Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Ensuring the safety of Large Panel System buildings is a shared responsibility, where there are multiple property owners in a shared residential block they hold joint accountability.

While building owners have responsibility for their properties, the matter of Large Panel System buildings has been considered by the Ministerial Working Group on Building and Fire Safety and discussed within the Cross Sector Building Safety Forum. The forum includes key sector leads in this area including local authorities and NHS assure. This forum helps to inform the Scottish Government approach to such buildings in Scotland.

Owners are advised to engage appropriate expert consultants to advise them using the authoritative guidance on Large Panel Systems from the Building Research Establishment and the Institution of Structural Engineers.

The Royal College of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, the professional body for Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in the UK, has recommended that women who believe they may have been exposed to stilbestrol (DES) in utero and who are concerned about the risks of vaginal and cervical cancer should be offered careful monitoring by annual colposcopic examinations in specialist centres.

Cervical screening is offered to women who live in Scotland and are aged between 25 and 64 years and we encourage all women to take up routine cervical screening appointments when invited.

Evidence for an increased risk of other cancers is less conclusive but participation in the National Breast Screening Programme is recommended. Pregnant women who know that they were exposed in utero to DES should inform their obstetrician and be aware of the increased risks of ectopic pregnancy and preterm labour.

The Scottish Government continues to fund the charity Health in Mind to deliver peer support services to those affected by historic forced adoption, including mothers and adoptees.

The Scottish Government routinely analyses labour market data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The latest ONS Annual Population Survey (APS) statistics for April 2024 – March 2025 show that the estimated economic inactivity rate for people aged 16 to 64 in Scotland was 23.4% compared to 21.6% for the UK. They also show 34.6% of inactive people aged 16 to 64 in Scotland gave their reason for being inactive as “long-term sick or disabled”, compared to 28.4% for the UK.

Reducing economic inactivity can have economic benefits. Scottish Government analysis published in October 2024 indicated that even a relatively small increase of 0.25 percentage points in the economic activity rate could boost GDP in the long-term by around 0.1%, or around £180 million each year (in 2024-25 prices). This analysis is available at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-economic-insights-october-2024/

Since its inception, the Scottish Government has provided approximately £23 million, exclusive of VAT, to the Techscaler programme. Techscaler supports a network of over 1,260 startups across Scotland, offering tailored support, education, mentoring, workspace and peer learning events. Since joining the programme, members have raised more than £195 million in investment, demonstrating the health of Scotland’s tech ecosystem and highlights Scotland’s growing reputation as a leading tech hub.

The Scottish Government has invested £33 million in specialist staff and £11.3 million on facilities to deliver thrombectomy treatment since the financial year 2020-21.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken a cost-benefit analysis of 24/7 thrombectomy provision.

Research suggests that, on average, every patient treated with a thrombectomy procedure could save the NHS £47,000 over five years, due to the reduction in length of hospital stays and a reduced need for social care input. This economic benefit is in addition to the significant improvements in outcome and quality of life for patients.

The Scottish Government cannot unilaterally ban mobile phones in schools. The statutory responsibility for the delivery of Education in Scotland rests with Local Authorities, under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980.

In August 2024 we published updated guidance on use of mobile phones in schools, which was developed in consultation with the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools. The guidance makes clear that headteachers can take the steps that they consider appropriate to respond to the disruption caused by mobile phones, including banning their use in schools. A number of schools and Local Authorities have now enacted such approaches as a result and they will continue to have the full support of the Scottish Government in so doing.

Learning in the Social Studies curriculum area helps young people to develop important skills in research and evaluation, creativity, critical thinking and communication and it helps our young people develop as responsible, informed citizens with a global outlook covering important topics such as democracy and voting. In particular, Modern Studies helps to equip pupils with a range of Investigative and critical thinking skills; and English helps pupils to engage with texts of all kinds, critically evaluate the contents of those texts, and make informed judgements about the material they encounter on a day to day basis. SQA course specifications for Modern Studies and English are available at: A to Z of National Qualification (NQ) subjects - SQA To support learning and teaching, schools can already draw on a range of resources. For example, in relation to political literacy they can access the You decide - A political literacy resource | Resources | Education Scotland from Education Scotland, which provides guidance on how to ensure that learners use their voice, participate and contribute to decision-making processes.

The Scottish Government is providing funding to Time for Inclusive Education’s Digital Discourse Initiative. The resources provide teachers with the tools they need to teach core critical and digital media literacy skills, and to equip pupils with the necessary skills, knowledge and understanding they need to navigate digital media and counter the impacts of disinformation and online hate.

Later this year, Education Scotland will publish further professional learning resources on English, aimed at supporting teachers’ understanding of what critical literacy is and how they can support children to develop these crucial skills.

Finally, as the member may be aware, the Curriculum Improvement Cycle is also updating and strengthening the curriculum across all curricular areas.

The information requested is not held centrally.

We remain committed to implementing a high quality and clinically safe thrombectomy service that is available across Scotland whenever people need it and Scottish Government officials and NHS planners are working at pace on developing a plan for the next steps for service expansion.

We have provided funding for thrombectomy nurse posts in spoke sites with high rates of ischaemic stroke and this will support maximising access to thrombectomy across Scotland.

We are also funding the procurement of an artificial intelligence imaging tool to help delivery of the service by improving detection of patients with strokes suitable for thrombectomy by supporting stroke clinicians and radiologists to detect patients with large vessel occlusion.