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The topic of Scottish independence was not discussed.

The topic of Scottish independence was not discussed.

Canals in Scotland were not considered during the second Strategic Transport Projects Review, as water-based transport on canals and estuaries (such as water taxis) were deemed to be out of scope of the review, as noted in the Appendix A of the. Final technical report - December 2022 - STPR2 | Transport Scotland

The Scottish Government laid out their plans for the canal network in the 2013 publication HYPERLINK "" Making the most of Scotland’s canals | Transport Scotland based on the following seven principles:

• Valuing the heritage of our canals
• Fulfilling statutory and regulatory obligations
• Risk management and safety
• Increasing awareness of the potential contribution which canals can make
• Delivering a high quality experience
• Working through partnership and collaboration
• Monitoring and measuring outcomes

It is important we work together to understand and plan for coastal change. The Scottish Government’s Dynamic Coast (DC) project is helping us understand the erosion threat to Scotland’s coast including in the Highlands and Islands.

DC2 assesses coastal erosion rates nationally and considers how these rates might be exacerbated by climate change. This report has been published and can be found at the following link;

https://www.crew.ac.uk/dynamic-coast

Throughout the project, we have worked closely with local authorities, including in the Highland and Islands, to help them plan for coastal adaptation. To support them, we have provided an additional £11.7 million of funding for coastal change adaptation from 2022-23 to 2025-26.

In 2024-25, the funding of £2.7m will be distributed to local authorities in two ways. £1.65m in direct allocation to coastal local authorities including the Highlands and Islands and £1.05m for case studies, including a study in Nairn looking at monitoring coastal data.

The Scottish Government has not made such an assessment. These are operational matters for Scottish Canals as part of their Asset Management Strategy work and responsibility to maintain and develop Scotland's canal network.

The Scottish Government is currently carrying out research with Rum residents and wider stakeholders, with the aim of reaching consensus on conditions of sale for Kinloch Castle. The Kinloch Castle Delphi Study is being led by analysts within the Rural and Environmental Science and Analytical Services Division of the Scottish Government.In March, we sent a survey invitation to all residents on the isle of Rum, and received a response from the majority of islanders. We shared the Round 1 report with all residents, and met with the Rum Community Association, Kinloch Castle Friends Association and Isle of Rum Community Trust to discuss the results. In July, we sent the Round 2 survey invitation to all residents. We have also invited Kinloch Castle Friends Association members to share their views in a separate survey. During Round 3, we plan to arrange an in-person community workshop on Rum. We aim to publish the final report by December 2024.

There were no artwork purchases in 2023-24.A detail of artwork spend in previous years is outlined below.

Since 2016, the Scottish Government has provided Revenue and Capital Grant support to Scottish Canals as follows:

It is the responsibility of Scottish Canals to ensure that the maintenance and improvement of the canal network is resourced from its allocated budget and aligned to the aims of its Asset Management Strategy.

Minutes from the Scottish Bracken Working Group meetings are available at the following link: Bracken: Scottish Working Group - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

A number of alternative methods of control are available to aid bracken management, which should be determined on a case by case basis.

UK Preliminary Best Practice Guidance for bracken management was published in June 2024 and can be viewed at the following link: Bracken | NatureScot .

In 2023, the Health and Safety Executive, the pesticides regulator, did not authorise Asulox for use in Scotland because of the risk it poses to the environment and human health.

The Scottish Government recognises that there is a lack of information on which areas in Scotland are most impacted by bracken and how coverage is changing. We are working closely with NatureScot to progress development of a bracken map. Mapping the presence of bracken would better identify concerns, support treatment methods and allow prioritisation of potential further research.