Chamber and committees

The iMatter Continuous Improvement Programme, which was developed by NHSScotland staff, enables the measurements of staff experience and employee engagement across all 22 Health Boards as well as participating Health and Social Care Partnerships.

This enables Health Boards to ensure that the insights and experiences of staff are captured and acknowledged, helping to influence and shape initiatives to enhance staff support.

Highly able learners are entitled to support under the Additional Support for Learning (Scotland) Act 2004.

Local authorities oversee the delivery of education and have a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and to review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs. This includes highly able children and young people.

There is existing guidance in the Additional Support for learning Statutory Guidance: Additional support for learning: statutory guidance 2017 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).We have committed to refreshing this during this Parliamentary term and have been working collaboratively with a range of education partners and policy areas to ensure it continues to fully support schools and local authorities to fulfil their duties under the ASL Act.

Education Scotland provide guidance for teachers of learners who are working, or who are capable of working, significantly ahead of their peers. This guidance was last updated on 28 June 2024 and is available here: A summary of resources relating to highly able learners | Resources | Education Scotland.

Statistics on more able pupil as a reason for support are published in the pupil census supplementary statistics. This is available on the Scottish government website here https://www.gov.scot/publications/pupil-census-supplementary-statistics/.

Local authorities oversee the delivery of education and have a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and to review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs, including more able pupils.

On 3 April I announced the intention to bring forward a revised Heat in Buildings Bill to set a new target for decarbonising heating systems by 2045 alongside continuing work to reduce fuel poverty.

The Scottish Government is actively considering the role of AI in schools. Discussions have been ongoing with key partners including the SQA, Education Scotland, local authorities, the Scottish AI Alliance and academics, to ensure that AI can be used effectively and safely in learning and teaching.

In addition, we are undertaking an education-based project via the Scottish Government’s technology accelerator programme, CivTech. The project seeks to use AI and technology to streamline administrative tasks for teachers and contribute to a reduction in workload. The project is currently in early development.

Following the recent International Summit on the Teaching Profession, we have committed to consider carefully the guidance produced by the OECD and Education International, and to create an equivalent set of guidelines and guardrails for the Scottish context. We will do this through a partnership approach, liaising with local government and teachers’ representatives.

In addition, it is anticipated that the Curriculum Improvement Cycle will examine the skills, knowledge and understanding that children and young people will be required to develop in respect of AI.

Decisions about the use of AI are currently determined by Local Authorities and schools. Guidance for teachers regarding the use of AI is available through Education Scotland: Teaching and Learning with Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Resources | Education Scotland.

Guidance around the use of Generative AI in assessments is available through the SQA: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in assessments - SQA. This guidance is currently under review and will be updated in the near future.

The Scottish Government is actively considering the role of AI in schools. Following the recent International Summit on the Teaching Profession, we have committed to consider carefully the guidance produced by the OECD and Education International, and to create an equivalent set of guidelines and guardrails for the Scottish context.

Hardware purchased to support virtual meetings is often multi-functional and may have a primary use other than supporting virtual meetings. This makes categorising purchases directly related to the provision of virtual meetings difficult. Furthermore, hardware which supports virtual meetings may be purchased and managed by different areas across Scottish Government. For example, the provision of meeting rooms supporting virtual meetings is often a joint effort managed by iTECS and Facilities, with other areas of Scottish Government able to contribute on an ad hoc basis. Therefore, the records pertinent to this question are not held centrally. In this instance, to define, collate, and analyse the information requested would represent a disproportionate cost. However, it should be noted that any hardware purchases should leverage framework agreements which ensure the best value for the public purse.

NHS Boards are separate entities with their own local governance and performance management arrangements in place, in line with national guidance, such as the ‘NHS Scotland Blueprint for Good Governance.’ This can be accessed at: www.gov.scot/publications/blueprint-good-governance-nhs-scotland-second-edition/.

There is also an ongoing cycle of routine engagement, scrutiny and support between the Scottish Government and NHS Boards. This helps ensure the latter are delivering on local and national priorities, and are being held to account for the significant public investment in the NHS. This evidence-based approach to monitoring performance and managing risk across the NHS in Scotland is underpinned by the ‘NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework’, which consists of five stages in a ladder of escalation that provides a model for support and intervention by the Scottish Government. NHS Boards can be escalated on the Framework as a result of significant and persistent performance issues; informing further scrutiny, support and intervention, as required. Further details can be accessed at: www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-scotland-support-and-intervention-framework/.

The Fraser of Allander Institute said in an article, published on 26 March, that “we'll have to wait until the OBR has been able to look at the whole policy package in aggregate before we understand the full scale of the impact both on the UK and Scotland”.

The Scottish Ministers keep the law that sits within the powers of the Scottish Parliament under review to ensure it is fit for purpose.

The Scottish Law Commission’s aspects of family law project is focusing on a review of the civil remedies available for domestic abuse as part of the 11th Programme of Law Reform. We will consider the outcomes of this work when the Commission’s report is published.

In terms of safe accommodation, local authorities have the legal duty to provide advice and assistance to people who are at risk of homelessness or experiencing homelessness. This includes providing temporary accommodation in the short term if someone has nowhere safe to stay, and permanent accommodation if someone is found unintentionally homeless. Therefore, anyone at risk of homelessness following court proceedings should contact their local authority. They are best placed to provide advice on the housing options available and what further support they can offer.