In recognition of the potential risks which could be caused by contaminants, it is Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) policy for firefighters who are breastfeeding to not undertake operational activity. In addition, employees who wish to continue to breastfeed upon their return to work following maternity leave are supported to do so, through the provision of appropriate facilities to express and store milk.

The Scottish Government’s budget for 2025-26 includes £412.2 million for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) which is an increase of £18.8 million. This will enable SFRS to continue to deliver the high standard of services required to keep communities safe. This includes an increase from £43 million to £47 million in capital funding which will allow the service to invest more in property, fleet and equipment. The allocation of resources is a matter for the SFRS Board and Chief Officer.

The Scottish Government is committed to working with SFRS to ensure continuing priority is given to the implementation of its wildfire strategy. The Service’s planned spend is circa £1.6 million over the course of the 3 year roll-out of its strategy. New equipment, vehicles and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) continues to be rolled out and SFRS will fully implement its wildfire strategy during the course of 2025. Within it, SFRS is adopting ‘burn suppression’ techniques such as those in use in the new Mediterranean-style specialist wildfire units. Due to extensive training and the use of new techniques, SFRS’s ability to tackle wildfires has never been so advanced.

Recruitment and retention of firefighters is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The purpose of the meeting on 26 February 2025 was to update myself and the Minister for Climate Action on the Review of Electricity Market Arrangements, the reform options being considered by UK Government, and the potential impact of those options for Scotland.

The briefing paper for this meeting, and list of attendees, including ministers, have already been released under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA). It is standard procedure for names of officials to be redacted in all FOIs under Section 38(1)(b), due to protections around the sharing of Third Party Data, whereby personal data is exempt from disclosure if disclosure would contravene any of the data protection principles in Article 5(1) of the UK GDPR and in section 34(1) of the DPA 2018.

Upon review of the FOI, section 29(1)(a) was not cited as a redaction used. Information has been redacted under 30(b)(i), however, was redacted due to it relating to the free and frank provision of advice. This exemption recognises the need for Ministers to have space within which to seek advice and views from officials before reaching a settled public position.

In line with usual practice, details of individual tasks carried out by civil servants, including the number of hours spent on them, are not routinely recorded.

Figures representing all rail expenditure for the years 2021-22 to 2023-24 can be found in Transport Scotland accounts:

Year 2022-23: Annual Accounts | Transport Scotland

Year 2023-24: Annual Accounts | Transport Scotland

The budget figures for the current and previous financial years are available at: Scottish Budget 2025 to 2026 - gov.scot.

Through our regeneration investment programmes £294.55m has been delivered in the current Parliamentary term over the period 1 April 2021 until end March 2025 to support community-led regeneration and town centre revitalisation across Scotland. The 2025-26 Scottish Budget allocated £62.15m to deliver regeneration programmes over the period 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026.

Heat networks have an important role to play in meeting the objectives set out in our Heat in Buildings Strategy.

Our Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme continues to support homeowners with an interest-free loan of up to £7,500 towards connecting to a district heating scheme.

For those in or at risk of fuel poverty, support to connect to a district heating scheme is also available through our national fuel poverty scheme, Warmer Homes Scotland.

Households wanting to take action should contact HES who can help those interested to navigate the support available. HES can be contacted on 0808 808 2282 or via their online portal https://www.homeenergyscotland.org/

With regard to the Marine Fund Scotland, publication of individual data is not standard practice, but the analysis of post project monitoring contributes, as part of a range of information, to Scotland's Fisheries Management strategy. This, in turn, informs Marine Fund Scotland assessment and will inform future funding decisions.

We have put a number of measures in place to ensure transparency and accountability in the Growth Deals.

The activities supported by Regional Growth Deals are designed by Local Authorities in consultation with the communities they serve. The decision-making structures supporting the Deals include elected members chosen by communities to serve their areas.

Information on Deal delivery is provided through published annual reports and regular updates on specific projects and programmes, all made available on each individual Growth Deal’s website.

We are working with the UK Government to consider options to potentially streamline Growth Deal governance whilst continuing to ensure a level of scrutiny appropriate to the £3.4 billion of public funding we are collectively investing in the programme. Any changes made to Growth Deal governance would require joint Government endorsement.