Chamber and committees

Work has been ongoing within public agencies to identify sites where beaver release may take place, within and on the edge of current range and in new catchments. A licence issued to the Cairngorms National Park Authority allows for a further five beaver families to be released. Forestry and Land Scotland have submitted an application for beaver translocation to Glen Affric within the Beauly catchment which is currently being assessed by NatureScot.

NatureScot encourages any landowner who is interested in hosting beavers to come forward so that they can discuss the licence application process with them and the suitability of sites. The number of beavers hosted will vary depending on the number of release sites and the local circumstances, however, this forms part of the application process considered by NatureScot.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) supports the Scottish Government, local authorities and other public bodies to fulfil their legal obligations to promote and protect the human rights of children and young people. The SYP is the democratic voice of Scotland’s young people. Their vision for Scotland is of a nation that actively listens to and values the meaningful participation of its young people. Their goal is to make this vision a reality, in order to ensure young people in Scotland grow up loved, safe and respected, and able to realise their full potential.

The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) do not publish or hold an electoral register. However, SYP work with all 32 local authorities and 9 National Voluntary Organisations as Election Partners to run the SYP Elections. All young people who are aged between 14 and 25 who also live, work or study in Scotland, are eligible to stand for election, and all young people 12-25 are eligible to vote via election partners online with the SYP Election Rules and Procedures.

The total number of counted votes cast in the last elections was 33,608.

a) The Scottish Government publishes details of Ministerial engagements, travel and gifts - gov.scot containing information about Ministerial engagements, overseas travel, car journeys, domestic travel and gifts received.

b) The Scottish Government publishes details of Special advisers: gifts and hospitality - gov.scot, which includes information on travel expenses claimed.

ci & cii) The following table gives the relevant data for the last available 5 years:

1.Senior Civil Service;

2.Staff Below Senior Civil Service; and

3.Seafaring Staff.

The Scottish Government will encourage local delivery partners such as Health and Social Care Partnerships to identify training needs and ensure staff are able to receive all relevant training.

The need for more specific training on ARBD is now something local delivery partners should be addressing and the Scottish Government will be keen to promote this wherever possible.

We have committed to publishing a National Specification for alcohol and drug treatment and support services. The Specification will set out what services are required to implement the Charter of Rights for people affected by substance use, which includes those impacted by ARBD.

The Scottish Government has committed in our Cross Government Plan for tackling substance use harms to publishing a National Specification for alcohol and drug treatment and support services.

The Specification will include advice and requirements for local areas to make the public and people impacted by alcohol aware of the full range of services available, including for ARBD.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. A survey on Stoma Care Services was undertaken in early 2024 that gathered information from individual Health Boards, however, due to the passage of time, this will no longer reflect current data.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35803 on 2 April 2025. 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.

In July 2023, Scottish Forestry launched the Woodlands for Riparian Benefits Forestry Grant Scheme, targeting specific areas to enhance Scotland’s riparian woodlands. The scheme offers increased grant rates for areas along watercourses. Around 175,000 hectares have been identified where planting riparian woodland can be prioritised to deliver and maximise multiple benefits.

There are also measures in the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme for the management of water margins, management of wetlands and floodplains and capital items to support river restoration approaches. While these are not specific to beaver reintroduction, these schemes can be used to enhance riparian habitats in those circumstances.

NatureScot has published Strategic Environmental Assessments (SEA for Tayside, Knapdale, the Forth catchment, Loch Lomond catchment, the River Spey and the Beauly catchments, as well as publishing a screening report for the Rivers Ness and Lochy catchments.

Given the body of work to date and the likelihood of assessing similar environmental effects in different catchments, NatureScot has proposed that it will adopt an SEA screening approach to new catchments to determine if there are novel interests and interactions that may require a more detailed assessment. This will streamline the approach to future SEA assessments. Prioritising assessments will depend on where there is interest from land managers and organisations in hosting beavers.

The Scottish Government continues to identify release sites on publicly owned and managed land. NatureScot are also inviting land managers with an interest in hosting beavers to come forward so that they can discuss the licence application process with them and, where possible, bring together land managers with the same aspirations.