Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not collate data on the number of people who have cited ADHD as part of their defence.

Having ADHD would not amount to a defence in law to a criminal charge, though it might be something a defence solicitor presents in mitigation on behalf of a client with ADHD.

The information held on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Services (SCTS) live operational case management systems is structured to support the processing of court business, rather than for statistical reporting or research purposes. SCTS and their staff provide administrative support to the Scottish courts, tribunals and their judiciary and rely on information provided by justice partners to consider any adjustment that may be required to facilitate a court hearing.

The Scottish Government recognises that some people have had to wait longer than they should for audiology services, and this is not acceptable. Sustained pressure is being experienced across the system, and we are taking action to support service recovery and improvement.

Audiology is considered a clinical priority area within the NHS in Scotland and improvement work is being progressed through the National Planning and Delivery Board under leadership from the Chief Operating Officer, NHS Scotland.

As part of this work, all NHS Boards have been asked to include audiology in their Annual Delivery Plans from 2025-26 onwards. We are also supporting Health Boards to undertake baseline assessments for Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation, which will help drive improvements in service availability, quality, and waiting times.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that audiology services are safe, effective, and accessible for all those who need them.

It is essential as we move towards the establishment of Qualifications Scotland that the education system and wider public have confidence and trust in the qualifications body in Scotland.

Operational responsibility for the qualifications, such as the marking of assignments and associated quality assurance processes, is a matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA). The Scottish Government has received reassurance that no young people will be disadvantaged by the sharing of annotated assignment materials. It is also important to reassure learners that materials did not relate to exams in any way and were shared after learners’ assignments had been submitted. SQA has advised that it is taking actions forward to enhance and strengthen their quality assurance measures for markers for National 5 History and ensure that the integrity and standards of their qualifications are being maintained.

The governance model for the new qualifications body will ensure the knowledge and experience of learners, teachers and practitioners are central to decisions taken in relation to qualifications and assessment matters, driving greater transparency and accountability.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 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 Scottish Government recognises the serious impact that untreated hearing loss can have on individuals, including potential links to cognitive decline and dementia risk in older people.

The Independent Review of Audiology Services, published in August 2023, set out 55 recommendations which the Scottish Government accepted in principle to support improvements to audiology services across Scotland. A significant amount of work has been undertaken to date, to move forward the implementation of recommendations made as part of the Independent Review, involving a wide range of stakeholders across the public and third sector. In December 2024 we concluded this phase of work and will soon publish a report outlining how each of the recommendations set out in the Independent Review has been closed or transitioned, and the rationale for that.

We know that audiology services are facing sustained pressure, and this challenge is not unique to Scotland, with similar issues being felt across the UK. However, it is not acceptable that some people have had to wait longer than they should for appointments and referrals. The Scottish Government is taking action, and the 2025-26 Budget is providing a record £21.7 billion for Health and Social Care.

Audiology is considered a clinical priority area within the NHS in Scotland and improvement work is being progressed through the National Planning and Delivery Board under leadership from the Chief Operating Officer, NHS Scotland.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) reports that the 2024-25 flu season in Scotland had the highest number of flu cases reported in recent years. Flu case numbers reached their highest levels between week 50 of 2024 and week 1 of 2025, and remained high in weeks 2 and 3 of 2025 as well. England, Wales and Northern Ireland also reported peak levels of infection around December 2024. While flu cases often rise over the festive period, this sustained high level of infection in the community was unusual compared to previous seasons.

As expected with the high levels of flu circulating during the early part of the winter season, proportionate numbers of flu-related hospital admissions followed in late December and early January, with deaths rising briefly thereafter. Epidemiological information on respiratory infection activity across Scotland can be found here.

PHS are currently undertaking a series of analyses of the flu season, including mortality rates.

Whilst high numbers of flu cases were reported over the winter season, there was no evidence to suggest that this season's flu caused more severe illness than in previous years or led to unexpectedly high rates of hospitalisation or a proportionally greater number of deaths.

A recent Eurosurveillance paper analysing the 2024-25 season, along with interim vaccine effectiveness (VE) data from the UK and Europe and including Scotland’s hospital data, showed that flu vaccines provided similar levels of protection against severe influenza disease in hospital settings as in previous years. VE against influenza A in hospitals ranged from 33% to 56%, and VE against influenza B was higher at 58%.

PHS continues to analyse data from the current and historical seasons to understand whether particular groups are more at risk for severe outcomes, with the goal of ensuring that appropriate public health action is taken as warranted.

In order to protect people and the NHS this coming winter it will be critical to maximise uptake across all eligible groups. The Scottish Government urges all those who are eligible to come forward in winter 2025 to receive their flu vaccine. We will continue to work with PHS and other partners within the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme to look at ways to improve uptake across the board.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37115 on 6 May 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.

More than £1bn will be provided through the Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap during this parliamentary term. This funding can be used to provide additional tutoring support, if headteachers and education authorities want to deploy this support in a way that targets those who will most benefit from this kind of intervention.

The Scottish Government has provided multi-year funding for mentoring programmes, which has been shown to support confidence building and attainment in care-experienced children and young people and those affected by poverty. In March 2021, the Scottish Government announced a £19.4 million fund over five years for mentoring programmes to support young people as part of the Scottish Mentoring and Leadership Programme (SMLP), including funding for MCR Pathways to further rollout provision across Scotland to a much larger cohort of young people.

An interim evaluation report on the SMLP programme published in December 2024 found that mentoring had increased participant’s academic confidence, attainment/achievement, social confidence, and confidence in doing well at a job in the future. A Value for Money and Impact Evaluation report is due to be published in 2025. Previous independent evaluation of the MCR Pathways mentoring programme showed that there were statistically significant positive differences between the outcomes of care-experienced young people who were mentored and care-experienced young people who were not mentored, in staying on rates, attainment, and positive destinations.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 on 6 May 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

Since 2009, the Scottish Government has provided almost £3.3 million to support the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz programme.

The programme promotes and embeds learning about and remembrance of the Holocaust. Since 2009, 5,595 Scottish students have participated in the project as well as 660 Scottish teachers.

395 schools or 76% of all eligible schools from across Scotland’s 32 local authorities have participated.