- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many members of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh there have been in each year since 2021.
Answer
This information can be found in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh‘s (RBGE) Annual Reports and Accounts: Accounts | Corporate Information | What We Do | Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much funding it has allocated to the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh in each year since 2021.
Answer
Information on funding provided to the Royal Botanic Gardens Edinburgh (RBGE) is available, within published annual reports and accounts. These are available at Accounts | Corporate Information | What We Do | Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what outreach work the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh currently carries out in (a) primary and (b) secondary schools.
Answer
This is an operational matter for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many (a) full-time equivalent, (b) part-time equivalent and (c) temporary roles there are currently within the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
Answer
(a) Total FTE – 281.4, which includes (b) Part-time staff 64.4 FTE; and (c) 59 temporary roles.
It is important to note that as a registered charity, the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh receives multiple income streams that contribute towards its headcount. This can include, for example, Scottish Government Grant in Aid, funding from research grants or self-generated income.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Mairi Gougeon on 9 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh has spent on conversation projects (a) in Scotland, (b) in the rest of the UK and (c) outside of the UK in each year since 2021.
Answer
This is an operational matter for the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh and the information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.
Some of this information can be found in the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh‘s (RBGE) Annual Reports and Accounts: Accounts | Corporate Information | What We Do | Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Submitting member has a registered interest.
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Date lodged: Thursday, 14 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jim Fairlie on 9 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, further to the answer to question S6W-39056 by Mairi Gougeon on 10 July 2025, whether it will publish its current draft of the Rural Support Plan.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-39888 on 9 September 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.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 8 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what the total cost of any penalties issued by Transport Scotland to (a) Amey and (b) BEAR Scotland was in each year since 2021.
Answer
Between January 2021 and July 2025 a total of £2,463,260.88 of Payment Adjustment Factors (PAFs) have been applied to our Trunk Road Maintenance Contracts. The table below provides and annual summary and totals.
Unit | Contract | Contractor | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | Total |
| | | | | | | | | |
North East | 4G | BEAR | £62,056.25 | £24,369.70 | **************** | **************** | *************** | £86,425.95 |
North East | NMC | Amey | ****************** | £177,135.76 | £495,676.02 | £276,717.54 | £117,813.83 | £1,067,343.15 |
North West | 4G | BEAR | £123,589.53 | £46,465.52 | **************** | **************** | *************** | £170,055.05 |
North West | NMC | BEAR | ****************** | £8,394.79 | £228,552.18 | £409,822.23 | £85,508.10 | £732,277.30 |
South East | NMC | BEAR | £519.53 | £2,595.61 | £8,371.32 | £53,032.56 | £14,218.38 | £78,737.40 |
South West | NMC | Amey | £82,588.11 | £92,122.98 | £41,922.75 | £72,861.85 | £38,926.34 | £328,422.03 |
| | | | £268,753.42 | £351,084.36 | £774,522.27 | £812,434.18 | £256,466.65 | £2,463,260.88 |
Note the NMC North Contracts started in August 2022 hence the split between them
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Monday, 25 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 8 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many parents who have been offered a Baby Box declined to take one, in each year since their introduction.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s universal Baby Box programme, the only one in the UK, opened for registration on 15 June 2017 and nationwide delivery of Baby Boxes began on 15 August 2017. Every baby born and resident in Scotland is eligible for a Baby Box.
To receive a Baby Box parents have to opt in to receive a Baby Box through the registration process via their midwife.
The following table details the number of births registered each year, the number of Baby Box registrations and the number of families who did not register for a Baby Box.
Time period | Live Births | Registrations for Baby Boxes for babies due within period | Number of births not registered for Baby boxes within relevant period |
2024 | 45,763 | 40,712 | 5,051 |
2023 | 45,935 | 41,117 | 4,818 |
2022 | 46,959 | 41,207 | 5,752 |
2021 | 47,786 | 43,079 | 4,707 |
2020 | 46,809 | 45,877 | 932 |
2019 | 49,863 | 46,266 | 3,597 |
2018 | 51,308 | 47,702 | 3,606 |
Quarter 4 2017 | 12,821 | 11,730 | 1,091 |
Quarter 3 2017 | 13,847 | 6,171 | 7,676 |
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 22 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Fiona Hyslop on 8 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government in what ways it is supporting Argyll and Bute Council in relation to the reported closure of the B8035 at Gribun Rocks as a result of rock falls.
Answer
Transport Scotland has had no requests for support from Argyll and Bute Council regarding the closure of the B8035. Transport Scotland has responsibility for the trunk road network, and as such has no responsibility for the maintenance or repair of any local road.
Local authorities have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads in their area and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure the expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic.
Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities.
- Asked by: Tim Eagle, MSP for Highlands and Islands, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 21 August 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ivan McKee on 8 September 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how much it has spent on posting letters abroad in each year since 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s expenditure on international letter postage for each year from 2021 is as follows.
Year | International Letters Postage Spend |
Jan – Dec 2021 | £6,165.00 |
Jan – Dec 2022 | £1,100.75 |
Jan – Dec 2023 | £7,725.60 |
Jan – Dec 2024 | £6,576.75 |
Jan – 26th Aug 2025 | £2,656.90 |
These figures reflect the costs incurred for sending official correspondence overseas and are based on records held by Help Central between January 2021 – July 2023 and records retrieved directly from the franking machines from Aug 2023 – 26 Aug 2025.