Based on the latest Scottish Fiscal Commission forecasts, it is estimated that the budget allocated to Social Security will be 14.8% of the Scottish Government’s total Resource Budget by 2029-30. The proportion of the budget which the Scottish Government has chosen to invest in to enhance our Social Security offering, compared to England and Wales (i.e. above the Social Security Block Grant Adjustment), is projected to be 2.6% of the total Scottish Government Resource Budget by 2029-30.

Social security is an investment in the people of Scotland. Our priority is to ensure that people receive the support to which they are entitled and that in doing so they are treated with dignity, fairness and respect. The Scottish Government are investing around £6.9 billion in Social Security benefits in 2025-26, this is projected to increase to around £8.9 billion by 2029-30.

The Scottish Government oppose the UK Government’s reforms which drastically reduce levels of financial support to disabled people. It is disappointing that the UK Government did not engage with the Scottish Government before announcing these measures.

We need to take the time to scrutinise the detail of the UK Government’s Green Paper and understand the impacts of the reforms on both devolved disability benefits in Scotland and on the people who rely on this support.

In 2025-26 we will invest around £3.6 billion in Adult Disability Payment - £314 million more than we are forecasted to receive from the UK Government.

The Scottish Government’s positive and compassionate approach ensures access to Adult Disability Payment is as straightforward as possible so more disabled people get the support they are entitled to.

Use of public transport and active travel both support reductions in car use. The impact of free bus travel on sustainable travel behaviours is complex, and is affected by demographics, geography and trip purpose. Evidence from the existing National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Older and Disabled Persons indicates that people who benefit from free public transport tend to be more active as a result. These journeys can be used to access outdoor activities and most will involve an active component, for instance to get to or from the bus stop.

The Year One Evaluation of the Young Persons Scheme was conducted between April and August 2023 and found early signs of changes in mode choice, with young people opting to use the bus rather than car, train and potentially some active modes. We will continue to monitor the impacts of the scheme, including any continued impact to use of other modes and active travel.

There are many factors that influence the average cost per offender for in-prison rehabilitation programmes, meaning that it is not possible to provide an average cost. These factors may include but are not limited to: the duration of the Offending Behaviour Programme (OBP), grades of staff involved in delivery/treatment management, training costs involved for staff to be able to deliver the OBP, and materials involved for delivery.

The current funding distributed by the Scottish Government to local authorities for the purpose of delivery of Caledonian includes: £2,557,547 for the Men's Programme and £1,910,119 for the Women and Children’s Service. For 2025-26 the total budget is £4,467,666. It is not possible to quantify an average cost per man on the Caledonian System, or that of women and children being supported, due to several varying factors. This includes: variation in cost to run the Men’s programme, as mentioned above, along with the intensity of the programme required which is equated to individual need. The Women and children’s service again will vary in cost per client, as support is very much tailored to individual needs.

Scottish Government Ministers and officials regularly meet with counterparts in the UK Government to discuss reserved issues. Senior officials who lead on The Promise have recently engaged with their counterparts in both the UK and devolved governments regarding the Scottish Government’s work to keep the Promise.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government and is a matter for individual NHS Boards.

NatureScot are currently reviewing the bird species on Schedule 2 of the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 (the list of game species) and will report to Scottish Ministers in due course.

Scottish Ministers will consider the findings of the review and decide whether to update the Schedule as necessary.

The Scottish Government takes the safety of the public very seriously. Sex offender notification requirements apply to an individual, irrespective of what name they use. Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements record any aliases in their documentation. The current position in legislation is that sex offenders must inform the police of a name change within three days and failure to notify such a change can result in a prison sentence.

We are aware that the Crime and Policing Bill, recently introduced to the UK Parliament, contains legislative change in this area. We are exploring the possibility of extending the provisions in the Crime and Policing Bill to Scotland. Any such amendment would be the subject of the legislative consent process.

There is no provision in the Registration of Births, Deaths and Marriages (Scotland) Act 1965 allowing for the private funding of assistant registrars to carry out marriage ceremonies.

Under Section 7 of the 1965 Act, every local registration authority (which is also the local authority) shall appoint an appropriately qualified district registrar of births, deaths and marriages for their registration district. A local authority may also appoint additional district, senior and assistant registrars of births, deaths and marriages, for its registration district as it considers necessary. The local authority must consult the Registrar General under the 1965 Act when appointing additional district and senior registrars.

Section 17 of the Marriage (Scotland) Act 1977 permits the Registrar General for Scotland to appoint as many district registrars as is thought necessary for the purpose of affording reasonable facilities for the solemnisation of civil marriages throughout Scotland. The Registrar General may also appoint assistant registrars to districts where a district registrar has been appointed under Section 17. Under the 1977 Act, only district registrars and assistant registrars employed by the local registration authority may conduct civil marriages in Scotland.