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In line with the requirements of Section 16 of the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010, the Scottish Government discloses to the Scottish Parliament the number and total cost of employing special advisers on an annual basis. The latest report, pertaining to the financial year 2024-25, was published on 6 June 2025. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-38463 on 6 June 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.

Although there is around a one month overlap with the tenure of the previous First Minister, the response nonetheless confirms that costs for 2024-25 under the current First Minister have reduced to £1,745,042 from £1,906,963 in the previous financial year.

The Scottish Government is committed to the safe assessment of and remediation of buildings identified as at risk through the cladding remediation programme. However, it is important to clarify that fire safety remains the legal responsibility of the owner.

The Cladding Remediation Programme is being delivered through a distributed model, supporting owners to arrange Single Building Assessments (SBAs) to determine the scope and nature of risk for individual buildings.

Where remediation is required following an SBA, building owners are supported to develop appropriate design and remediation plans. However, the pace of delivery is influenced by a range of factors, including the specific outcome of each SBA, the complexity of the remediation that may be required, ownership and tenure arrangements, the involvement of original developers, and the need to obtain statutory consents such as planning permission and building warrants.

In the meantime, all buildings should have fire safety measures in place, such as up-to-date fire risk assessments and interim mitigation measures where needed. Building owners and managers are expected to take all necessary steps to ensure the safety of residents in accordance with their legal duties.

For these reasons, it is not currently possible to publish a national timeline for the completion of all necessary remedial works. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with delivery partners to progress buildings through each stage of the programme, and we publish regular updates on our website. Homeowners and residents are kept informed throughout this process, and every effort is being made to expedite the safe remediation of affected properties.

Under the Fiscal Framework with the UK Government, the Block Grant Adjustment for Social Security will be increased to reflect the costs related to the UK Government's changes to eligibility to the Winter Fuel Payment in England and Wales. The Scottish Government recently announced it will mirror the approach taken by the UK Government. The exact increase will be confirmed by the OBR in due course and is therefore subject to change, however this is estimated to be around £120 million. The Scottish Government does not therefore receive Barnett Consequentials for this change.

The Scottish Government can only provide data on those buildings where its own data systems are in place. Some locations have landlord data systems in place and the Scottish Government does not have access to that data.

Average occupancy levels are shown in the following table for the buildings where we hold this data, these are taken as an average of attendance levels for a full day every second Tuesday for January - December 2024. Bothwell House closed for use by SG core staff in April 2025.

The Scottish Government recognises the current pressures on housebuilding and the importance of building more homes. We are aware of opposition from industry to the Scottish Building Safety Levy (SBSL). However, no immediate alternative solutions are being offered to address the scale of the funding challenge associated with cladding remediation. With developers contributing to cladding remediation in England through a Building Safety Levy, the Scottish Government considers it fair and proportionate that they are asked to do the same in Scotland.

We are aware that Scottish Land and Estates have voiced concerns with the proposed measures in the Bill, whereas other stakeholders would like the measures to go further and faster. It is important that our Land Reform policies take a proportionate and balanced approach, whilst improving how land is owned and managed in our rural and island communities.

We continue to listen to the views of stakeholders and have brought forward a number of amendments at Stage 2 to strengthen and simplify the Bill.

We have carefully considered the impact that the proposals in Part 1 of the Land Reform Bill will have on landowners across Scotland. The 1000 hectare threshold means that only the largest 1.4% of Scotland’s farms are expected to be in scope, according to 2023 Agricultural Census figures.

For further assessment of the impacts of proposed measures in the Bill, please refer to the Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA).

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of cybercrime units within Police Scotland as this is an operational matter for the Chief Constable.

We recognise the crucial role that Police Scotland officers and staff play in keeping our communities safe, including from sexual abuse.

In 2025-26, we have increased police funding to £1.64 billion, an increase of £90 million on 2024-25, to support police capacity and capability.

The Scottish Government values the teaching profession and the important work that teachers do is one of the key strengths of our education system.

We will continue to work with COSLA and the teaching unions to address concerns around teacher workload.

We are clear that reducing teachers’ class contact time by 90 minutes per week will help address critical concerns around teacher workload, including the retention of teachers.

We will continue to work with COSLA and the teaching unions to make meaningful progress on this important commitment.

Scottish Government utilises the National Dental Inspection Programme (NDIP) to both assess children’s oral health over the longer-term, and to understand the impact of dental policy and services, including Childsmile. As part of dental payment reform, we have also introduced adult oral health metrics for the first time. These are based on key data points routinely collected through dental examinations, and can be used by dentists to monitor the long-term oral health of their population cohorts.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) statistics published in May, and showing data to 31 March 2025, report that adults in the most deprived areas are more likely to be registered with an NHS dentist than those in the least deprived areas, however participation (the number of registered patients who have been seen by a dentist in the past two years) is lower.

To help address this, we work with NHS Boards to make available additional financial incentives to grow and sustain access to primary care dental services, this includes the Scottish Dental Access Initiative (SDAI), which financially assists dentists in either opening a new or expand an existing dental practice in a designated areas where there is unmet demand for NHS dental services.