Chamber and committees

Today the First Minister will outline a £20m package of support to assist in implementing transformational change required to deliver its Vision for Scottish Agriculture. This will provide:

• capital funding to support investment in equipment and measures aimed at driving efficiency and supporting nature and climate friendly farming;
• innovative food and drink investment; and,
• funding for Lidar surveys.

Proposals for the Agricultural Transformation Programme continue to be developed, 70% funding has already been confirmed for Tiers 1 and 2 of the future farming support framework. Within the two tiers, 70% of funding will be devoted to Tier 1 and 30% to Tier 2.

The cost of maintaining the Scottish Government in each of the last five years is provided in the following table.

The national flags owned by the Scottish Government are listed in the following table.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

• Highlands and Islands includes the following local authorities: Highland, Orkney Islands, Shetland Islands and Western Isles (aka Outer Hebrides / Eilean Siar).
• There is a break in the time series in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID19 pandemic so there is no data available for these years.
• The source for domestic overnight figures is the Great Britain Tourism Survey.
• The source for international figures is the International Passenger Survey.

In accordance with the Scottish Ministerial Code paragraph 6.42, Ministers should use Government systems for all Government business. Any communication on Government business engages Ministers’ obligations to ensure accurate public records are kept.

The Scottish Government policy on use of mobile messaging apps can only be enforced using technical means on corporate devices connected to the Scottish Government network.

The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2022-23.

(a)Number of people prosecuted under the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation)(Scotland) Act 2003, where main crime, 2021-22 to 2022-23.

Information about each VisitScotland board member, including their register of interests, is available at https://www.visitscotland.org/about-us/our-team/board

We recognise the challenges in maintaining Scotland’s road network and the vital importance of ensuring roads are safe and well-maintained.

Under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984, local authorities are responsible for the improvement, maintenance, and repair of local roads. The Scottish Government is providing over £15 billion in the 2025-26 Local Government Settlement, increasing the resources available to Local Government by £1 billion, a real terms increase of 4.7%. It is the responsibility of each local authority to manage their own budget and to allocate the financial resources available to them on the basis of local needs and priorities.

Transport Scotland, on behalf of Scottish Ministers, is responsible for the management and maintenance of the trunk road network through the Operating Company contracts. Our Operating Companies conduct inspections every 7 days, and will address any defects which present immediate safety risks, by carrying out temporary repairs by 6 am the following day and permanent repairs within 28 days.

The 2025-26 draft Budget allocates a record £714 million for trunk road maintenance, supporting the continued safety and operation of the trunk road network.

There were no prosecutions under the Conservation of Salmon (Prohibition of Sale) (Scotland) Regulations 2002, where main crime, between 2021-22 and 2022-23.