Chamber and committees

The following table provides a breakdown of CSO funding in dementia research through project/fellowship funding and the annual funding provided to the NRS Dementia and Neuroprogressive Disease research network. Project and fellowship funding is allocated to the year in which the funding commitment was made. Data was extracted from the CSO database and covers research on Alzheimer’s Disease, other cause dementia and studies on cognitive ageing / decline. CSO’s research project funding panels were paused during 2020 due to COVID-19 related pressures but have since reopened.

Breakdown :

The total cost to the Scottish Government, in the 2023-24 financial year of the teachers’ pay deal agreed in March 2023 is £205 million.

The figure of £188 million quoted by officials at the Education, Children and Young People Committee meeting on 17 May 2023 represents the cost to the Education and Skills Portfolio of funding overall teachers’ pay costs in 2023-24. This figure also includes recurring costs relating to the 2021-22 teachers’ pay deal but does not include the proportion of costs relating to the teachers’ pay deal agreed in March 2023 that are being met directly through the local government finance settlement, as these costs do not sit within the Education and Skills Portfolio budget.

As set out in the answer to S6W-18198, at the point of the Scottish Budget 2023-24 being published we had confirmed a contribution of £50 million to the teachers’ pay deal agreed in March 2023. This was included in the local government finance settlement for 2023-24. The remaining costs for the 2023-24 financial year will be met from the Education and Skills Portfolio budget.

Following publication of the Capital Spending Review and a subsequent review of the health portfolio’s capital programme, all projects that were in construction at the time of the review have continued to be progressed, including:

• National Treatment Centres at Forth Valley, Golden Jubilee (Phase Two), Fife and Highland Health Boards
• The Baird Family Hospital and ANCHOR Centre project
• The upgrade of the Edinburgh Cancer Centre and the new national secure adolescent inpatient service in Irvine
• The Glasgow Primary Care Hub project

The review also included a commitment to a doubling of expenditure on maintenance for the health capital programme, in line with the recommendations of the Infrastructure Commission for Scotland.

The Scottish Government’s Medium Term Financial Strategy will be reviewed in Summer 2023 to deliver an overall, affordable prioritisation of the capital programme to 2026-27. The outcome of this review will inform any reprofiling of capital projects for health and social care infrastructure.

I have today published on the Scottish Government web pages a revised and updated Agricultural Reform Route Map . The overarching aim of the Route Map is to help farmers and crofters prepare for the change needed to deliver the ambitious aims set out in the Scottish Government’s Vision for Agriculture.

This second edition sets out the process for changing to a new agricultural support framework. It includes information on important dates, the measures being considered now, when current schemes will transition or end and the support available now.

It focusses on preparing for the first changes from 2025, which include:

• the maintenance of existing cross compliance requirements as a minimum on future support;
• the introduction of new protections for Peatlands and Wetlands as a new condition on basic payments;
• the foundations of a Whole Farm Plan, including soil testing, animal health and welfare declaration, carbon audits, biodiversity audits and supported business planning;
• the introduction of new conditions to the Scottish Suckler Beef Support Scheme linked to calving intervals to encourage livestock keepers to reduce the emissions intensity of their cattle production systems.

To help farmers and crofters prepare for these forthcoming changes, the Scottish Government will now begin an intensive engagement programme. This includes producing leaflet for use both digitally and physically. These cover getting ready for 2025 as well as specific information on Animal Health and Welfare interventions, Soil Analysis and Carbon Audits. The programme will also include targeted stakeholder communications and roadshow attendance at a series of forthcoming agricultural and local shows, and Autumn markets.

The Scottish Government has not made any specific economic assessment of the costs of late diagnosis or failure to diagnose dyslexia in individuals or across society as a whole.

Our emphasis is on the provision of free, effective support in educational settings including schools, colleges and universities.

The Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. We are also committed to supporting teachers and school staff to meet these needs.

As part of our national approach to dyslexia, we have developed a range of free professional learning opportunities for teachers, which are aimed at supporting them to further develop their knowledge, understanding and skills in supporting learners with dyslexia and to reduce barriers to learning. This includes the Addressing Dyslexia Toolkit ( https://www.dyslexiascotland.org.uk/addressing-dyslexia-toolkit ), its dyslexia identification pathway and the free Dyslexia Inclusive Practice online professional learning modules for staff.

Employment support is also available to adults with dyslexia. This includes access to work support which does not require a formal assessment of dyslexia. In 2020-21 people with learning difficulties accounted for 46% of the disabled people supported through modern apprenticeships.

The Scottish Government does not currently fund adult assessments for dyslexia and has therefore made no economic assessment of the cost. We are not presently considering a pilot scheme.

Free support and assessment for dyslexia is provided to children and young people in educational settings.

Additional support is available to adults with dyslexia regardless of the availability of diagnosis. This includes access to work support to obtain and maintain employment.

The Scottish Government works closely with and funds Dyslexia Scotland who provide information, advice and support to people with dyslexia and those who support them.

The Scottish Government is taking a range of actions to support people with dyslexia. This includes the provision of support for dyslexic learners from nursery through school and into further and higher education, and access to support when entering employment, as well as in the workplace.

The Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 places duties on education authorities to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils, including those with dyslexia. The cost of individual supports will vary according to the needs of each pupil.

The Scottish Funding Council’s Access and Inclusion Fund is used to support the teaching and learning of disabled students in Further Education, which includes dyslexia. In 2021-22, £51.8m worth of support was allocated. Additional funding is also available as part of the Student Support budget.

In addition, the Disabled Students’ Allowance supports disabled students and those with additional learning needs in Higher Education. In the 2021-22 academic year, over 2,000 students with dyslexia received support amounting to £3.5 million.

Dyslexia Scotland provide a range of support, initiatives and advice for those with dyslexia, their families and those who support or work with them. In 2022-23, the Scottish Government provided funding to Dyslexia Scotland of over £250,000 to support this work.

The Chief Pharmaceutical Officer intends to complete the Scottish Government’s review of homecare medicines services by the end of the current financial year. Representation will be sought from all stakeholders with an interest in the successful delivery of the service, including healthcare professionals and patients.