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This is an operational matter for NatureScot. I have asked their Chief Executive to write with the relevant information.

We welcome NatureScot’s, Scottish Wildcat Action (SWA) – Final Summary Report 2023 and agree that the ultimate goal for wildcat conservation in Scotland must be to establish a long-term, viable population of wildcats that does not require further intervention to secure its viability.

The Scottish wildcat is one of our rarest mammals and the Scottish Government will continue working with SWA through its partnership with NatureScot to achieve the goal set out above. NatureScot has recently approved a licence application from the Saving Wildcats partnership project to release wildcats in the Cairngorms National Park later this year.

The role of the Scottish Government is to monitor each of the three deposit schemes for compliance with the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011. This includes being satisfied that the tenancy deposit schemes have clear and substantial processes in place that meet the requirements laid out in the regulations.

The three approved tenancy deposit schemes are private businesses and the Scottish Government is not involved in their business operations. While we encourage employers to be Accredited Living Wage Employers we do not require it.

It is clear that Fair Work, including fair pay, is more important than ever in the context of the cost of living crisis, and we will use all the levers we can to support those most affected.

Our Fair Work First Guidance explains our Fair Work First approach, provides good practice examples to guide employers’ approaches and, importantly, explains the benefits of fair work for workers and organisations.

The following table provides how many unclaimed deposits are currently in each of Scotland’s rental deposit schemes, and what their financial value is at end February 2023.

SafeDeposits Scotland annually check the scheme rules and some wording changes were made for clarity. There have been no significant changes to the revised scheme or original proposal referred to the Scottish Government for approval. Any considered changes would be discussed as part of routine monitoring discussions.

SafeDeposits Scotland have confirmed that there is only one version of the Scheme Rules available on the website.

Currently, there are charges in place for the use of toilet facilities at Inverness, Fort William, Aberdeen, and Glasgow Queen Street stations.

ScotRail advises that the revenue from each requested station toilet facilities since 2019 is as follows:

The following table shows the number of entries to the Rural Skills National Progression Award at SCQF Level 5 for the 2022-23 academic year broken down by centre.

Entries to Rural Skills NPA at SCQF 5, 2022-23

Attracting more people from a care-experienced background to further and higher education continues to be a priority for Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). SFC have a National Ambition for Care-Experienced Students for the college and university sectors.

Our vision is to see no difference in the outcomes between care-experienced students and non care-experienced students by 2030. The work we are currently doing is taking us toward that vision. The SFC’s Report on Widening Access reported that in 2020/21 care-experienced students at Scotland’s colleges and universities accounted for 1.9% of Scottish-domiciled entrants to undergraduate courses. That’s up from 1.7% in 2019-20 and represents an increase of 215 students. SFC has an established a Care Experience National Policy Group. The last meeting of that group was 26 January 2023 and included Student Ambassadors.

The Scottish Government currently has no plans to endorse the Plant Based Treaty. We are keen to explore ways to both encourage a healthy diet and reduce the environmental impact of our food system. We continue to work with Public Health Scotland, Food Standards Scotland and others to evaluate the evidence base on diet, health and climate impacts.

The shellfish industry is an increasingly important aquaculture and food sector, creating and sustaining employment opportunities in many of Scotland’s remote rural, island and coastal communities and which supplies healthy and delicious Scottish shellfish to domestic and international markets and businesses.

I was pleased to support the Association of Scottish Shellfish Growers conference held in Oban last year, in addition to the Shellfish Association of Great Britain conference to provide an update on progress across our priorities in Scotland, which of course is producing substantial amounts of the UK’s shellfish either through wild or farmed stocks. This year’s annual conference will be held in London in June and I was grateful to receive an invite to attend from David Jarrad, Chief Executive of the Shellfish Association of Great Britain.

Scottish Government officials are currently considering attendance at the event.