International marketing activity undertaken by the Scottish Government as Brand Scotland, is measured by a comprehensive suite of metrics that determine whether the associated SMART objectives have been met. These objectives are set each year according to the purpose of the activity, the level of spend available and the tactics it will use.

They include digital reach through social and digital channels and audience engagement with the content but more importantly additionally consider the strategic outcomes and impact on these audiences, such as perception change or an increase in consideration or claimed action by target audiences.

International marketing activity undertaken by the Scottish Government as Brand Scotland, is measured by a comprehensive suite of metrics that determine whether the associated SMART objectives have been met. These objectives are set each year according to the purpose of the activity, the level of spend available and the tactics it will use.

They include digital reach through social and digital channels and audience engagement with the content but more importantly additionally consider the strategic outcomes and impact on these audiences, such as perception change or an increase in consideration by target audiences.

The Scottish Government notes the report commissioned by ASLEF and its findings. Every worker should be able to work with dignity and this includes having an access to toilet facilities. The report findings are for train operating companies, as employers to consider.

(A) The draft route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car use was published in 2022 and was followed by a period of engagement and consultation. Analysis and consideration of the consultation responses are shaping the updated route map which will be published in due course.

The route map is co-produced with CoSLA, in recognition of the joint commitment to a just transition to reducing car use, and we are continuing to work closely with local and regional partners to update the route map and will publish it on completion of that engagement.

(B) Scotland now has over 6,000 public charge points and has achieved the delivery of 6,000 public charge points two years ahead of the 2026 target date. In late 2024 we will publish a draft Implementation Plan identifying the key actions to be taken to deliver our Vision for public EV charging. This draft Implementation Plan is being developed with the key stakeholders who share responsibility for delivering public EV charging across Scotland and will include a route map for delivering approximately 24,000 additional public charge points by 2030.

(C) In January 2024, Scotland introduced the Vehicle Emissions Trading Schemes (VETS) legislation, alongside England and Wales, extending to UK-wide from January 2025. VETS will deliver 411 MTCO2e of savings between 2024-2050 across the UK by increasing the sale of ZEVs as a proportion of overall annual sales to 80% cars and 70% vans by 2030) as well as reducing emissions on non-ZEVs.

Since 2011, support has been provided for the purchase of ZEV cars and vans equating to £39 million in interest free loans which has helped businesses purchase 1,382 ZEVs, alongside grants provided through the LEZ Support fund.

(D) Consideration for a new national integrated ticketing system for Scotland was detailed in the 2024 Smart Delivery Strategy, aligning with wider work to advance the future of public transport in Scotland. In 2025 consideration for this system will be undertaken, including the technical, financial and legislative impact.

We have begun commencing the smart-ticketing measures from the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019, establishing the National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board in 2023. The board comprises operators, transport authorities, users, and technical experts, to provide independent advice to Scottish Ministers on the future of smart-ticketing, including a technological standard, in line with their published August 2024 workplan.

(E) Development of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2) Delivery Plan is underway. This takes account of the current financial climate and is examining existing schemes across all modes in addition to the longer term STPR2 recommendations.

The latest Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) forecasts, following the UK Government Autumn Budget Statement, show an improved medium term outlook for capital. The Scottish Government will continue to consider its longer-term infrastructure plans after we receive clarity from the UK Government over our multi-year capital funding envelope in the Spring.

(F) The Scottish Government will set out the high-level principles of Air Departure Tax in due course, following which we will work towards implementation as soon as is practicable. However, this first requires a solution to the Highlands and Islands exemption, and we are working with the UK Government to achieve this.

(G) The foundations of the Whole Farm Plan have been co-developed with industry and rural partners and will go live in 2025. As part of our commitment to enhanced conditionality, in 2025, in return for their basic payment, all farmers and crofters will need to have in place two from the following five baselines: Animal Health and Welfare Plan, Biodiversity Audit, Carbon Audit, Integrated Pest Management Plan or Soil Analysis.

All farmers and crofters will be required to have a proportionate carbon audit in place by 2028 at the latest as part of the Whole Farm Plan.

