There are no staff in the Scottish Government that hold either the Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) or Offensive Security Certified Professional (OSCP) qualification.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the Food and Drink Sector and that is why we fund the delivery of the Industry led Food and Drink strategy – Sustaining Scotland, Supplying the World, and before that the Food & Drink Sector Recovery Plan which sought to mitigate the challenges that Brexit and the Pandemic brought on the Sector. The strategy outlines the sector’s aims and ambitions over the next 10 years, setting out a range of activities in a number of areas to move the dial on food and drink sector growth in Scotland.

The following table outlines the funding provided to Scotland Food & Drink since 2020-21 and the purpose of that funding.

The fishing industry is heavily regulated, with many rules in place designed to limit unwanted catch. The Scottish Government is tackling illegal discarding primarily through the enforcement of the Landing Obligation, which mandates that all catches of quota species must be landed. This is supported by monitoring and enforcement, including sea patrols, as well as technical and spatial management measures such as selective fishing gear and area closures, with the combined aim to reduce instances of unwanted catches.

Throughout engagement with COSLA, councils and opposition parties ahead of the 2025-26 Scottish Budget, there was a clear consensus that councils should have full flexibility for decisions on Council Tax rates. The Scottish Budget delivered that ask in full, as part of a record Local Government Settlement worth over £15 billion including real terms protection of General Revenue Grant, another key ask of COSLA and opposition parties.

To date, the total spend on the pilot scheme, inclusive of transcription and redaction costs, is £132,898.93 as at 31 March 2025.

To note, this does not include the cost of applications which are waiting to be processed or awaiting redaction.

There is no statutory deadline to apply for the 40% relief that is available in 2025-26 for hospitality premises liable for the Basic Property Rate in mainland Scotland (excluding specified remote areas), capped at £110,000 per business.

The Scottish Government has a range of measures to communicate information and raise awareness about the Non-Domestic Rates (NDR) reliefs which are available in 2025-26, including specific relief for the hospitality sector. This includes:

• information on the Scottish Government webpages at Non-domestic rates (business rates) - Local government - gov.scot and Non-domestic rates relief - mygov.scot;
• a Short Guide to NDR Rates and Reliefs 2025-26 which is issued to a wide range of stakeholder groups including trade representative bodies;
• Local Government Finance Circular 4/25 which provides more detailed information for local authorities on NDR reliefs for 2025-26 and is published on Scottish Government webpages; and
• regular engagement and dialogue with industry stakeholders and representatives through the consultative sub-group on Non-Domestic Rates, regular roundtable meetings with Ministers and the Scottish Ratepayer Forum. The membership of these groups includes representatives from the Scottish Hospitality Group, UK Hospitality, Scottish Tourism Alliance, Scottish Licensed Trade Association, Scottish Beer and Pub Association, and Night-Time Industries Association.

Local Authorities also publish information on non-domestic rates reliefs, including hospitality relief, on their individual websites.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36149 on 8 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.

The information available at Non-domestic rates relief - mygov.scot is regularly reviewed and updated and following successful passage of the legislation through the Parliament, it was updated on 1 April 2025 with information about all the reliefs, including hospitality relief, available in 2025-26.

Civil Servants appointed to the Scottish Government must adhere to the Civil Service Code and Standards of Behaviour. They must act with integrity and impartiality, avoiding any appearance of bias or misuse of position and refrain from using their official role to advance personal interests. Failure to do so could result in disciplinary action being taken up to and including dismissal.

Network activity is governed by a network role descriptor “The core purpose of a staff network is in providing a space for peer support.” Internal Staff networks have no role in informing external policy.

This response addresses only the Scottish Government and its executive agencies. Public bodies have local responsibility for staff management.