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With the UK Government’s autumn statement being four weeks later than it was in 2024, the timetable for Scottish budget scrutiny has been tighter this year.
When it goes through cuts in head count, as I believe that it did at the end of 2024 to early 2025, it looks into how news will be produced and puts serious thought into what it can produce with the staff that it has, to a greater degree than any other employer that I deal with.
That follows on from the committee exploring participation in 2023, as part of our scrutiny of the budget for 2024-25, and transparency in 2024, as part of our pre-budget scrutiny for 2025-26.
Our modelling has tried to take that into account by starting in line with the present levels of restoration activity. In 2024 and 2025, restoration activity took place on about 15,000 hectares, which is the highest level on record.
We heard more promises one month later, but in August 2024, Creative Scotland closed the open fund due to uncertainty over its funding from the Scottish Government.
I will add to what has been said by pointing out that our young women lead programme has only 14 spaces every year and that the 2024 programme, which specifically focused on democratic wellbeing, received more than 150 applications.