From 2028 farmers and crofters will be required to produce a nutrient management plan (NMP) to complement their soil analysis. We therefore recommend as part of the current Whole Farm Plan guidance that once a business has received their soil analysis, they use this information to create a nutrient management plan. We will continue to work with our industry and rural partners to co-develop the Whole Farm Plan.

(H) The Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy announced several new measures aimed at accelerating Scotland’s journey to net zero, including a pilot scheme with some Scottish farms to establish future appropriate uptake of methane supressing feed products.

There has been significant development in this area in recent years and it is taking time to develop the details of a pilot which could explore options for recognising appropriate use of these products and other practices which can reduce greenhouse gas emissions on farms. Further information on the timetable of a pilot project will be shared as soon as possible.

(I) The Scottish Government is working with the NorthWest 2045 (Highlands), South of Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway and Scottish Borders), Cairngorms National Park and Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park Regional Land Use Partnerships (RLUPs) to transition from a pilot to a formal initiative. We remain committed to the long-term delivery of RLUPs, however, taking into account wider fiscal pressures and subject to lessons learned from the ongoing transition, the phased rollout of new partnerships will begin in financial year 2026-27 at the earliest.

(J) With partial rewetting, the water table in peatlands or peaty soils is held deeper underground than with full rewetting or restoration. In theory, this delivers a carbon benefit but also allows certain types of agriculture that may be limited by full rewetting to continue.

The Peatland Science and Technical Advisory Group have advised there may be some potential in lowland grassland systems and at the edges of some raised bogs where the use of ‘leaky dams’ may have a part to play in finer control of water table depth. However, significant areas of lowland agricultural peats are difficult to identify and map.

We have commissioned scientists at the James Hutton Institute to advise on the distribution of grassland on peat and on the relationship between water table depth and carbon emissions in peat grassland systems. When complete, this will inform on-going work in government considering options for incorporating peatland protection, management and restoration within the new four-tier agricultural support framework.

(K) The Scottish Government is committed to reducing high deer numbers in order to help us to achieve our biodiversity and carbon objectives. Three deer management incentives pilot schemes led by NatureScot and the Cairngorms National Park Authority launched this autumn to incentivise deer managers to increase deer culls in specific parts of Scotland.

These pilot schemes have been implemented this year in different parts of Scotland to test different approaches to incentives and to better understand the barriers to deer management.

While these pilots do not constitute a single national scheme, we will use the findings from them to inform decisions on future incentive schemes.

(L) The Scottish Government is committed to considering options for a carbon land tax, to further incentivise peatland restoration and afforestation.

Any potential new measures must be rigorously assessed and based on strong evidence to ensure they serve their objective and avoid unintended consequences.

The Scottish Government will work with the Scottish Land Commission to consult with a range of stakeholders and to develop the evidence necessary to identify and assess options for a carbon land tax.

(M) The Scottish Government welcomes the work of the independent Green Heat Finance Taskforce and looks forward to receiving its Part 2 report shortly. Following publication of its Part 2 report, the Scottish Government will formally respond to the Taskforce, setting out the actions we will take, in partnership with others, on recommendations from both Taskforce reports.

Our response will be informed by the New Deal for Business sub-group on Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) which will, alongside other matters, consider how non-domestic rates levers support Scotland’s transition to net zero.

(N) The Scottish Government has committed to the development of a just transition plan for Mossmorran following completion of the just transition plan for Grangemouth in 2025. As with the Grangemouth just transition plan, this work will be co-designed with key stakeholders including industry, the workforce and the community. The Scottish Government is actively engaging with relevant stakeholders as part of the scoping phase of this programme of work.

The UK Government took a decision, following the vote to leave the EU, to require EU/EEA citizens to apply to the EU Settlement Scheme to maintain their right to live, work and study in the UK. The Scottish Government has always been clear that EU citizens should not had to apply to maintain rights they already had. However, given the decision by the UK Government the Scottish Government launched the Stay in Scotland campaign in 2019 to ensure that EU citizens had the advice and support that they needed to secure their right to stay in Scotland. The Scottish Government has provided over £2 million through the Stay in Scotland campaign to third sector and community groups working with EU citizens across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has not specifically activated a campaign called ‘Welcome to Scotland’ but operates a year-round programme of communications that is designed to reach international audiences. The always-on activity works to challenge perceptions and drive up consideration, showcasing who we are as a country, what we value and what we offer in order to attract people from overseas who are interested in moving here to live and work, coming on holiday, undertaking study or doing business.

