Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

However, I have contacted the Keeper of the Registers of Scotland who maintains the property registers in Scotland. They have searched the registers and identified 783 titles that narrate a rural housing burden.

A more detailed breakdown of these figures can be requested directly via Registers of Scotland.

Scottish Ministers have visited Skye House on several occasions.

My last visit to Skye House was on 4 September 2024.

The peat depth methodology has been developed and NatureScot is aiming to publish it shortly. In support of this NatureScot have also made a map indicating areas likely to be peatland, non-peatland and areas of uncertainty available on their website.

The Scottish Government has not sought formal advice on this issue. Regular discussions are held between Scottish Government officials and NatureScot regarding commencing of the muirburn licensing provisions. NatureScot are working towards putting the necessary arrangements in place to allow for commencement of these provisions ahead of the 2025 muirburn season.

Transport Scotland completed the second Strategic Transport Projects Review which sets-out the Scottish Government’s priorities for future capital investment, including new investment in the trunk road network.

Alongside the design development process of any major transport capital project there is a need to develop the appropriate level business case. These project specific business cases are developed in line with the Guidance on the Development of Business Cases in Transport Scotland, the latest transport scheme assessment and evaluation criteria and the Scottish Public Finance Manual. These cover the 5 Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance criteria of Economy, Climate Change, Environment, Health, Safety and Wellbeing and Equality and Accessibility as well as any Transport Planning Objectives and the process checks that projects remain in line with the initial assessment on which decisions were made.

Following the cross party summit on violence among young people held on 13 January, Scottish Government officials are preparing a report on key issues raised. This will be published and shared across Scottish Government to help inform policy development on areas that contribute to violence prevention and harm reduction.

Preparations are currently being made for a further meeting involving those cross-party MSPs who attended the summit.

Please see the following table for a breakdown of how the staff budget contributed to the overall FSS’ baseline budget in each financial year since the establishment of FSS. FSS staff costs are not dependant on where staff are located but by pay grade, therefore there are no comparisons to be made between Aberdeen and other locations.

Food Safety is regulated through various pieces of legislation including the Food Safety Act 1990 and assimilated Regulation (EC) No 178/2002 on general food law, which create the regulatory framework in this respect.

In relation to public events, the Food Standards Scotland website provides specific advice on Food Safety at Community Events where those providing foods on an occasional basis may not be registered food businesses.

Food Business Operators are required to comply with food and feed law which sets the minimum legal requirements to ensure food and feed are safe. As the central competent authority FSS provide statutory guidance for other enforcement authorities and directly regulates meat plants. FSS has an audit programme of Official Controls which is risk-based and where there is non compliance the frequency of audit will increase until a food business is compliant. The FSS Annual Report and Account, the FSS Strategy and Corporate Plan also provide information on FSS activities with regards to food and feed safety compliance.

As a regulator FSS delivers its statutory functions to deliver Official Controls (OC) for the foods it is Competent Authority (CA) for. Food Standards Scotland (FSS) undertake risk-based l audits in meat plants with frequency of audit informed by compliance levels of the business.

FSS have a primary responsibility to monitor the performance of, and promote best practice by, enforcement authorities enforcing food legislation in Scotland where compliance does not meet legal requirements

The overarching aim is to provide assurance that the delivery of official controls for food and feed is compliant with Scottish and UK legal requirements and official guidance.

The audit programme is risk-based, and all reports are published. 

https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/business-and-industry/safety-and-regulation/audit-and-monitoring

The Scottish Government has no plans to introduce a statutory duty of care for higher education institutions, however we do expect them to put in place measures to protect and support student wellbeing, as well as to comply with existing legal duties, such as the Equality Act 2010 and Online Safety Act 2023.