Chamber and committees

The Greening Scheme was introduced in 2015 with the intent to improve the environmental performance of farming. The Scheme delivers thirty per cent of Scotland’s Direct Payment budget as a top up to the Basic Payment Scheme (BPS). Farmers and crofters must comply with the Greening requirements to receive their BPS and Greening payments. For those that meet the eligibility requirements this also includes carrying out Ecological Focus areas (EFA’s) that are beneficial for the climate, environment and biodiversity.

Several of the EFA options encourage land stability and prohibit the use of artificial fertilisers/ chemicals, which create benefits for restoration of natural processes but there is no direct funding link that can be quantified for the “restoration of natural Processes”.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The 164,000 figure is derived from data contained in local authority Housing Land Audits, which may vary in how they audit the contribution of 'small sites' of 4 homes or fewer.

The Aquatic Animal Health (Scotland) Regulations 2009 already places a legal obligation on salmon producers to report increases in mortality levels to Scottish Ministers or a veterinarian. This applies to unexplained mortality, and there is a voluntary agreement in place with aquaculture production businesses for any instances of mortality above specified thresholds to be reported to Scottish Ministers as part of wider aquatic animal health surveillance. This agreement is a requirement of the Code of Good Practice for Scottish Finfish Aquaculture. Fish farm operators are also legally obliged to keep records of site mortality levels and these are periodically inspected by the Fish Health Inspectorate during their risk-based inspections.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

The Minimum All Tenure Housing Land Requirement (MATHLR) for each planning authority in Scotland is set out in Annex E of National Planning Framework 4.

The table below provides the difference between the MATHLR and the figures that contribute to the 164,000 units.

The Scottish Government is already committed to delivering the ambitions set out in the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture. Scotland will have a support framework that delivers high quality food production, climate mitigation and adaptation, and nature restoration. This will be delivered thorough the Agricultural Reform Programme (ARP) which will contain a number of Tiers to provide range of targeted support. This will include specific support for businesses which they do their part to deliver Scotland’s climate and biodiversity targets, including measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and restore and improve nature.

The Land Reform (Scotland) Bill introduced into Parliament earlier this year further supports nature restoration. It sets out proposals that will change how land is owned and managed in our rural and island communities; it places legal responsibilities on the owners of the very largest landholdings to set out how they use their land and how that contributes to key public policy priorities, like addressing climate change and protecting and restoring nature. It also proposes a new Land Management Tenancy creating a framework for hybrid land management. This will enable people and communities to undertake a range of land management activities that help to deliver net zero, biodiversity and sustainable and regenerative agriculture.

I welcome the recent Thematic inspection of road policing in Scotland report by His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary for Scotland. The recommendations contained within the report are for Police Scotland to consider and respond, and how they do so is a matter for the Chief Constable.

I note Police Scotland’s statement on the report which highlights that the Service is already taking steps to address the issues raised, including the identification and implementation of a sustainable model for road policing. The Chief Constable has been clear policing must evolve to meet demand, with a focus on enabling frontline officers and staff to deliver for communities.

I look forward to discussing this and other issues when I next meet the Chief Constable.

Under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, which the Scottish Government is entitled to follow, there are three categories of early departure: voluntary exit, voluntary redundancy, and compulsory redundancy. No voluntary redundancy schemes have been run in 2024-25, and therefore the number of employees in Scottish Government who have been offered voluntary redundancy packages and rejected them, but remained employed with the Scottish Government is nil.

There have been no discussions between Transport Scotland, CalMac and CMAL on removing the MV Caledonian Isles from service. CalMac is currently working through a data gathering assessment to quantify the requirement for further repairs on the vessel. Once this phase is complete, the outcome and options for progression will be discussed between CalMac, CMAL and Transport Scotland.

The Scottish Government has maintained its commitment to No Compulsory Redundancy since 2007 and there is no change to the commitment set out in the multi-year 2024-25 Public Sector pay Policy published on 30 May 2024.

The 2025-26 Draft Budget has also set out a 10-year programme of Public Service Reform to Parliament, with a strong focus on the data, levers and workforce that will drive efficiency. To enable this work, we will deliver an Invest to Save fund in 2025-26, backed by up to £30 million of funding recognising the need to catalyse efficiency, effectiveness and productivity projects as part of the PSR programme.