The Scottish Government routinely publishes marketing spend annually and figures for Brand Scotland expenditure can be accessed here: Marketing spend - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government wants patients to get the help they need, when they need it, and we understand how important a timely ADHD diagnosis is for individuals.

While local Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) have responsibility for putting in place services to meet local needs, including the needs of adults with ADHD, we fund the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to support HSCPs to consider best practice and improve services in the redesigning of neurodevelopmental diagnostic services.

NAIT provides HSCPs with resources to help them support these adults, and works with them to ensure that Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways, which provide diagnostic services and support tailored to the needs of each neurodivergent individual, are implemented.

We also provide funding to NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to deliver training resources to meet the needs of staff working in ADHD services across health and social care. These include webinars on Assessing ADHD and Understanding ADHD in Girls and Women, which are available to all NHS and Social Care staff via an online knowledge hub.

Our intention is that these steps will help streamline diagnostic and support processes, thereby reducing existing backlogs.

Work is ongoing to improve the availability of data regarding the number and distribution of Physician Associates (PAs) across NHS Scotland. It is expected that these improvements will allow for the more effective analysis of workforce trends for this profession from the beginning of the 2025-26 financial year.

Individual decisions about the employment and deployment of PAs are a matter for Health Boards, many of whom will have considerable experience of utilising this role to good effect. The profession is a valued, long-standing part of the NHS Scotland workforce and it is important that discussions about the role are taken forward in a respectful and supportive manner.

The Scottish Government and our partners remain dedicated to bringing innovative and structural change to this complex issue and remain fully committed to reducing drug deaths and harms.

On 31 October, Audit Scotland published a report on alcohol and drug services which acknowledges that we have improved national leadership and made significant progress in tackling Scotland’s longstanding issues with drugs and alcohol. Notably, through significant investment and innovative action in our National Mission, including sustaining a record £112 million for Alcohol and Drug Partnerships (ADPs) this year, as well as innovative initiatives such as piloting a Safer Drug Consumption Facility in Glasgow, which will open early in the new year.

Through the National Mission to date we have:

• Supported over 300 grassroots community organisations through the £65 million Corra National Drug Mission Funds
• Driven improvement in services with 90% of Alcohol and Drug Partnerships assessed as having implemented Medication Assisted Treatment standards 1-5, and 91% of standards 6-10 assessed as partially implemented as of July 2024
• Helped widen access to lifesaving naloxone with 77% of people at risk of overdose estimated to have access to a Take Home Naloxone kit as of June 2024
• Seen a 21% increase in residential rehabilitation beds since 2021 (513 beds as of September 2024) due to our £38 million residential rehabilitation capacity investment.
• Made £1.5 million available for investment in Planet Youth - a whole community approach for substance use prevention
• Provided £480,000 per year since 2023 to support additional trainee placements on Scottish Drugs Forum's 'National Traineeship' which supports people with lived and living experience to undertake an SVQ and access a paid work placement.

Alongside these important practical steps to making improvements to front line services our whole system approach is driving change across mental health, stigma, workforce and children and families, and the Charter of Rights which was published on 11 December, will support people affected by substance use to know and understand their rights in accessing support services.

The five-year National Mission is now in the final stages of delivery, and we have begun to work with partners to ensure long-term strategies are managed smoothly through to the next parliament. The ongoing independent evaluation of the National Mission being undertaken by Public Health Scotland (PHS) will help to ensure these strategies are underpinned by robust evidence.

In my response to question S6W-30360 on 9 October 2024 I said “funding has enabled a concentrated effort to eradicate the last remaining isolated population of grey squirrels in the North East of Scotland.”

I should clarify that the last remaining, isolated population of grey squirrels in the North East of Scotland is found in the City of Aberdeen.

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