Scottish Government officials had a number of informal discussions with NatureScot in advance of NatureScot introducing guidance and adding a new condition to 16AA licences. NatureScot has the authority to add conditions to grouse shooting licences without requiring approval from Scottish Government Ministers.

The Case for Investment for Clyde Metro is being led by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT), supported by Glasgow City Council leading various workstreams alongside SPT, with Transport Scotland providing a project assurance role.

Clyde Metro aims to offer relief for the heavy rail network, freeing rail capacity for longer distance journeys, thus the Clyde Metro project team has been engaging with ScotRail and Network Rail to inform the on-going Case for Investment stage. I understand that the assessment of network options will consider opportunities to improve the integration of rail services in the Greenock and Inverclyde constituency with the wider Clyde Metro network.

The Case for Investment is a key stage of the development process, informing decisions around network selection, phasing and implementation. It is well underway and is currently anticipated to be complete by mid-2027.

Further details on the Case for Investment stage can be obtained by contacting SPT directly at [email protected].

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The contract for HMP Glasgow was awarded under a two-stage design and build contract using the “Scottish Building Contracts Committee (SBCC) Design and Build Contract for use in Scotland 2016 Edition” contract form.

Whilst this contract form does not include a formal Conflict Avoidance Process, it is designed to avoid unnecessary contractual disputes arising during contract delivery.

The standard clauses in the SBCC conditions contract already recognise that mediation should be utilised before resorting to Adjudication in the event of a dispute or disagreement arising. SPS has however also included a specific amendment which provides an explicit undertaking by directors or senior representatives of the parties to the contract to resolve any contractual differences within 5 business days of the matter arising before mediation is considered.

The average class size of primary pupils by local authority and stage is published in Table 6.6a of the pupil census supplementary statistics.

Pupil census supplementary statistics - gov.scot

These statistics are available from 2007-2023, data prior to 2007 is not available.

Primary class size statistics for 2024 will be published on 25 March, 2025.

This data is not held centrally.

No section 16AA licences have been granted which specify the land to which the licence relates as the area immediately surrounding a line of grouse butts.

In developing the Grouse Code of Practice NatureScot established the Grouse Code Working Group to develop the conditions of the licence for grouse moors and the accompanying Code of Practice. This was then introduced in July 2024.

As I set out in response to S6W-34518 on 25 February 2025, NatureScot subsequently added a condition to licences so that certain relevant offences committed anywhere on a landholding can be taken into consideration as to whether to revoke or suspend a licence. No additional engagement was undertaken and it was not considered necessary to carry out further consultation as this addition did not deviate from the policy intention when the licensing conditions and Grouse Code of Practice were initially developed.

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

This is a matter of law, therefore the Scottish Government do not hold a position on these issues. Lease agreements will vary depending on the circumstances and individuals should take their own legal advice.

NatureScot held seven online conference calls to discuss the legal opinions and definition of land which should be included in a 16AA licence.

The next edition of the Disability and Transport publication will be published by Transport Scotland later in March this year.

It is intended that Transport Scotland will update the report on an annual basis in future. However, this is dependent on the availability of data supporting meaningful annual analysis.

Decisions on publication frequency will continue to be made in consultation with the Disability and Transport Monitoring and Evaluation Group: a steering group for Transport Scotland’s work in this area, which includes representatives from the Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS), Disability Equality Scotland, and Transport Scotland.