Chamber and committees

Under the Forestry Grant Scheme (FGS), applicants are required to assess wildfire risk, and to demonstrate how the risk has been addressed in their application.

Scottish Forestry does not specify requirements that must be delivered for every plan and proposal. Instead, Woodland Officers assess the applications submitted to Scottish Forestry for approval taking a risk based approach to ensure wildfire resilience is integrated into the design of the forestry plans and proposals.

Failure to comply with FGS contractual requirements may result in remedial action, financial penalties, or recovery of grant funding. In addition, grant beneficiaries are expected to manage risks appropriately, and are strongly advised to maintain adequate insurance cover.

The Programme for Government sets out the Scottish Government's key priorities and actions for the parliamentary term and is not intended to provide an exhaustive list of every commitment, project or investment that the Government supports. The Programme for Government 2026-31 is focused on the Government's overarching priorities of eradicating child poverty, growing the economy, tackling the climate emergency and delivering high-quality public services.

The fact that a specific commitment is not referenced in the Programme for Government should not be taken as an indication that the Scottish Government's support for it has changed. The Scottish Government recognises the benefits that a new rail station at Winchburgh could bring to local communities and regional connectivity, and remains committed to working with partners and stakeholders to support its delivery.

The Scottish Government expects all rail passengers and staff to be able to travel and work without being subjected to violence, abuse or antisocial behaviour. We continue to engage with partners across the rail industry on passenger and staff safety.

The deployment of police officers and operational policing decisions on Scotland's railways are matters for the British Transport Police Authority (BTPA) and the British Transport Police (BTP). I have recently written to the Chair of the BTPA highlighting the importance of maintaining a visible and effective British Transport Police presence across Scotland's rail network to support the safety of passengers and railway staff.

It is not possible to record the number of individual passengers who have benefited from the £2 bus fare cap since the introduction of the scheme. Passenger journeys are however recorded, which shows that since it was launched in the Highlands and Islands, over 1.7 million journeys have been made using the £2 bus fare cap.

These figures are correct as of 28 September 2026.

Journey data on the £2 fare cap scheme launched on 7 September 2026 in the Strathclyde area is not yet available.

The Scottish Government does not receive census data from the University of Edinburgh's St Kilda Soay Sheep Research Project.

The recently launched Central Belt roe deer pilot scheme, led by the Scottish Gamekeepers Association with support from NatureScot, will run until the end of March 2027 for the first year of the pilot.

This is one of a number of deer management incentive schemes that we have supported across Scotland in recent years. The findings from the schemes, including barriers and successes can be found on the NatureScot website: Deer Management Incentive Scheme pilots | NatureScot.

As set out in the Natural Environment (Scotland) Act 2026, we will produce a National Deer Management and Venison Plan for Scotland. The findings from the existing schemes will help to inform decisions on future incentive schemes and on the Plan itself.

Gene editing is in scope of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Agreement, which is currently being negotiated with the EU. The summit, which marks the conclusion of these negotiations has been announced for 20 November, at that point we will have clarity on Scotland’s obligations to align with the EU’s upcoming regulatory regime for gene editing.

Following the establishment of the Responsible Dog Ownership Expert Advisory Group, a number of sub-groups were also set up. These sub-groups are currently looking at specific areas of work, including key issues such as enforcement of dog control laws, education, prevention and communication, data to inform and support dog control policy, and dog welfare. That work is ongoing and the Scottish Government looks forward to seeing the recommendations of the Expert Advisory Group in due course.

Once their recommendations are available, the Scottish Government will consider how best to take forward further policy development work to promote responsible dog ownership and improve dog welfare.

We welcome the publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 6 report on the impact of the pandemic on the publicly and privately funded adult social care sector across the four nations of the United Kingdom. A copy of the report is available online at: https://covid19.public-inquiry.uk/reports/

During the pandemic, the Scottish Government’s foremost priority was to protect the public from the novel Covid-19 virus. Ministers sought to be open, transparent and accountable in respect of the decisions made. We extend our sincere and deepest condolences to the many thousands who have lost loved ones and who continue to experience the profound impacts of Covid-19.

We recognise the loss, hurt and suffering experienced by people across Scotland and the rest of the UK, particularly among those who relied on, delivered or supported adult social care services during an exceptionally challenging period. We acknowledge the significant impact of the pandemic on people who draw on care and support, their families and loved ones, and the many unpaid carers who provided essential care, often in difficult and isolating circumstances. We would also like to reaffirm our gratitude to the health and social care workforce for their dedication, professionalism and commitment to supporting some of the most vulnerable people in our communities throughout the pandemic.

The Scottish Government will now take the necessary time to fully and carefully consider the findings and recommendations set out in the Inquiry’s Module 6 report, and will provide a detailed response to the report’s recommendations in due course, in line with the timescales set out by the Inquiry chair.

Scottish Ministers remain fully committed to making data on subsidy payments made to beneficiaries in Scotland under all CAP legacy schemes more accessible to the public.

The first publication was made on the Scottish Government website on the 30th June 2026 for the data relating to all CAP legacy schemes subsidy payments made to beneficiaries in Scotland during the EU financial year from 16 October 2024 to 15 October 2025 and this data will remain available for two years, until June 2028.

This publication included the names of all beneficiaries apart from those who received less than the equivalent of 1,250 in total subsidy during the year that are not shown in the spreadsheet. In these cases, payment amounts are included, but beneficiary names have been removed. For the purposes of this publication , 1,250 has been converted to a sterling equivalent of £1,114.

Similar publications will be made on the Scottish Government website on the 30th June in subsequent years throughout the current parliamentary session.

In terms of the regulations that provided for the above approved by Parliament, these are just temporary bridging measures for our period of transition until such time as the new data scheme publication arrangements are made in terms of the secondary legislation to be introduced later on under the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024.

At that time, Scottish Ministers shall seek to address any opportunities to improve accessibility for the public to this type of data.