Chamber and committees

As part of ongoing social care improvement and reform activity, The Scottish Government is working with CoSLA to explore possible options for removing Non-Residential Social Care charges.

Since 2011, the Scottish Government has provided over £65 million to support the development of public EV charging across Scotland. As a direct result of this funding, and increasing private sector investment, Scotland now has over 6,900 public charge points, a target for 6,000 public Charge points was met in October 2024, two years ahead of schedule. Scotland has one of the most comprehensive public charging networks in the UK, with, on a per head of population basis, more rapid public EV charge points than any other part of the UK except the South East of England.

Through our £30 million EV Infrastructure Fund we are continuing to supporting local authorities to work in partnership with the private sector to expand public EV charging across Scotland, with public funding prioritising those areas of Scotland less likely to benefit from stand-alone private sector investment in public EV charging infrastructure, including rural and island communities.

Through the EV Infrastructure Fund, each local authority or collaboration or local authorities has received the following funding to support the expansion of the EV network:

• Angus and Perth & Kinross collaboration, £1,987,678. This is expected to deliver an additional 183 charge points across the region.
• North of Scotland collaboration (Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Highland and Moray Councils), £7,236,380. This is expected to deliver an additional 589 charge points across the region.
• Glasgow City Region (East Dunbartonshire, East Renfrewshire, Glasgow City, Inverclyde, North Lanarkshire, Renfrewshire, South Lanarkshire and West Dunbartonshire Councils). £3,613,960. This is expected to deliver an additional 3,349 charge points across the region.
• Ayrshires Collaboration (East Ayrshire, North Ayrshire and South Ayrshire Councils), £2,891,168. This is expected to deliver an additional 307 charge points across the region.
• Dundee City Council, £309,768. This is expected to deliver an additional 129 charge points across the region.
• Funding for the following collaborations has yet to be announced:
• South of Scotland (City of Edinburgh, Clackmannanshire, Dumfries & Galloway, Falkirk, Fife, Midlothian, Scottish Borders and West Lothian Councils)
• HITRANS (Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, Orkney Islands and Shetland Islands Councils) collaboration with Argyll & Bute Council.

Local authorities are taking forward public procurement to deliver their respective projects.

East Lothian Council and Stirling Council took the decision not to take forward projects citing high levels of existing public charging infrastructure across their respective local authority areas.

Transport Scotland EVIF page weblink: Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund | Transport Scotland

The Criminal Justice Modernisation and Abusive Domestic Behaviour Reviews (Scotland) Bill seeks to make permanent a number of measures introduced over five years ago through emergency legislation designed to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. This includes the greater use of virtual attendance at criminal courts which has made our criminal justice system more modern, responsive and accessible. The Scottish Government has consulted extensively on the continued use of virtual attendance since 2020 including through the pre-legislative consultation on the Bill.

Since the conclusion of the Stage 1 debate, the Scottish Government has engaged further with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service, the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service, the Lord Justice General and the Law Society of Scotland on the provisions relating to virtual attendance

Scottish Government has not had discussions with Boards about expanding CAR-T cell therapy provision beyond the current centres in Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen.

Until late 2024, adult CAR-T cell therapy in Scotland was delivered through a single specialist centre. The move to a three-centre model from April 2025 reflects a clinically-led and phased approach to scaling this complex and resource-intensive treatment.

CAR T-cell therapy requires specialist facilities, accredited services, and expert clinical teams to manage serious side effects. Because only a small number of patients are eligible, concentrating treatment in a few centres helps maintain safety, quality, and clinical expertise.

It is too early to assess the need for further expansion. The impact of the current model must be fully evaluated before considering additional centres. Any future decisions will be based on clinical need, service capacity, and workforce sustainability.

The Fostering a positive, inclusive and safe school environment guidance was published on 17 June.

This non-statutory guidance aims to support schools to foster a positive, inclusive and safe school environment through their approaches to positive relationships and behaviour. In particular, it provides clarity to all members of a school community – staff, parents and children and young people – on the use of consequences as part of relationships and behaviour policies.

We have also published new guidance for local authorities and schools on using risk assessment processes to mitigate or minimise violent, aggressive and dangerous behaviours exhibited by children and young people at school.

The following table shows the estimated number of police recorded cyber-crimes during 2021-22 to 2023-24. These estimates are based on a review of crime records, whereby a random sample of cases was drawn across Scotland for those types of crime that could in theory involve a cyber-element. Further information on recorded cyber-crime is available in the recorded crime Accredited Official Statistics publications at Recorded crime in Scotland - gov.scot. Figures for 2024-25 will be published as part of this series on 24th June 2025.

The Scottish Government has increased the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) Capital budget by £4 million in 2025-26 to £43 million. Decisions on how that budget allocation should be spent, between buildings, fleet and equipment is a matter for the SFRS Board.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37806 on 4 June 2025.

The Care Inspectorate report data publicly on their Data Store which may be able to assist with this question or alternatively the Care Inspectorate could be approached directly for a response.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally as local authorities are responsible for the delivery of education. Local authorities may hold this information.

It is important to acknowledge that PISA is one source of evidence amongst a broader set of data. Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence (ACEL) 2023-24 data showed that ACEL levels for numeracy in primary and secondary schools were at their highest ever levels. The 2024 National Qualifications data also showed progress in maths attainment, with both entries and passes for Higher Mathematics increasing between 2019 and 2024.

The Scottish Government and Education Scotland are taking forward the Curriculum Improvement Cycle which introduces a systematic approach designed to ensure that Scotland’s curriculum remains relevant, forward looking, clarifies the role of knowledge and ultimately supports high quality teaching and learning. The review is considering the curriculum in a planned and systemic way, including alignment between the Broad General Education and the Senior Phase.

Work to update all eight curricular areas of CfE is underway, with mathematics being prioritised. The National Mathematics Specialist Advisor has been working closely with Education Scotland to consider all elements of the mathematics curriculum, informed by a wide range of evidence, including PISA data. Outputs of this initial phase of work have been shared in the second discussion paper published by Education Scotland on 19 December 2024.

Work is underway to continue to update and strengthen the Literacy and English Curriculum through the Curriculum Improvement Cycle. Other activities include Education Scotland publishing a suite of professional learning resources on Learning to Read in the Early Years, supported by complementary professional learning; and continued investment in the Read Write Count and Reading Schools programmes.

Inspiring young people to study STEM and promoting excellence in the delivery of STEM education sit at the heart of our STEM Education and Training Strategy. In the last Financial Year alone, the Scottish Government provided over £1.74 million to a range of organisations which support the high-quality delivery of STEM education.

The Scottish Government has committed to increasing international evidence around numeracy and literacy by re-joining the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) for the assessments in 2027, and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) for the assessments in 2026. The next PISA assessments will take place in Scotland in September and October 2025. The Scottish Government and Education Scotland are developing a programme of support to help schools and pupils to participate in the assessments.