Transport Scotland has recently met with MPs and MSPs, and the Langholm Alliance to discuss signing to Langholm on the Scottish and English trunk road networks. Following these discussions, Transport Scotland has been reviewing potential changes on routes within Scotland leading to the A7. It has been documented that for the A7 trunk road itself, Langholm currently features on all appropriate route confirmatory signs northbound and southbound within Scotland.

In relation to the A7 and other Scottish destinations being adequately signposted from the M6, Transport Scotland continues to engage with MPs and officials at the Department for Transport, National Highways and Cumberland Council to discuss the continuity of signing to Langholm on both sides of the border.

In September 2022, there were 83 GPs per 100,000 population in Scotland compared to (a) 63 per 100,000 in England and (b) 64 per 100,000 in Wales, excluding GP trainees and locums.

The latest Public Health Scotland GP headcount statistics and comparative figures in England and Wales relate to September 2022.

Officials are involved in the UK Government’s Cross-Government Working Group on RAAC. Recent meetings have confirmed that the Institution of Structural Engineers' guidance on RAAC remains a valid approach to the assessment of RAAC. This has also been confirmed in discussions with the Health & Safety Executive, the UK-wide regulator for health and safety.

Officials also regularly attend meetings of UK education departments convened by the UK Department for Education to consider RAAC.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills spoke to Baroness Barran, Parliamentary Under Secretary of State at the Department for Education on 31 August regarding RAAC in schools and there has been subsequent correspondence between the Cabinet Secretary and Gillian Keegan, Secretary of State for Education.

On 16 August, the Deputy First Minister wrote to UK Treasury seeking clarity on new capital funding to deal with RAAC. On the same day, the Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice wrote to the Secretary of State for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities recommending a collaborative approach between administrations. Dialogue continues on both these issues.

The IUCN Red List classifies species at risk of global extinction into nine categories: Not Evaluated, Data Deficient, Least Concern, Near Threatened, Vulnerable, Endangered, Critically Endangered, Extinct in the Wild and Extinct. NatureScot, working with stakeholders, have identified approximately 12,000 species in Scotland which fall into one of these categories, of which around 75% (8,381) are considered to be of Least Concern and not, therefore, considered to be at imminent risk of extinction.

1,748 species have been assessed as at some risk of extinction, with 148 assessed to be Critically Endangered, 295 Endangered, 673 Vulnerable and 632 Near Threatened.

Historically, monitoring of species has been influenced by various factors including the taxa, visibility and popularity, which has resulted in some data deficiencies, including in respect of some critically endangered species. NatureScot is working with stakeholders to address this, including through projects such as Species at Risk, which aims to bring all taxa onto a level playing field and focus more attention toward the lesser-known species. With new datasets and analytical tools becoming available, we are able to present trends in status for more species than ever before.

Our Scottish Biodiversity Strategy to 2045 recognises the importance of good quality biodiversity data to achieving our goals, and together with NatureScot we are providing £580,000 over two years to support the Better Biodiversity Data Project, led by the National Biodiversity Network Trust. The project will establish a Scottish Data Hub which will bring together biodiversity data from a range of sources and make it more accessible for analysis. More information on this is available at: https://nbn.org.uk/news/better-biodiversity-data-project/ .

Further details can also be found in the latest State of Nature Scotland Report for 2023, a collaborative work between government agencies and eNGOs, published on 28 September 2023. The report is available at: https://stateofnature.org.uk/countries/scotland/ .

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Scottish Prison Service (SPS) staff are dealing with some of the most vulnerable people in our society. Every death, whether in prison custody or in our communities, is a tragedy for families, friends, and for those who have support the individual on a daily basis.

SPS are fully committed to engaging with key partners to gain a better understanding to prevent deaths occurring and to ensure wider supports are in place for those in our care.

Whilst SPS have taken into account the University of Glasgow report ‘ Still nothing to see here?’, the new SPS Mental Health Strategy will explicitly reference the Scottish Governments ‘Creating Hope Together Scotland’s Suicide Prevention Strategy’ and their emerging Self Harm Strategy. The new strategy goes even further to reference ‘Time, Space & Compassion’ which not only provides recommendations for improvements in suicidal crisis response, but is an overarching, whole person, whole system approach.

Pupil Equity Funding is allocated directly to schools with headteachers having the discretion to make decisions about which particular interventions or approaches will be most effective at raising attainment and achievement and widening opportunities for children affected by poverty in their schools and communities. Although we expect schools to provide plans detailing their use of Pupil Equity Funding through existing planning procedures e.g. through School Improvement Plans and Standards and Quality reports, details of the particular interventions each school has implemented using Pupil Equity Funding are not held centrally.

In total 63 submissions have been closed – 36 were closed during the 2022-23 FY and 27 have been closed during the 2023-24 FY so far. Of those closed, 18 have been deemed “successful”; 9 in the 2022-23 FY and 9 in the 2023-24 FY so far.

For the purposes of Scotland Innovates the following defined closure reasons have been considered “successful”:

“Successful” submissions were targeted at the following Scotland Innovates categories:

• Food, Beverage & Catering / Catering Equipment / Catering Equipment & Supplies
• Social Care & Services / Other Social Care & Services / Other Social Care & Social Services
• Business Support Services / Information Services / Information Services
• Waste & Environmental Services / Environmental Services / Environmental Equipment & Services
• Healthcare / Pharmaceuticals / Sterilisation & Disinfection
• Other Goods & Services / Economic Development / Social Research Services
• ICT / IT Hardware & Software / Software as a Service
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Diabetes
• Healthcare / Healthcare Services / Digital Health
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Cardio (thoracic, vascular, ology)
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Dermatology
• Facilities Management / Cleaning & Janitorial Services / Specialist Hygiene Services
• ICT / IT Hardware & Software / Software as a Service
• Public Sector Bodies / Emergency Services / Fire Services
• Education / Schools & Colleges / Primary School Supplies and/or Services
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Cancer service
• Healthcare / Clinical & Medical / Physiotherapy
• Clothing / Clothing & Footwear / Clothing & Footwear Supplies & Services

There are 19 submissions where assessor(s) have been or are currently assigned and 5 with assessment completed.

The Scottish Government does not recognise the term 'school hardship fund' and it is not part of Free School Meals legislation.

This is a matter for education authorities. The information requested is not held centrally.

However, Local Authorities have the powers to provide discretionary free school meals who they believe require them.

So far, the Just Transition Fund has allocated £75 million to date, supporting a cross-sector portfolio of projects ranging across sectors like energy, agriculture, digital innovation and construction while also supporting communities across the North East and Moray to create jobs, support innovation, and secure the highly skilled workforce of the future.

Individuals are not eligible to apply directly to the Just Transition Fund, however through our £50 million multi-year capital grant programme we are providing support to the current and future offshore energy workforce, including oil and gas workers, as they transition to net zero.

For example, this year we are funding 400 free pilot training courses in energy transition skills. We are also sponsoring the development of an Offshore Energy Skills Passport which, once complete, will aim to support any member of the UK offshore energy workforce to transition between offshore energy sectors.

Through our Supply Chain Pathway and Energy Transition Challenge Fund project we are supporting energy supply chain companies currently servicing the oil and gas markets to transition to new opportunities in green energy across Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and Moray. In Year 1 we supported 11 local businesses and over the Fund’s 4-year lifetime we will deliver £10 million in grant support to companies in the region.

The Scottish Government engages regularly with a range of stakeholders across the North East and Moray, including offshore energy sector businesses and trade unions regarding the operation of the Just Transition Fund where appropriate. Details of the latest meetings are as follows: