Chamber and committees

As set out in the Scottish Government’s Climate Change Action: Policy Package, Climate change action: policy package - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , we are developing a package of incentives schemes for deer management to pilot across Scotland. These local schemes will be implemented this year in different parts of Scotland to test different approaches to incentives and to better understand the barriers to deer management.

In addition to this the Managing Deer for Climate and Nature: consultation closed on 29 March 2024. This consultation sought views on proposed legislative changes to Scotland’s systems of deer management, including in relation to a number of recommendations made by the Deer Working Group (DWG) in their 2020 report. The responses are currently being analysed and an update will be provided in due course.

The Scottish Government’s future legislative programme will be set out as part of the upcoming Programme for Government in due course. In the meantime we are working on those DWG recommendations that do not require primary legislation through the Strategic Deer Board. Deer Management Strategic Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Scottish Women’s Aid (SWA) provided its evaluation of the pilot fund to leave at the end of June. The Scottish Government is now considering SWA's evaluation as part of a wider assessment of the pilot. We will be assessing how the pilot delivered against its objectives; how it improved outcomes for women and/or prevented their homelessness; and what lessons were learned during the pilot. We will be in a position to set out next steps once the wider evaluation is complete.

As the information requested runs over several pages, a copy of the table listing those Lead Partners paid between September 2019 and 31 December 2023 has been placed in the Parliament's Reference Centre BIB number 65192 .

We anticipate that the Four Day Working Week Public Sector pilot and the accompanying Shorter Working Week evaluation report will be concluded and published in Spring 2025.

The Scottish Government will review and respond to the evidence and recommendations presented within the Grenfell Tower Inquiry Phase 2 report once it is published.

Development of a national pilot scheme to provide travel support for people seeking asylum and not currently eligible for the existing National Concessionary Travel Schemes continues with the Working Group. Further information will be published on the Scottish Government website and provided to third sector organisations as preparations for the pilot to open are made.

The scheme will build on learning from the small local and regional pilots that have been delivered by third sector organisations over recent years. Expected learning from the scheme includes impact of providing free bus travel, demand for this concession, the cost of providing this concession, and the practicalities of delivery of such a scheme at the national level.

The following table shows a breakdown of the spend for the Open Marked Shared Equity Scheme (OMSE) in each financial year:

Our evaluation reports are available via this link: Shared equity schemes: evaluation reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . The evaluation concluded that OMSE provides significant additionality, and is effective in enabling lower income households to overcome price and deposit constraints to become a homeowner.

The Scottish Government has continued to monitor the performance of OMSE which delivered over 900 affordable homes for priority groups and first time buyers in 2023-24. In 2022 we also made several evidence based adjustments to the scheme to further support priority groups into affordable home ownership.

Based on previous years’ financial spend we expect that the current budget could provide up to an additional 466 units.

I met the Chinese Consul General Zhang Biao on 12 June at the Consul General’s request. The Consul General raised the prospect of a friendship arrangement between the City of Edinburgh Council and Kaohsiung. I made clear that the Scottish Government could not instruct, nor influence local authority decision making, regardless of the topic or issue and re-iterated that the Scottish Government policy regarding Taiwan had not changed.

As outlined on 18 June 2024 in response to question S6W-27934, the delivery costs to date of designating a new National Park, excluding staffing costs and expenses, are £331,409.05.

The Scottish Government estimates the final cost of designating a new National Park to be £478,500. This includes the delivery costs incurred to date as well as estimated costs for the next phase of work. It does not include the cost of a Reporter Investigation which will be undertaken by NatureScot.

The annual running cost of a new National Park will be determined by a range of factors which will be considered and consulted upon during the Reporter Investigation. This includes the size and boundary of any area proposed for designation and the powers, functions and governance of a new National Park.

Any new National Park would be expected to contribute to Scottish Government priorities including growing the economy, tackling the climate emergency and improving public services.