The Scottish Government has a contract with Office Papers to supply newspapers on an ad-hoc rather than a subscription basis. This contract was renewed in February 2022 to run for three years. Review meetings with the contractor take place on a quarterly basis. Business units making purchases under the contract are expected to ensure these are justified.

Despite the powers to mandate community benefits being reserved to the UK Government, Scotland has made significant progress with the voluntary approach through the Scottish Government’s Good Practice Principles (GPPs) for Onshore Developments, which recommends community benefit equivalent to £5,000 per MW per annum. This was first published in the GPPs in 2014 and maintained in the 2019 refresh, following a public consultation and co-development with communities and industry. These Principles have been widely adopted with over £30 million offered to Scottish communities in the last 12 months.

We are currently undertaking a consultation on our Good Practice Principles for onshore and offshore renewable energy developments, which closes on the 11 April. We want to gather a wide range of views to ensure Scottish guidance supports sustainable and meaningful outcomes, and encourage everyone to take part in the consultation.

The current guidance in the Care Home Infection Prevention and Control Manual (CH IPCM) produced by Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland states that before a resident is admitted to a care home it is important to undertake a risk assessment for infection.

At all times a thorough risk assessment should be undertaken prior to discharge to a care home to ensure that the care home is able to provide the care required and for the safety of the resident and others including staff, other residents and visitors. For example, if the individual requires to be isolated, that there is a suitable physical space and staff available for the delivery of care and support to an isolated resident.

The responsibility for carrying out individual risk assessments prior to discharge is between the individual Health Boards, Local Authorities and Integration Authorities.

It is the responsibility of integration authorities to carry out joint needs assessments as part of their strategic planning process. This information is therefore not held centrally.

We have produced 144 jars in the last five years. Each jar is 227g. We received 99 jars in the financial year 2022/23 and 45 jars in 2024/25.

The Scottish Government See Hear Strategy, published in 2014 and endorsed by COSLA, sets out a framework where everyone with a sensory impairment, including older adults, should expect seamless provision of assessment, care and support. The recommendations contained within the See Hear Strategy are being implemented via local partnerships, including statutory and third sector partners, to ensure alignment with local priorities and approaches. Funding is made available to each local authority area to support implementation of the strategy. For the last five years, Aberdeenshire has received £15,340 per annum for this purpose, with Aberdeen City receiving a further £13,281 per annum.

Details of how this funding has been spent, including to support older adults, is a matter for the relevant local authority. Information on provision of optometry and audiology services to older adults with sensory impairments is a matter for the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership. This information is not held centrally.

Scottish Government also funds two projects through the Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund which support people in Aberdeenshire experiencing social isolation and loneliness due to sensory impairment.

- Grampian Society for the Blind, operating as North East Sensory Services (NESS) and based in Aberdeen (Moray), offers social groups and activities for people with a visual impairment. Over the period 2023-2026 they will receive £55,083.

- The British Deaf Association (based in Glasgow but covering Aberdeen) provides information and support to the deaf community, online and in person. Over the period 2023-2026 they will receive £71,794.

These projects support people of any age experiencing social isolation and loneliness due to a sensory impairment. However, the likelihood is that older people will be benefitting from these services.

The current contract runs until March 2025. The usual tendering process is being run for the bee keeping services.

Notice is not required to be given as the beekeeper has a security pass and is fully security cleared.

The purpose of having bees at the Parliament is not to produce honey but to partially demonstrate our compliance with the biodiversity duty under the Nature Conservation (Scotland) Act 2004 which places a statutory duty on all public sector bodies in Scotland to further the conservation of biodiversity. The honey is a by-product from having bees and is sold at a profit minus any costs for bottling and labelling.

Our current bee keeping supplier uses the wax from their hives, including the Scottish Parliament, to supply the beeswax used for the Great Seal of Scotland.  We do not receive or make any payment in relation to this.