Chamber and committees

EU nationals who were living in the UK prior to the end of the Brexit Transition Period (31 December 2020) are eligible for the home tuition fee rate and tuition fee support to study at a Scottish institution. EU nationals who satisfy this criteria and were also living in the UK and Islands for 3 years can access living cost support, provided they are ordinarily resident in Scotland.

The disproportionate cost threshold is £600.

The composition of the ministerial team and the allocation of portfolio responsibilities are a matter for the First Minister.

The effectiveness of Project Bank Accounts is monitored and reviewed on a regular basis. Applicability was expanded in 2019 and the current considered position is that further expansion is not justified at this time. Scottish Government actively facilitates PBA use beyond mandated applicability in two main ways (1) flexibility to use a PBA on projects which are marginally below threshold (2) organisational freedom to use a PBA on lower value projects where they consider it appropriate.

Expanding PBA coverage would increase the number of applicable projects but risks upsetting the current fine balance of commercial viability, corporate capacity, skilled capability and budget affordability. Keeping those factors in a reasonable state of equilibrium is fundamental to ensuring PBAs remain a viable means of delivering prompt and insolvency-protected payment to supply chain firms.

The National Trauma Training Programme (NTTP) provides freely available and evidence based trauma training resources for the whole workforce, including education and health professionals, supported by over £8 million investment since 2018. This is key to ensuring that children, young people and their families are supported effectively by workforces and services that recognise the impact of adverse and traumatic experiences, and provide support which is centred around relationships and causes no further harm.

In 2023, the Scottish Government will publish a long-term delivery plan for the NTTP which will include an outline of future commitments and priorities for supporting trauma-informed practice across the children and families workforce.

Education Scotland has also developed a Keeping Trauma in Mind professional learning programme to support education practitioners across Scotland with their knowledge, understanding and skills required to support children and young people (including adoptees) who may be impacted by trauma.

As set out in the Ministerial Code, the Scottish Government publishes ministerial engagements, travel and gifts three months in arrears, and publishes the whole month at one time, taken from the end of the relevant month. The Scottish Government plans to publish the information relating to April's ministerial engagements, travel and gifts by the end of July 2023. No breach of the Scottish Ministerial Code has occurred.

The Scottish Government places great importance on the range of services Arms Length External Organisations (ALEOs) provide and believes everyone should have access to these services. While there are no limits set by the Scottish or UK Government on the amount a Scottish local authority, and by extension ALEOs can borrow, local authorities are under a statutory duty to determine and keep under review the maximum amount which it can afford to allocate to capital expenditure, including associated borrowing levels.

The Scottish Government for our part have provided local authorities with nearly £13.5 billion in 2023-24, a cash increase in local government day to day spending of over £793 million which represents a real terms increase of £376 million or 3 per cent.

I refer the member to the question S6W-19335 on 12 July 2023. 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 Scottish Government's recently published National Innovation Strategy identifies Scotland's Health and Life Sciences sector as an innovation priority area, and outlines a tailored cluster approach to each of the innovation priority areas in order to scale innovative activity to drive economic outcomes, attract additional investment and elevate Scotland's impact on a global stage. The National Innovation Strategy further outlines encouragement and support for the breadth of Scotland's businesses to innovate, helping our business base to adopt the innovative technologies and processes that will help increase their resilience and capacity for growth. The Standing Committee on Pandemic Preparedness has also underlined the importance of continued support for innovation in life sciences and public health research in its Interim Report, published in August 2022. A strong and resilient life sciences sector, with highly innovative clusters involving our business and research base, will help Scotland be able to respond to upcoming challenges including any potential future pandemics.

In 2023-24, the Scottish Government has allocated over £480,000 directly to organisations delivering support for adoptive families, including parents. This funding supports a range of initiatives, including: a national helpline; services for practitioners; an Adoption Contact Register; Adoption Week Scotland; and Adoption UK’s PATHways service which provides therapeutic and peer support.

Future funding commitments are subject to the outcome of any spending review by the Scottish Government and approval of the annual Budget Bills by the Scottish Parliament.