Chamber and committees

Bute House is the Official Residence of the First Minister.

Bute House is Category A listed building and is owned by the National Trust for Scotland (NTS).

There are no costs associated with the transfer of the use of the House between First Ministers: the lease for Bute House is between the National Trust for Scotland and Scottish Ministers (the Scottish Government).

The Scottish Government recognises the important role that pollinators play in agriculture and horticulture as well as supporting our biodiversity, and that Nature Networks are key to helping pollinators thrive. Enabling land managers to support biodiversity is central to delivering the vision and outcomes set out in our final draft Scottish Biodiversity Strategy, published in December 2022. The Strategy highlights the need to improve ecological connectivity across Scotland in order to address the twin crises of climate change and biodiversity loss.

We welcome the publication of NatureScot’s Pollinator Strategy 2022 Progress Report, which shows a range of positive work underway across Scotland to deliver the aims of the Pollinator Strategy. The report highlights the strength of partnership working in Scotland and that delivery of the Strategy relies on the shared vision of many partners including NGOs, local authorities, community groups, the scientific community and individuals.

An increasing range of pollinator-friendly projects were reported across Scotland, including the Irvine to Girvan Nectar Network and Pollinators Along the Tweed.

Policing is and will continue to be a priority for the Scottish Government. Scotland has a higher number of officers than at any time during the last administration – and more per head of population than England and Wales (30 officers per 10,000 population in Scotland, compared to 24 officers per 10,000 population in England and Wales).

The recruitment and deployment of officers and staff is a matter for the Chief Constable. However, I note the new operating model based on 16,600 officers, which has been set out by the Chief Constable. It is important the Chief Constable has the flexibility to develop his workforce in a way that responds to the challenges he faces by ensuring the right workforce mix.

Scotland’s Deposit Return Scheme was developed in line with the ‘polluter pays’ principle, and just like similar schemes around the world, is being delivered and funded by industry. The Deposit Return Scheme for Scotland Regulations 2020 enable any public or private organisation to apply to be approved by the Scottish Ministers as a scheme administrator.

Only Circularity Scotland has applied to be a scheme administrator. Their application was considered in line with the regulations.

Any other eligible application received will be considered by the Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government did not specifically invite Circularity Scotland Ltd to respond to the Access to Information Rights in Scotland consultation, however it was open to anyone to respond to via the Scottish Government consultation hub. The Scottish Government has, as is standard practice, shared information on this consultation widely to ensure anyone or any organisation who wishes to response is aware of how to do so.

When applying for grant assistance at tender stage to deliver homes for social rent, grant applicants are required to self-certify that the amount of funding that they are requesting is the minimum required for a project to be financially viable for their organisation whilst ensuring rent affordability.

The Scottish Government will consider any additional costs associated with improved quality standards for homes delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme and those additional costs will be accounted for in the affordable housing investment benchmarks which determine how a project is appraised.

Fourteen beavers have been released in the River Teith catchment and seven beavers have been released in the River Leven (Loch Lomond) catchment since November 2021.

NatureScot engagement with local communities is ongoing on the potential translocation of beavers in the River Beauly catchment (Glen Affric) and in the River Spey catchment.

The Scottish Government are in the process of competitively tendering for parts of the Bute House repair schedule and therefore the full cost of the planned repairs has yet to be determined.

The Scottish Government recognises the profound impact the current cost crisis is having across Scotland.

While we have had to make difficult choices to live within budgets, we have also listened to the concerns raised by the wider culture sector across Scotland and the specific challenges Edinburgh festivals continue to face.

As referred to in the answer to question S6W-11081 on 29 September 2022, the Scottish Government will remain in an honest and open dialogue with the festivals organisers in an ongoing assessment of their individual situations to establish how best to assess the impact of issues impacting festivals, offer appropriate support where possible and use what levers we can to mitigate the various issues related to rising costs, while ensuring the protection of the most vulnerable in our society.

As well as our support to the culture sector and Edinburgh festivals during previous years, the Scottish Government have confirmed that fourteen major festivals in Edinburgh and Glasgow will receive a share of this year’s £1.8 million EXPO Fund.

Since the fund was established by the Scottish Government in 2007, the EXPO fund’s aim remains to build innovation across the Edinburgh festivals, support domestic performances and maximise national and international opportunities for the artists contributing to the festivals to find new audiences further afield.

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

The Scottish Government takes a whole population approach to tackling alcohol-related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol. Our 2018 Alcohol Framework contains 20 actions to tackle alcohol related harm.

We want everyone in Scotland to eat well and have a healthy weight to help reduce the impact of a range of diet-related ill health conditions including liver disease. We continue to implement the wide-ranging actions set out in our 2018 Diet and Healthy Weight Delivery Plan . This includes our commitment to restrict less healthy food promotions and improving the availability of healthier options when eating out as outlined in our Out Of Home Action Plan .

We also continue to support NHS boards to deliver adult, children and young people’s weight management services in line with our Type 2 Diabetes Prevention, Early Detection and Intervention Framework and Public Health Scotland’s National Standards .