The Scottish Government takes the issue of declining wild Atlantic salmon populations very seriously and is committed to working with our partners, both domestic and international, to safeguard this iconic species.

The Scottish wild salmon strategy was established in January 2022 in response to the long term downward trend in the number of Atlantic salmon returning to Scottish waters. In February 2023 we published the wild salmon strategy implementation plan, which sets out over sixty actions to tackle the wide range of pressures affecting the species throughout their life cycle.

The Scottish Government has a compliment of 2 warranted officers in Oban, 2 in Campbeltown and 4 in Ayr. Secondment records for the period requested are not retained, any secondment would be as a response to risk level and business need. In addition our Marine Protection Vessels carry warranted officers, these assets are regularly deployed to the Clyde area.

Prison healthcare centres can issue condoms for all prisoners including those in the women’s prison estate as part of a range of approaches to support sexual and reproductive health among the prison population.

Security of electricity supply is reserved and a responsibility of the UK Government. It is delivered by the National Grid Electricity System Operator (ESO) under regulation from Ofgem.

National Grid ESO and the two electricity network operators in Scotland monitor, record and address any electricity outages at the transmission and distribution level. As such, the Scottish Government does not separately monitor weather-related power outages.

However, during disruptive events affecting electricity supplies, Scottish Government officials work closely with the UK Government and network operators as necessary, to understand impacts, restoration plans and the welfare of affected customers. If required, during severe weather events and associated power outages, the Scottish Government Resilience Room (SGoRR) may convene SGoR meetings with the attendance of network operators.

Scottish Ministers met with the Scottish Hospitality Group on several occasions in advance of the Scottish Budget 2024-25.

The Scottish Hospitality Group are represented on the New Deal for Business Non-Domestic Rates consultative sub-group which is chaired by the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance who has portfolio responsibility for non-domestic rates. The sub-group has met regularly, and the meetings of 3 October and 24 November provided the opportunity for members, including the Scottish Hospitality Group, to share their views specifically on non-domestic rates in advance of the Scottish Budget 2024-25. The Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance also met with members of the Scottish Hospitality Group’s board on 12 December to discuss the Scottish Budget 2024-25.

On 29 November, the Minister for Small Business, Innovation, Tourism and Trade met with the Scottish Hospitality Group and other key hospitality bodies to hear first-hand about the current issues facing the sector.Ministers value the insights provided by the trade bodies representing hospitality businesses and are aware of their asks and concerns.

While this particular issue is reserved to the UK Government, we believe that any measures designed to provide consumers with more protection should be given serious consideration.

The Scottish Government has had a wide range of discussions with Police Scotland over many years about its use of technology to support effective policing in communities through its Change Programmes.

In 2019-20 the Scottish Government provided an additional £12 million in capital funding to support the introduction of mobile devices for 10,000 officers, as part of an investment programme to build operational capacity enhance digital capabilities and enable frontline officers to spend more time in communities.

Police Scotland is the lead delivery partner for the Digital Evidence Sharing Capability (DESC) Programme – a collaborative transformation programme supported and funded by the Scottish Government and currently being piloted in Dundee. It will deliver significant efficiencies to Police Scotland and its partners, making the process of collecting, editing and sharing evidence with the prosecutor much simpler and quicker for officers than current processes. DESC is also a critical platform for future transformation, such as the national roll out of a body worn video capability, and greater use of pre-recorded evidence.

The Scottish Police Authority provide oversight and scrutiny when new technologies are being introduced to ensure that ethical, legal and human rights are considered, so that public confidence can be maintained.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Businesses may become TrustMark registered and information on these businesses is available on the TrustMark website.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23652 on 21 December 2023 regarding targeted marketing at the over 55 age group. I further refer the member to my answer to question S6W-23657 on 21 December 2021 regarding the part of his question regarding specific forms of marketing activities.

The Home Energy Scotland ‘Warmer Homes Scotland’ campaign includes a specific target audience of the over 60s. This campaign includes a digital advertising strand targeted at this age category who live in the 20% most deprived postcodes in Scotland. In addition, press is included to help target those who are not digitally engaged, alongside TV advertising on daytime STV and C4 Scotland.

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 .

Energy Savings Trust administer a number of Scottish Government heat and energy efficiency funding schemes through a competitively procured contract. The fee charged by EST is not broken down into staff and IT categories.

The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme was launched in December 2022. The cost to operate the scheme in the 2022-23 grant year (December 2022 – March 2023) was as follows:

Scheme Management and Application Fees paid to EST: £647,044

The cost of Scottish Government Staff time associated with the operating of the scheme was estimated to be around: £60,000.