Seòmar agus comataidhean

Yes. The FONE group’s membership comprises of crofting stakeholders who regularly discuss and consider what further efforts can be made to make the best use of crofts and attract new entrants to crofting.

The recommendations set out in the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2), published in December 2022, guide long term investment in Scotland’s strategic transport network.

The evidenced led appraisal that supported STPR2 did not recommend any major road upgrades for the A1. It did, however, make provision for investment to ensure that Scotland’s trunk road network remains safe (Recommendation 30), adapted to deal with the impacts of climate change (Recommendation 31) and resilient (Recommendation 32).

The UK Government’s cancellation of the A1 Morpeth to Ellingham scheme following their autumn budget in October 2024 is anticipated to have no impact on Scottish Government plans for the A1. Last financial year (2023/24), the Scottish Government invested £10,613,185 to ensure the continued safe and efficient operation of the A1 north of the border.

Yes. The FONE group meets on a quarterly basis and members are routinely provided the opportunity to share what promotional material, including guidance, support, case studies and signposting for new entrants and the next generation is being offered. Additionally, agricultural opportunities are regularly signposted on the individual stakeholders’ websites, such as:

New Entrants resources for farmers from Farm Advisory Service

Inspirational Stories | Helping farmers in Scotland | Farm Advisory Service

Farmers sign up | Scottish Land Matching Service

The FONE is a collaborative group dedicated to supporting agricultural new entrants and the next generation of Scottish farmers and crofters. Each of the members looks to ensure that their organisation is giving due consideration to new entrant opportunities and further support they can provide.

The group’s success can be evidenced by the 8,272 hectares of land that have been made available to new entrants since 2016. This represents a combined effort from public bodies to maximise new entrant opportunities on public land.

Modern software subscriptions are usually multi-year deals to spread cost and maximise the return on investment. Most agreements include elements of support and integration costs. As the Scottish Government has over 400 validated instances of software, to extract annual costs for every software subscription or agreement could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Complying with this request would breach the upper cost limit of £600 due to the analysis of significant amounts of data split by supplier and type in a 5-year period between 2019 and 2024.

However, working within the upper cost limit, we are providing details of spend on major elements of software to provide illustrative costs of delivering shared services for the Scottish Government and 50+ public bodies. Please note that the annual figures provided may be averaged over the length of the contract and may also include bundled support and integration costs.

Regulating service provision and the consumer experience of public EV charging is an area that is reserved to the UK government. The UK Public Charge Point Regulations 2023 established minimum standards in terms of reliability and functionality for all public charge points. I welcome these regulations and I encourage all public charge point owners to comply with them to ensure that drivers receive the level of service that they have every right to expect.

To date, the Scottish Government has invested over £65 million in developing Scotland’s public EV charging network, which has included providing funding to public charge point owners for warranty and maintenance packages.

Our £30 million EV Infrastructure Fund aims to ensure that continued investment in Scotland’s public EV charging network is balanced across urban, rural and island areas by focusing public funding on those parts of Scotland that are less likely to see private investment, including rural an island communities. This fund also supports a transition to a public charging network that is increasingly operated by the private sector and will require those private charge point operators to continue to invest in and maintain Scotland’s public EV charging network to a high standard.

Buildings owned by the Scottish Government on the Core estate fall into the following EPC categories.

A – 0 Buildings

B – 1 Building

C – 4 Buildings

D – 5 Buildings

E – 2 Buildings

F – 3 Buildings

G – 2 Buildings

The release of common pheasant and red-legged partridge is permitted under sub-section 14 (2A) of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in Scotland. Currently the Scottish Government and NatureScot have no evidence that the release of non-native gamebirds are impacting on native wildlife through habitat degradation or predation. If there is evidence that non-native gamebirds are causing an impact, the Scottish Government will consider any evidence and take any action required.

The Scottish Government monitors the risk in wild and kept birds carefully and implements disease control measures such as restrictions, conditions or prohibitions in the pheasant sector as well as other sectors of commercial and non-commercial poultry industry, following changes in risk, in accordance with the legislation already in place.

Under the Avian Influenza and Influenza of Avian Origin in Mammals (Scotland) Order 2006, during an outbreak of highly pathogenic avian influenza or low pathogenic avian influenza the release of game birds is prohibited where a Protection, Surveillance Zone or a Restricted Zone is in place.

Further to this, NatureScot regulates the release of gamebirds on Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) and European Sites using powers under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004. Where release of gamebirds may adversely affect the natural features of a SSSI, the owners or the occupiers of the site must apply for consent. NatureScot can give consent with or without conditions, refuse, modify or withdraw a consent as appropriate.

Where there are no other means to protect the natural features of specific areas of land from damage, Scottish Ministers can issue a Nature Conservation Order. Nature Conservation Orders can apply to land within or contiguous with a SSSI or European Site, or other land that Scottish Ministers deem of special interest for its natural features.

The Scottish Government procures software subscriptions services through centrally tendered national procurement frameworks which fully consider and technically assess environmental and sustainability factors through the procurement framework evaluation process.

Professional memberships and media subscriptions are managed in individual business areas rather than on an organisational basis. We do not hold centralised information on the Net Zero or sustainability position or ambition for media suppliers or each professional body the Scottish Government aligns with.

There are 6 buildings with Solar PV, 1 building with an air source heat pump, 2 buildings with biomass heating.

The solar PV provides approximately 5% of each of the building’s total electricity use.

The air source heat pump replaced a gas boiler.

The biomass boilers replaced gas and oil heating at rural locations.