Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all students with a disability, long term medical condition or additional support needs are able to access further and higher education and are fully supported throughout their studies.

It is for institutions to make decisions on their intake but they are required under the Equality Act (Scotland) 2010 to provide equal opportunities and prevent discrimination.

It is worth noting that the retention rate for this group of students, which in the last four years has been above the sector average, is currently (in AY 2021-22 into AY 2022-23) 91.8% for FTFD Scottish Domiciled Entrants.

PERSISTENT INEQUALITIES

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) are currently working together to enhance the SFC’s leadership and oversight role in tackling persistent inequalities in the tertiary system.

Through this, SFC and EHRC have established a set of National Equality Outcomes (NEOs) for the tertiary education sector through their Persistent Inequalities work. Disability, as a protected characteristic, is included as part of this work, and the following National Equality Outcomes related to disabled students:

• Disabled students report feeling satisfied with the overall support and reasonable adjustments received, including from teaching staff, while on their course.
• Disabled staff and students report feeling safe in the tertiary system.
• Where representation is not proportionate to the relevant population, increase the representation of disabled staff in the workforce and on college Boards and university Courts.

SFC will be reviewing progress made by the sector through the upcoming Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) reports as part of SFC’s Outcome Framework and Assurance Model.

DSA

The Scottish Government (via the Scottish Funding Council and the Student Awards Agency Scotland) provides various funding mechanisms in the form of the Additional Support Needs for Learning Allowance, the Access and Inclusion Fund, and the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA).

This vital support ensures that those with a disability or additional support needs are able to access further and higher education and continue to be well supported throughout their studies.

In 2023-24 the number of full-time students with disabilities or additional support needs who were supported by DSA increased to 5,855. This totals £14.1 million in support, an 18.4% increase.

Data also shows that we now have a record number of students at university with a recorded disability or additional support need (6,765).

A national HIV testing week was carefully considered by the HIV Transmission Elimination Scoping Group, including clinical and public health experts, who did not recommend that it should be prioritised in the short to medium term. Based on the Group’s advice, our HIV Transmission Elimination Delivery Plan 2023-26 sets out our approach to addressing stigma and promoting HIV testing on a consistent, year-round basis. However, the Scottish Government has committed to reviewing the potential costs and benefits of a national testing week once priority actions to expand capacity and improve access to testing have been progressed.

Data on school nurses by sector and local authority is available from 2019 to 2023, here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-support-staff-management-information/

from 2017 to 2018, here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/school-support-staff-statistics/

and from 2010 to 2016, here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/

Data prior to 2010 is not available.

Data for 2024 will be released on 25 March 2025.

Extensive research was undertaken on the impact of the first 30 minute reduction of the working week for Agenda for Change staff. This included its impact on maintaining system performance, meeting legislative requirements around safe staffing and the delivery of planned initiatives to support service recovery.

On review of this research it was clear that, to avoid unacceptable levels of risk to service resilience and patient safety, introducing the remaining hour on 1 April 2026 would be the most appropriate option. This also upholds the Scottish Government's commitment made in the 2023-24 Agenda for Change pay deal.

The Scottish Education Exchange Programme Test and Learn Project (SEEP) has been developed in partnership with colleges and universities and over the first 2 years has supported 56 projects focusing on closing the shortfall between the UK Government Turing Scheme and Erasmus+.

Applications for the SEEP must be submitted by a Scottish college or university. The amount of funding for each institution is capped at £25,000. Each applicant has the opportunity to apply for an additional (up to) £10,000 to partner with a recognised Scottish youth work organisation.

Whilst the first year of SEEP focused on staff mobility, criteria in year 2 was extended to include short-term mobility opportunities for Scottish students, addressing a gap in the Turing Scheme. These projects are live, institutions will provide student participation data once the projects conclude in March 2025.

An evaluation of the programme has been commissioned and will be published this summer.

The Scottish Government committed through the Programme for Government 2023 – 24, published on 5 September 2023, to improving miscarriage care, including the provision of separate private spaces in hospitals with maternity wards for women experiencing pregnancy and baby loss.

The Delivery Framework for Miscarriage Care, published on 6 February 2025, sets out that those experiencing miscarriage at any stage of pregnancy should be seen in a separate private space appropriate for bereavement. This action carries a priority category of “N” which means this should be implemented within 6 months from 1 April 2025.

We have been following the development of the Welsh Sustainable Farming Scheme (SFS) with interest. As well as the paper which was published in November, we also have regular discussions with the other UK nations, including Wales, regarding future agriculture policy proposals as part of the provisional Agricultural Support Common Framework. Whilst each nation has its own unique situation, and tailors their support accordingly, we also have shared challenges and goals. These discussions under the Framework enable all four nations to collaborate, coordinate, and cooperate regarding plans for future agricultural support.

While our proposals for future support are set out as a framework, as opposed to a single scheme, there are a number of similarities with the Welsh proposals. The Welsh “Sustainable Land Management” objectives, which the SFS is based on, are similar to our overarching objectives for future Scottish agriculture policy, which are set out in the Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 and include the adoption and use of sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices and high quality food production.

A number of the “Universal Actions” proposed as part of the SFS, such as on soil health planning, Integrated Pest Management and habitat maintenance, also echo our proposals for future support. For example, as set out in our Agricultural Reform Route Map, the requirements we are putting in place under the Whole Farm Plan include soil analysis, a biodiversity audit, and an Integrated Pest Management plan. These are intended to help farmers and crofters prepare for the fact that from 2026 at least half of all funding for farming and crofting will be targeted towards outcomes for biodiversity gain and climate mitigation and adaption.

Following our annual teacher workforce planning process, which included detailed statistical modelling, and advice from the Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group, we wrote to the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in February 2025, with recommendations for Initial Teacher Education (ITE) intakes for the 2025-26 academic year.

Recommendations included a reduction in intakes to primary programmes, with further consideration to be given to the level of any further reductions for the 2026-27 academic year.

This advice to the SFC will assist in the setting of intakes to ITE programmes for individual higher education institutions. These will be shown in SFC’s final funding allocations for 2025-26, due to be published at the end of May 2025.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-35129 on 4 March 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

Scottish waste legislation is underpinned by the waste hierarchy and Scottish Government has a range of laws and policies which implement it in managing waste.

The Waste (Scotland) Regulations 2012 require Scottish households and businesses to present recyclable materials such as glass, metal, plastic, paper, cardboard and food waste separately for collection.

Scotland was the first nation in the UK to introduce a ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste which comes into force on 31 December 2025.

The Circular Economy Act and our Circular Economy and Waste Route Map to 2030 set out ambitious plans to deliver priority actions which will help maximise progress towards a circular economy. The plan has 4 strategic aims: to reduce and reuse, maximise recycling, decarbonise disposal and strengthen the circular economy.

A total of £66.6 million has been allocated through the Recycling Improvement fund, to 27 Scottish local authorities for 47 projects to increase the quantity and quality of recycling across Scotland.

These are just some of the measures in place in Scotland which are to helping to drive waste up the hierarchy and away from disposal.