A total of 141,730 affordable homes have been delivered between 1 April 2007 and 30 September 2025 and these include new build, rehab and off the shelf purchases. This includes 101,266 homes for social rent (71%), 14,201 homes for other affordable rent (10%), and 26,263 homes for affordable home ownership (19%). The Scottish Government publishes quarterly housing statistics on the Affordable Housing Supply Programme covering approvals, starts and completions by local authority area split by social rent and other affordable. These can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/affordable-housing-supply-programme-quarterly-updates-on-approvals-site-starts-and-completions/.

We report on all homes delivered through the Affordable Housing Supply Programme (AHSP) via our quarterly official statistics, and this includes approvals, starts and completions. We also report on all sector new build starts and completions by local authority including social homes. Official housing statistics are available on the Scottish Government website at Housing statistics - gov.scot.

Local authorities set up and manage most country parks using their powers under Section 48 of the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967. These parks are non-statutory designations that enable local authorities to establish areas for public access and enjoyment of the countryside.

The Scottish Government’s policy towards local authorities’ spending is to allow local authorities the financial freedom to operate independently. As such, the vast majority of funding is provided by means of a block grant. It is then the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including on open spaces and countryside amenities, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities. Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities.

In July 2021 we launched the Nature Restoration Fund, which provides additional funding for nature restoration projects to deliver significant improvements in biodiversity. The Nature Restoration Fund makes grants available through two main strands, including the Edinburgh Process strand, which provides direct allocations to Local Authorities. The Edinburgh Process strand is delivered through the General Capital Grant scheme to Local Authorities and is monitored through reports direct to the Scottish Government.

The NRF has already provided over £33 million directly allocated to Local Authorities and the National Parks to develop and deliver projects locally. Some examples of projects funded through the Edinburgh Process strand are outlined in an interim evaluation of the NRF available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/interim-evaluation-nature-restoration-fund/documents/

There are 40 country parks in Scotland. Local authorities set up and manage most country parks using their powers under Section 48 of the Countryside (Scotland) Act 1967, though the National Trust for Scotland manages Brodick and Culzean. These parks are non-statutory designations that enable local authorities to establish areas for public access and enjoyment of the countryside, and as such, some private landowners also use the country park name. You can find out more about individual country parks using the NatureScot guide: Find a country park | NatureScot

The Scottish Government provides support to groups of growers recognised as Producer Organisations (POs) via the Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme. It is a long-standing support mechanism to encourage and enable collaboration, strategic planning, improved quality and market competitiveness. It provides match-funding, over multi-year operational programmes, for actions including investments in infrastructure, employment of specialist staff and research and innovation projects.

Examples of some of the innovation projects that have been funded through the scheme are:

• propagation trials, which if successful, would reduce imports of plants, reduce costs, control plant health and ensure the best plants for producing high quality food;
• pesticide reduction supported by UV light robots which autonomously shine a UK light on fruit plants, killing disease and causing microbes. Results indicate they can reduce powdery mildew pesticide treatments by 60-100% and increase fruit production by 15%;
• growing media trials to phase out the use of peat. Coir is an important and valuable growing media that has enabled growers to transition away from using peat, but also comes with concerns. Funding from the scheme has enabled growers to experiment with blending spent coir with woodchip, hemp, wool, heather and bracken and trial the alternatives. Finding a replacement will increase business resilience and contribute to climate change goals.

The Fruit and Vegetables Aid Scheme helps support growers of all sizes work together and plays a key role in sustaining the horticulture sector. It is reported that nearly half of UK-grown fresh produce is managed by UK-based POs.

The Scottish Government also supports fruit and vegetable growers, who are not part of a recognised PO, through a range of complementary measures. The Basic Payment Scheme (BPS) provides area-based support to all eligible farmers and crofters, including those growing fruit and vegetables, helping them maintain sustainable production and contribute to Scotland’s food supply. Organic fruit and vegetable growers can also access financial assistance through the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme (AECS), which offers funding for both conversion and maintenance of organic practices, supporting soil health, biodiversity, and climate-friendly farming.

Initiatives such as the Small Producers Pilot Fund provide capital grants and strategic support to support small producers across Scotland. This includes £500,000 in capital funding this year to boost innovation, strengthen local food production, improve energy efficiency and sustain rural jobs. It is delivered by Highlands and Islands Enterprise and South of Scotland Enterprise. The sector has welcomed this support enthusiastically, with strong demand reflected in a high number of applications, highlighting the vital role small producers play in driving innovation, sustainability and vibrant local communities.

In addition, the national Good Food Nation Plan sets out a vision for a fair, healthy and sustainable food system, guiding current and future food policy, and further support is provided through grant funding for community growing projects, which aim to increase access to land and encourage people to learn about and experience the benefits of growing their own food.

Draft rateable values for the 2026 revaluation were published on 30 November 2025 but may be subject to change.

The final valuation roll will come into effect on 1 April 2026. The Scottish Government has published a report on changes in rateable values based on draft 2026 values on 13 January and will publish a further report once final valuations are available.

The draft budget will continue to support businesses and communities with a strong non-domestic rates package for 2026-27 that decreases the Basic, Intermediate and Higher Property Rates in 2026-27, delivering the lowest Basic Property Rate since 2018-19.

Businesses and communities will be supported with a generous non-domestic rates relief package worth an estimated £864 million in 2026-27, including the Small Business Bonus Scheme which remains the most generous scheme of its kind in the UK and is confirmed for the next three years, as well as transitional relief schemes for eligible ratepayers. The Scottish Government values the contribution that the Hydro sector makes to the Scottish economy and to our low-carbon ambitions, and continues to offer the most generous rates relief in the UK for renewable generators, including hydro schemes.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with local authority partners to develop estimates for the cost of delivering universal free school meals in primary schools. It is estimated that the expansion would require recurring annual revenue funding of £79.7 million, one off revenue funding of £12.2 million, and capital funding of at least £135 million.

The Scottish Government does not collect this data. En route HGV charging facilities and most depot charging for HGVs are privately owned and operated.

In September 2024 the Scottish Government published research on the locations required for charging or hydrogen fuelling HGVs on long journeys, based on real world telematics data, to inform investment decisions by the electricity networks, chargepoint operators and others.

A second report refining the detail for charging and covering 2% of Scottish HGVs was published in July 2025. It found that the charging infrastructure needed for all HGVs in Scotland will comprise at least 63 en-route charger locations, of which 26 are already built or under development – meaning approximately 37 additional sites are required.

The next iteration, to be published in summer 2026, will use data from around 10% of Scottish truck miles.

Given the situation in Gaza, the First Minister announced on 3 September 2025 a pause on new awards of public money to defence companies whose products or services are provided to countries where there is plausible evidence of genocide being committed by that country. A Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment is underway and will be published before the end of the Parliamentary session.

For Scotland’s colleges, the 2026-27 budget delivers a combined increase of £70m in resource and capital funding, equivalent to 10% uplift on last year’s budget, taking our total investment in core college funding to £764m. This enables colleges to continue to deliver high quality education and skills to learners across Scotland. Since its inception in July 2023, the Tripartite Alignment Group has been working collaboratively to identify and implement workable flexibilities to further help ease colleges’ financial pressures while ensuring accountability for public funds.

I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of NRS, to respond. NRS is responsible for the Scottish Register of Tartans website.

NRS is currently researching the needs of users of the website. Research outputs, internal business requirements and available budget will inform what steps NRS takes next.