Chamber and committees

Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including information relating to Historic Sundays, are best answered by Historic Environment Scotland.

I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to respond directly to the member with a full reply to his question in writing.

Questions regarding day-to-day operational matters of Historic Environment Scotland, including information relating to Historic Sundays, are best answered by Historic Environment Scotland.

I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to respond directly to the member with a full reply to his question in writing.

The Wild Salmon Strategy Implementation Plan Delivery Group was established following publication of the Implementation Plan. Information on membership of the group is available on the Scottish Government website along with a contact email address.

The Scottish Government is determined to do all we can to reduce alcohol-related harm and is working closely with Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and the third sector to do so. In 2022-23, £106 million was made available to ADPs, increasing to £112 million in 2023-24. This funding is used to ensure that local services meet the needs of people who experience alcohol and drugs harms.

The announcement in the Scottish Budget 2024-25 signalled the Scottish Government’s intent to explore the reintroduction of a Public Health Supplement. The exploratory work will include considering options for the design of any such supplement.

The Scottish Government has no plans to fund a fish counter on the River Dee. The width of the lower Dee means that the installation of a fish counter to assess the size of the salmon stock is not feasible.

Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council received funding from the Scottish Government’s Promoting Equality and Cohesion Fund (PECF) during 2017-2021. High-level PCEF outcomes are set out in Grant Offer Letters, and are as follows:

• A reduction in discrimination against people who share protected characteristics
• Reduced levels of hate crime
• Increased community participation, engagement and community cohesion
• Addressing imbalances in representation in all aspects and levels of public life

Impact Funding Partners (formerly named as The Voluntary Action Fund) were the fund managers for PECF, acting on behalf of the Scottish Government. The fund manager engaged with organisations directly to agree on workplans and set specific objectives and outcomes.

We have previously answered two FOIs on website visits to the Building a New Scotland Papers:

• Unique online visitor statistics: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)
• Building a New Scotland webpage visitors: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Paper title: Building a New Scotland: Our marine sector in an independent Scotland

Main paper URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-marine-sector-independent-scotland/

Main paper publish date: 21-11-2023

Main paper views in first month (all pages): 2,775

Easy read URL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-marine-sector-independent-scotland-easy-read-version/

Easy read publish date: 21-11-2023

Easy read views or download link clicks in first month: 298

Audio URL: https://on.soundcloud.com/5VJaA

Audio publish date: 21-11-2023

Audio link clicks in first month: 9

Community language landing pageURL: https://www.gov.scot/publications/building-new-scotland-marine-sector-independent-scotland/documents/

Translation publish date: 21-11-2023

Translation downloads in first month:

Arabic: 1

Bengalii: 1

Bulgarian: 0

Cantonese: 0

French: 4

Gaelic: 1

Hindi: 0

Italian: 3

Mandarin: 0

Polish: 1

Punjabi:1

Romanian: 0

Russian: 0

Spanish: 0

Ukrainian: 1

Urdu: 3

BSL YouTube Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDdIcputSSg

Date BSL Version Published: 21-11-2023

Views in first 30 days: 4

The number of XL Bully dogs in the UK and Scotland is unknown and estimates vary significantly.

During the House of Commons scrutiny of the new safeguards in England and Wales, many expert witnesses highlighted the challenges of estimating numbers as XL Bully dogs are not a recognised breed of dog. Those witnesses were concerned about how many of these dogs may be registered as crossbreeds on veterinary practice management systems and pointed towards seeing various estimates of the number of XL Bully dogs, ranging from 50,000 to 150,000 in England and Wales.

If there were 50,000 XL Bully dogs in England and Wales, this may suggest an estimated population of 5,000 XL Bully dogs in Scotland. This figure carries a considerable degree of uncertainty.

The Scottish Government introduced a national dog control notice database in February 2022 which is helping local authorities and Police Scotland access information on dog owners where notices have been issued.

The national database brought together the dog control notice records of all local authorities into a centralised database that is accessible by all 32 local authorities and Police Scotland.

Where a person subject to a dog control notice moves from one local authority to another, the national database is a valuable tool in helping to enforce that notice.

The 2010 Act already allows for and requires local authorities to co-operate with the police and other local authorities in all matters relating to the control of dogs arising under or by virtue of this Act, the Dogs Act 1906 or the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. It is for local authorities to assess how and when information can be shared more widely and in so doing, local authorities will carefully consider data protection under GDPR.

We will provide details of the defined characteristics of an XL Bully dog as the relevant legislation introducing the new safeguards for XL Bully dogs is developed and published. Practical and helpful guidance and support will be provided to XL Bully dog owners on the Scottish Government website to help identification of relevant dogs by owners.