As set out in Programme for Government 2023, the Scottish Government is continuing to prioritise working across the Health and Wellbeing portfolio to maximise the contribution of culture to achieving key cross-policy outcomes.

The Scottish Government has set up an internal Health and Culture Working Group to support this work and will continue to ensure that culture is represented in any wider Scottish Government discussions about social prescribing going forward.

Launched in April 2023, the first public procurement strategy for Scotland articulates a high-level vision and roadmap for Scottish public procurement. A copy of that strategy can be accessed on the Scottish Government’s website at Public procurement strategy: 2023 to 2028 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

There is a multifaceted approach to monitor the effectiveness and impact of procurement policy and practice in Scotland, informing continuous improvement. This approach includes:

• publishing the Scottish Ministers annual report on procurement, evidencing the impact of procurement activity across Scotland
• researching and evaluating evidence to measure and benchmark our impact, to inform opportunities for improvement and to address emerging challenges
• engaging with businesses of all shapes and sizes to underpin our policy development and implementation
• benchmarking our policies and practices domestically and internationally
• regularly reviewing, testing and refreshing our tools and guidance
• taking cognisance of external scrutiny.

It is by focusing on what the evidence is telling us, responding to that evidence, and by working together with public, private and third sector organisations, that we will maximise the impact of public procurement for communities across Scotland.

Our response to the National Partnership for Culture’s recommendations committed to begin the scoping of a new Youth Arts Strategy, which we are taking forward with Creative Scotland. Our refreshed Culture Strategy Action Plan, which will be published in the coming months, will provide an update on this work.

I have committed to updating the Scottish Parliament on Phase 3 of the Learning Estate Investment Programme by the end of October.

We have had no specific discussions of bankruptcy with local authorities and no local authorities have indicated concerns of potential bankruptcy.

We recognise the challenging environment local authorities face and that is why we are committed to a New Deal with Local Government in order to ensure the sustainability of local services.

I met with the Music Venue Trust on 20 September to discuss the current situation and challenges of grassroots music venues in Scotland. Actions included raising the impact of the cost-of-living crisis on the sector with my UK Government counterpart to understand what can be done on reserved matters; discussing how the impact of rent increases is being handled across sectors with relevant Scottish ministers; and, providing a recommendation on the options for taking forward a roundtable discussion on a ticket levy in Scotland.

The Cross-Sector Working Group on RAAC remains our main forum for engagement with public sector partners and key stakeholders in the private sector. Meetings provide updates on sector progress, recent UK information and topics of interest such as RAAC identification and assessment process and a presentation and Q&A with IStructE. The minutes of the meetings of that group are published on The Scottish Government Website.

Outwith those meetings, officials will also continue to engage with sector organisations on a one-to-one basis.

The information requested relates to Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) data and is not held by the Scottish Government.

SQA has advised that the information requested is available from their website at: https://www.sqa.org.uk/sqa/105160.12093.html .

Due to retention periods, this information is only available from 2018 onwards. The assessment arrangements data is broken down by arrangement type and not centre type.

The Scottish Government announced the launch of the Young Person’s Guarantee in November 2020, with the aim to protect young people against the immediate economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Between November 2020 and March 2023, 1019 employers have signed up to the Young Person’s Guarantee, offering 35,790 opportunities to 16-24 years olds in Scotland.

Officials will next meet with representatives from Disability Equality Scotland on 1 November 2023.

We meet regularly with Disability Equality Scotland as part of the development of the Immediate Priorities Plan and will continue to engage with representatives as the longer-term Disability Equality Strategy is developed and implemented.