFS) annually that provides a comprehensive overview of financial activity of Scottish local authorities based on authorities audited accounts.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS) is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. This includes NatureScot and Scottish Water. Further detail on the revenue these organisations have received from deer management activities is as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland

FLS income from deer carcasses, the associated bye-products and fees from leases/permissions for recreational stalking, has amounted to:

The Scottish Government own 126 bulls to operate the crofting cattle improvement scheme, however for the majority of the year these bulls are kept on crofters own holdings.

We do not hold information on the numbers of livestock owned and managed by our farm and croft tenants.

The vast majority of dog owners are responsible people who take good care of their animals and enjoy the widespread benefits of dog ownership and companionship.

The Scottish Government Code of Practice on the Welfare of Dogs, approved by the Scottish Parliament, provides dog owners with information on caring for their pets. This has been promoted by various marketing campaigns in recent years working in partnership with the relevant stakeholders.

Furthermore The Scottish Government would encourage all dog owners to follow the guidance and advice from reputable organisations such as the Scottish SPCA, the Dogs Trust and others if they require assistance with the use of crates for their dogs and crate training.

Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), is the executive agency which manages Scotland’s national forests and land. The majority of deer management on land owned by the Scottish Government on behalf of the nation is undertaken by FLS. Alongside land owned by the Scottish Government, public bodies also manage deer on public land they are responsible for. This includes NatureScot and Scottish Water. Further detail on the deer management activities of these organisations is as follows.

Forestry and Land Scotland

FLS collects data, on a daily basis, for each deer culled on SNFL by its Wildlife Rangers and contractors, and on a monthly basis for recreational stalkers.

The data collected includes; species, sex, whether adult, yearling or juvenile, lactating females or whether a foetus is present, the presence of disease, the date, time, location (6-figure grid reference) and forest structure in which the deer was shot, whether it was shot by an FLS ranger, contractor or recreational stalker, shot placement, the larder in which the carcass was processed/chilled and length of time in the larder, carcass weight, whether shot under out of season or night shooting authorisation, and the end-use of the carcass (ie private sale, sold to venison dealer or is for domestic use by recreational stalker).

NatureScot

In addition to the annual cull data that NatureScot collects they also make regular and frequent assessments of deer populations on the NNRs it manages. This is done on a priority basis with the larger NNRs where deer management is a priority They use a range of techniques including; helicopter, drone and foot counts as well as dung counting. They also undertake Herbivore Impact Assessments to better understanding the impacts of the deer on the vegetation and habitats.

Scottish Water

Scottish Water does not monitor or keep records of deer numbers on their operational property, the data they do collect relates only to their rural catchment estate in East Grampian and is provided in the answers to S6W-34627 and
S6W-34630 on 26 February 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

We closely monitor the impacts of our policy decisions on taxpayers, businesses, and the economy using a range of evidence such as real time economic data, formal evaluations and engagement with stakeholders, including the business community.

We have also funded HMRC to produce two separate pieces of analysis, a longitudinal dataset and a behavioural study, measuring the impact of our Income Tax policies on behaviour change, both published April 2024.

Since the introduction of Scottish Income Tax more taxpayers have come to Scotland than have left with net inflows averaging almost 4,200 per year. In 2021-22, the latest year of data, net migration of taxpayers was positive across all tax bands and almost all age groups.

In line with commitments in the Tax Strategy, we will publish further research on the impacts of Scottish Income Tax policy on businesses and competitiveness in Scotland in 2025. We will also evaluate the impact of changes to Income Tax in 2023-24 and 2024-25 once outturn date is available.

Information on Ministerial engagements is routinely published on the Scottish Government website and can be found at: Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot. Minutes of Ministerial meetings are not published routinely.

I last met with the BBC on 27 January 2025 for an introductory meeting with the new BBC Scotland Director. This meeting was arranged at my request to explore how the BBC can improve its support for Scotland-based productions and grow our broadcasting sector. The First Minister had an introductory meeting with the new BBC Scotland Director on 20 February. I have no future meetings currently scheduled with the BBC.

Over the last five years, several matters within my portfolio have been discussed with the BBC, including: plans and opportunities in Scotland; the BBC’s annual report and reports published by the regulator, Ofcom; the Media Bill and subsequent Media Act 2024; the BBC’s delivery of programmes and skills training; and the BBC’s provision of services and plans to grow the broadcasting sector in Scotland.

Scottish Government have allocated £13.6 million to General Practice to assist with recruitment and retention by directly funding GP practices to pay partners and staff; distributed by Scottish Workload Formula and Income & Expenses Guarantee entitlement this year, next year by Scottish Workload Formula, Income & Expenses Guarantee entitlement and increased item of service fees for some optional services.

Since the independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates, a range of key reforms to the NDR system have been implemented to support growth, improve administration and increase fairness.

Following the implementation of the final recommendations of the Barclay Review on 1 April 2023, a consultative sub-group on Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) was established under the New Deal for Business to advise on further enhancements to the NDR system. This sub-group provides a forum for ongoing dialogue and engagement on NDR issues with members who come from a range of business representative organisations, including the hospitality sector, as well as Scottish Assessors and local authorities who are also represented.

The Scottish Government has no plans to consult on a long-term replacement for the NDR system in advance of the next revaluation on 1 April 2026 but remains committed to the NDR sub-group and to working with the hospitality sector on the long-term issues that have been raised by the sector.

The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining public finances on a sustainable trajectory. Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of public services is a key strand of the Public Service Reform programme, which reports to Parliament on a regular basis.

Accountable Officers for all public bodies or portfolio within the Scottish Government have a personal responsibility for the propriety and regularity of the finances under their stewardship and for the economic, efficient and effective use of all related resources. This includes being personally answerable to Parliament for the exercise of their functions. This is set out in the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act 2000 and the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

The Scottish Government has no plans to incur the costs associated with the establishment of a new executive agency to duplicate the work already being undertaken by Accountable Officers and Ministers.