Chamber and committees

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.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the delivery of national emissions reduction targets, directed by our new Carbon Management Plan. As part of ongoing maintenance and upgrades within our buildings, we aim to incorporate energy efficiency improvements alongside these works wherever possible.

UCAS data can be used to look at the number of Scottish and English domiciled applicants securing university places across the UK, typically at full-time undergraduate level. Data is available in background tables back to 2006: https://www.ucas.com/data-and-analysis/undergraduate-statistics-and-reports/ucas-undergraduate-end-cycle-data-resources-2024

Information on the number of Scottish domiciled students enrolling at English Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), and English domiciled students enrolling at Scottish HEI courses, covering all levels, years and modes of study is published by the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Data, covering 2014-15 to 2022-23, is available on HESA’s website:

https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/table-59

Earlier university data can be found in the publication archive under the “Students in Higher Education” section: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/publications. Between 2009-10 and 2013-14 information can be found in table 7g. Between 1999-2000 and 2008-09 information can be found in tables 5a and 5b. HESA data prior to academic year 2013-14 counted all enrolments at the Open University, regardless of domicile, as at English Providers, so data is not fully comparable.

Data for Scottish domiciled students enrolling at English colleges is not held by the Scottish Government. Data for English domiciled students enrolling at Scottish colleges is collected by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), and provided below:

English domiciled students (headcount) at Scottish colleges by academic year

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-32827 on 16 January 2025. 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 funds the School Library Improvement Fund which has provided £1.72m of funding to support improvement in library provision across Scotland since 2017.

The Scottish Government is working with partners and stakeholders to reconvene the School Libraries Education and Policy Working Group to build on the success of the National School Library Strategy – Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools at a national level.

The core elements of Anne’s Law have already been delivered by using our existing powers to strengthen Health and social care standards on visiting in care homes and in updates to guidance. As a result people living in care homes can now expect to see family members or friends during outbreaks and are able to name people who can directly participate in meeting their care needs.

The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to enshrining Anne’s Law in primary legislation, and will deliver it within the National Care Service Bill. The timing of this will be dependent on the Bill successfully completing its Parliamentary passage.

The Scottish Government supports local authorities to manage ash dieback and replace lost trees with appropriate species through Scottish Forestry working in partnership with The Tree Council. This collaboration produced an ash dieback toolkit, first published in 2022, to help local authorities to manage ash dieback effectively. This covers:

• Raising awareness of ash dieback

• Preparing an Ash Dieback Action Plan

• Taking action and responding to ash dieback

• Recovery and adaptation

Ongoing support for local authorities provides help to develop Ash Dieback Action Plans and facilitates joint working and sharing of experience and best practice across local authorities. Guidance is provided to help those with responsibility for ash trees in Scotland, including local authorities, to make informed management decisions. This includes identifying and monitoring affected ash trees and managing them accordingly, taking a risk-based approach considering tree condition and location. Guidance is also provided to assist with decisions about replacing lost ash trees. This covers both advice on encouraging natural regeneration of alternative native species where possible, and information on appropriate replacement tree species for ash in different habitat types in Scotland in cases where planting is necessary.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-32369 on 8 January 2025. 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