The paper shared by the Industrial Decarbonisation Research and Innovation Centre at the last Grangemouth Future Industry Board was not specific to the Grangemouth Refinery.

ScotRail is to undertake the procurement exercise for the new intercity fleet. The timescales for replacement and the exact type of train to replace the HST Fleet as well as any implications of this replacement, including necessary infrastructure investments and journey times are dependent on the outcomes of the procurement.

The information requested on how many vacancies there currently are for midwives, broken down by NHS board can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Vacancy tab).

The Scottish Government is committed to decarbonising its passenger rail network and is continuing with the rolling programme of electrification as funding permits.

This is set out in Transport Scotland’s Decarbonisation Action Plan, which is planned as a dynamic document, with a refresh of the Plan underway. The refresh will examine the electrification programme, informed by progress with rolling stock procurement.

Forth Green Freeport’s recently submitted full business case details ambitions to create 34,500 direct jobs, comprising 16,000 direct jobs and 18,500 jobs supported indirectly in supply chains and through wages, and up to £7.9 billion in investment.

The full business case is currently being appraised by Scottish and UK governments. Upon approval, it will unlock up to £25m seed capital funding to support enabling works. The commitments made by the Green Freeports in their business cases will be subject to robust monitoring and reporting requirements, enshrining their commitments across a number of key dimensions.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. Court operational matters, including the system and arrangements for jury service, fall within the remit of the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).

Despite the reserved nature of telecommunications in the UK, the Scottish Government has chosen to step in and make substantial investments in both broadband and mobile digital connectivity across Scotland.

The over-£600 million investment in the Reaching 100% (R100) programme is building upon our strong track record of delivery, with Scottish Government led programmes delivering improved broadband to over one million properties so far.

Through a rolling Open Market Review, the Scottish Government continuously monitors broadband coverage across Scotland. This process enables the identification of premises that are eligible for future publicly subsided interventions, including those to be delivered through the UK Government’s Project Gigabit broadband investment, for which the Scottish Government will act as contracting authority for local and regional procurements.

We also recognise how vital access to mobile connectivity is, especially in rural areas. We have recently published an evaluation of our £28.75 million Scottish 4G Infill Programme, which has delivered 4G connectivity to 55 ‘notspots’ across rural and island Scotland, highlighting the transformational benefits that this new coverage is delivering to businesses and communities alike.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the victim surcharge broken down in this way.

The victim surcharge came into force in Scotland on 25 November 2019 and applies to all persons who commit an offence on or after that date and who are subsequently convicted and receive a court fine. The amount payable is proportionate to the value of the fine imposed by the court. The surcharge is collected from offenders by the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, in the same way it collects fines. Monies are then paid into the Victim Surcharge Fund, administered by the Scottish Government.

We publish an annual report detailing payments into and out of the Victim Surcharge Fund. Victim Surcharge Fund: annual report 2023 to 2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The reduction of £1 million referred to in the letter from the Finance Secretary to the Scottish Parliament's Finance and Public Administration Committee dated 3 September relates to the nature restoration budget line, rather than the Nature Restoration Fund (NRF). The £1m reduction will result in reduced scope of some projects and delay in implementing other projects.

The Edinburgh Process strand of the NRF is provided directly to Local Authorities and the £5 million allocated to this strand for 2024-25 has been redirected to help meet the public sector pay offer. Scottish Ministers have made a commitment to replace this funding in 2025-26. The Edinburgh Process strand of the NRF supports the devolved delivery of nature restoration projects that best meet local priorities for climate and nature. It helps Local Authorities to deliver upon their commitment to the Edinburgh Declaration for biodiversity, and to meet their Biodiversity Duty in taking action to conserve biodiversity.

In the period 2021-22 to 2023-24, individual Local Authorities across the Highlands and Islands have received around £2.4 million from the Edinburgh Process NRF strand, to support a range of nature restoration projects.

This funding announcement has not affected the competitive strand of the NRF which is administered by NatureScot. Funding awarded is supporting 14 projects across Scotland including the Highland and Island region in 2024-25, for river and woodland restoration, rainforest regeneration, and restoring coastal habitats. Full details of projects funding by the NRF competitive strand can be found at Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) - Supported Projects | NatureScot.

The Scottish Government freeze on public sector marketing expenditure for the remainder of the year is a necessary decision to ensure we have a balanced budget.

There will be some limited Scottish Government marketing activity where costs have already been committed, or an essential need is identified, and the process to identify exceptions is still underway.