Chamber and committees

The UK Government undertakes scoping assessments prior to negotiations, and impact assessments on completion of an FTA, which detail the likely economic, social and environmental impacts of a new FTA. Those consider opportunities for increased trade in environmental goods and impacts on trade with third countries.

In our engagement with the UK Government on all trade negotiations, the Scottish Government has consistently requested more detailed assessments of the economic impacts on Scotland. We believe that before embarking on the negotiation of such agreements, the UK Government should be fully aware of their likely impacts across all parts of the UK. Net zero and environmental commitments should be a core part of scoping and impact assessments.

The Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group figures are indicative and are provided by universities at the start of the academic session. Official Statistics from the Higher Education Statistics Agency, covering 2024-25, will be available in early 2026. These will provide the most accurate figures on enrolments into Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes.

We are taking action to encourage more people into teaching, including in the hardest to fill teaching subjects.

Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teaching staff and we are providing them with £186.5 million this year as part of an agreement to restore teacher numbers to 2023 levels. We will continue to support local authorities to maximise the number of teaching of jobs available, including through the joint Education and Childcare Assurance Board.

Our Teaching Bursary Scheme provides a £20,000 bursary to career changers wishing to undertake a one year Postgraduate Diploma in Education (PGDE) in the hardest to fill teaching subjects, including STEM subjects and modern languages.

We have asked Strategic Board for Teacher Education to develop advice on how to encourage more people into teaching, particularly in subjects that are challenging to fill.

Targets for secondary ITE PGDE courses have also been maintained at 2,000 for the 2025-26 academic year and are published on the Scottish Funding Council website - Intake Targets for Initial Teacher Education in AY 2025-26 - Scottish Funding Council

The provision of healthcare services, including medicines, is the responsibility of local NHS Health Boards, and it is for individual Health Boards to consider the implementation of any new treatment within their services in order to meet their local population needs.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery are having initial conversations about the potential to undertake Parkinson’s Disease pathway work, which we understand would help to explore and articulate pathways for therapies for advanced and complex Parkinson’s Disease.

Health Boards have 90 days from first receiving Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) advice in which to determine whether to make an SMC-recommended medicine (or an equivalent) available locally. This provides Health Boards with time to consider any issues associated the implementation of the medicine, such as changes to the care pathway and staff training.

We are also committed to supporting the national implementation of SMC advice and we have several ongoing programmes to address some of these implementation challenges further upstream of SMC decision making.

The provision of healthcare services, including medicines, is the responsibility of local NHS Health Boards, and it is for individual Health Boards to consider the implementation of any new treatment within their services in order to meet their local population needs.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery are having initial conversations about the potential to undertake Parkinson’s Disease pathway work, which we understand would help to explore and articulate pathways for therapies for advanced and complex Parkinson’s Disease.

The Scottish Government has committed to investing rebates from the Voluntary Scheme for Branded Medicines, Pricing, Access and Growth (VPAG) to fund the New Medicines Fund (NMF), which provides additional top-up funding to territorial Health Boards to support the cost of introducing new medicines.

The Scottish Government recognises that some people have had to wait longer than they should for audiology services, and this is not acceptable. Sustained pressure is being experienced across the system, and we are taking action to support service recovery and improvement.

Audiology is considered a clinical priority area within the NHS in Scotland and improvement work is being progressed through the National Planning and Delivery Board under leadership from the Chief Operating Officer, NHS Scotland.

As part of this work, all NHS Boards have been asked to include audiology in their Annual Delivery Plans from 2025-26 onwards. We are also supporting Health Boards to undertake baseline assessments for Improving Quality in Physiological Services (IQIPS) accreditation, which will help drive improvements in service availability, quality, and waiting times.

The Scottish Government remains committed to ensuring that audiology services are safe, effective, and accessible for all those who need them.

Scottish Government engaged extensively with UK Government regarding the development and implementation of their policy to remove the VAT exemption for independent school fees, emphasising the distinctive nature of the Scottish independent school sector.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37115 on 6 May 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.

It is not appropriate to undertake such analysis given Scottish and rUK education systems are not comparable due to several key reasons, including but not limited to:

Scottish Government continues to work with local authorities and the independent sector to understand the impact of the UK Government policy on Scottish schools to date. Scottish Ministers have received assurance from local authorities that they have the capacity to support increased school rolls.

The distribution methodology for calculating the block grant is agreed with local authorities and is informed by a number of indicators, including pupil numbers from the latest annual school census.

The Scottish Police Authority Budget has not decreased. We have increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing more than £14.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013. This includes a record £1.64 billion investment in policing in 2025-26, an increase of £90 million compared to 2024-25.

In addition, £3 million has been made available to Police Scotland to enable it to work in partnership with the Retail Industry Leadership Group, to help tackle retail crime. We recognise that this issue costs businesses millions of pounds each year, and has a knock-on effect on the prices we pay in the shops.