Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-35981 on 31 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

All funding provided towards the development of the app is currently interlinked with the piloting of the app, which will begin in Lanarkshire from 2025 and begin it’s rollout from 2026.

The Scottish Government and NES are also in the development stage of the full business case for Digital Front Door, therefore we do not yet have an agreed longer-term budget. Once it has been approved and a minimum viable product (MVP) has been produced this will inform future costs of a national roll out for Digital Front Door.

Our Teaching Bursary Scheme provides £20,000 bursaries for career changers wishing to undertake a one year Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) in the hardest to fill teaching subjects. These subjects include: Physics, Maths, Technical Education, Computing Science, Chemistry and Home Economics.

Statistics on the employment of probationer teachers by subject and employment type are published in the post-probationer teacher employment dashboard, available through the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/publications/post-probationer-teacher-employment-dashboard/

24 education settings have received certification for their work using the LGBT Inclusive Education National Implementation and Evaluation Toolkit.

The Toolkit is an optional additional support resource, on top of the national professional learning course. The focus of schools and education authorities is on supporting completion of the professional learning course as set out in the National Approach to LGBT Inclusive Education. The Toolkit is intended to support staff in settings where they feel they would benefit from a more structured pathway, additional to the professional learning. Certification is also optional and not necessary to use the Toolkit, staff can take what they need from the resource to support their own professional practice as and when required. Therefore, there will be schools using the Toolkit without seeking certification, for which there are no records held.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) may be issued by either criminal or civil courts in Scotland. ASBOs do not carry a custodial sentence and a civil court cannot impose a custodial sentence. A criminal court may only impose a custodial sentence where a separate case is brought for a breach of an ASBO which results in a conviction.

Between January 2024 and September 2024, 71 charges prosecuted in Scottish criminal courts receiving a disposal of an ASBO.

Between January 2024 and December 2024, 76 Civil ASBOs were granted in Scottish sheriff courts.

It is not possible to identify how many of these ASBOs have been breached and resulted in imprisonment. The data that the Scottish Government holds does not allow linkage of a specific ASBO, whether civil or criminal, with a criminal charge of breach of ASBO and therefore a conviction resulting in a custodial sentence cannot be identified. Furthermore, any potential breach of a specific ASBO listed above may not yet have occurred, or if it has occurred, its’ associated case may not yet have been disposed in court.

A Fatal Accident Inquiry is mandatory following all deaths in custody.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on cyber security training of staff across the public sector organisations.

The Scottish Government published economic modelling on 27 March 2025 which estimates the impact of Scottish Government policies on child poverty in Scotland. The report finds that Scottish Government policies will keep an estimated 70,000 children out of relative poverty in 2025-26, including 40,000 through investment in the Scottish Child Payment alone. The impact of Scottish Government policies is estimated to grow over time to keep 100,000 children out of poverty by 2028-29.

As set out in Best Start, Bright Futures, the Scottish Government recognises that a balanced approach is needed to effectively tackle child poverty and to meet the 2030 targets. This includes action focused across the three drivers of child poverty reduction: income from employment, the cost of living and income from social security and benefits in kind. On this basis, the Scottish Government has no current plans to publish economic modelling focused on how the Scottish Child Payment in isolation can meet the 2030 targets.

We know that employment can offer a sustainable route out of poverty for many families, and we remain committed to doing everything within the scope of our powers and budget to support parents to access employment and to increase their earnings. This includes through action focused on ensuring parents have access to the right employability and skills interventions to support them on their journey into and within work, and through action focused on strengthening the labour market and promotion of fair work practices.

The Scottish Government will publish our third child poverty delivery plan by the end of March 2026. We are in the process of consulting with a wide range of stakeholders to inform its development, building on the considerable evidence and action taken to date. We are clear on the scale of the challenge faced to meet the 2030 child poverty targets and the plan will set out action to drive further progress.

The Total Operating Cost (TOC) budget for 2025-26 is set at £801.7 million, accounting for 1.3 percent of the overall Scottish Budget, as measured by Total Managed Expenditure.

In 2019-20, a change in approach to operating costs was implemented, which means a comparable figure for 2013 cannot be provided. Previously, costs, including staffing, were held centrally as part of the administration budget and also as part of portfolio budgets for staff who were implementing and delivering specific public services. Since 2019-20, Total Operating Costs have been aligned with the portfolio budgets they support, replacing the dual system where both administration and portfolio budgets funded operating costs.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all NHS facilities, including mental health units, provide a safe and therapeutic environment that complies with Health and Safety Executive (HSE) standards, though the size, age and complexity of the NHS estate means this is a challenging issue to manage. The Scottish Government believe that current levels of capital and maintenance funding allocated to NHS boards are adequate to meet these essential requirements, as it is allocated on a risk-based approach and is there to support boards in maintaining their existing estate, addressing backlog maintenance, and investing in necessary upgrades and new developments for mental health services.

The draft 2025-26 Scottish Budget provides additional investment of £139 million for NHS infrastructure. This provides increased core capital funding for NHS Boards and, as a first step to lifting the capital pause, allows work on the replacement of some acute facilities to resume, as well as providing funding to address NHS Boards’ priority areas for infrastructure investment.

Despite this additional investment, the capital funding position remains challenging and there remains uncertainty in the longer-term funding position, as we await the outcome of the UK Government’s spending review. All due consideration will be given as to which projects are affordable, deliverable and provide best value, following the outcome of that review, this will include the National Treatment Centre in Livingston.