Chamber and committees

The expert Review carried out by Professional Education Advisor Janie McManus’ said that clearer expectations, stronger pathways to support across education, health and social care, and early interventions should underpin the next steps in delivering Additional Support Needs (ASN) provision in schools.

I welcomed publication of the review and accepted the six recommendations made.

Whilst work on delivering against these recommendations will require sustained partnership across government, local authorities and national bodies, it will be for the incoming government to consider how to take forward the specific approach.

The Scottish Government is continuing to consider the EU Environmental Crime Directive (2024/1203) against our alignment policy. We consider that the existing offence of causing significant environmental harm at section 40 of the Regulatory Reform (Scotland) Act 2014 is reasonably closely aligned with the Directive’s introduction of “qualified offences” for more serious environmental damage.

The Scottish Government recognises that social isolation and loneliness is a public health issue. Our social isolation and loneliness strategy, A Connected Scotland, outlines a number of actions we are taking to tackle this issue and is underpinned by a delivery plan, entitled ‘Recovering Our Connections’, that we published in 2023. The Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) as the key representative organisation for local government in Scotland, was a key partner in developing this plan. We continue to work with the Social Isolation and Loneliness Advisory Group to drive forward the actions in the plan and are providing £3.8m over three years to 53 community projects across Scotland through the Social Isolation and Loneliness Fund that is providing opportunities for people to connect.

As with the responses to PQs S6W-44458 & S6W-44459 on 24 March 2026, pavement maintenance is the responsibility of councils, as entirely separate entities from the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government has committed to respecting local government’s democratic mandate as part of the Verity House Agreement and believes that locally elected representatives are best placed to make decisions at a local level. We would therefore not provide guidance to councils on what footway routes they should prioritise.

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.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes statistics as part of the Stage of Treatment (SoT) publication for consultant-led waits under the individual specialties of community child health and paediatrics.

Data for these two specialties are grouped under the broader specialty of paediatrics because some NHS boards utilise the community child health specialty to record these waits, while others use the paediatrics specialty.

Table 1 has been derived from the SoT open data, presenting statistics for both individual specialties.

Table 2 provides statistics for the grouped specialty of paediatrics. These figures therefore reflect waits for both community child health and paediatrics combined.

Audit Scotland has highlighted a persistent gap between national workforce ambitions and delivery, including the need for improved workforce data and clearer implementation plans. The Scottish Government is working with NHS boards to address these issues through strengthened workforce planning and improved modelling.

The information requested on how many obstetrics and gynaecology consultant vacancies there are in each NHS board is available on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Vacancy tab).

Data on locum-filled roles is not centrally held.

On 20 January 2026 the Scottish Government published the Women’s Health Plan: Phase Two (2026 - 2029). Phase Two sets out the actions that we will take over the next three years to improve the health of women and girls in Scotland and commits to ensuring women and girls have timely access to gynaecological care.

The development of this plan is in the early stages; therefore, it is not yet possible to provide any specific actions around the gynaecological workforce.

The Scottish Government continues to focus on reducing long waits for all patients, including those awaiting gynaecology appointments and treatment, while a longer-term plan is developed.

Further to the answers to questions S6W-43890 on 4 March 2026 and S6W-44014 on 11 March 2026, I met with Alistair Cochrane, Interim CEO of Royal Mail Group on 19 March. We discussed planning for the election and I highlighted the major concerns which have been raised around whether poll cards, postal votes and campaign material will be delivered on time. I received an assurance that Royal Mail recognise the vital role they play in the democratic process and that election mail will be prioritised. They are working closely with Returning Officers and the Electoral Management Board for Scotland ahead of 7 May.

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

The Scottish Government is aware of the decision made by the proprietors to close Fernhill School, and recognises the impact this has for pupils, families, staff, and the wider school community.

The Registrar for Independent Schools has been in contact with the school, which will remain open until the end of this academic session, and has received assurance that relevant local authorities have been notified of the closure and that the school is supporting pupils and families in making arrangements for next year.

Qualifications Scotland has also been engaging with Fernhill School to ensure that young people undertaking their qualifications are being appropriately supported, and the Registrar and HM Inspectors will continue to engage with the school to provide advice and support as necessary.

The Scottish Government recognises the benefits of walking for physical and mental wellbeing regularly reported in the Scotland Walking and Cycling Index. However, as with the response to PQ S6W-44458 on 24 March 2026 pavement maintenance is the responsibility of councils as entirely separate entities from the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government has committed to respecting local government’s democratic mandate as part of the Verity House Agreement.

Local authorities have statutory duties under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to maintain footways and secure expeditious, convenient and safe movement of people using their footways.

It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

It is for all external bodies, including local authorities, to ensure that they comply with all legal requirements. This includes the Public Sector Equality Duty and the Equality Act 2010. Responsibility for oversight of compliance with the Equality Act 2010 rests with the Equality & Human Rights Commission. The Commission is independent and cannot be directed by Scottish Ministers. Private individuals can seek to enforce their rights under the Equality Act in courts and tribunals.

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.

Local authorities have the statutory responsibility to manage their school and early learning and childcare (ELC) estate. While the Determining Primary School Capacity guidance focuses on primary school capacity, authorities are expected to consider ELC requirements in their wider estate planning and to secure any necessary developer contributions. The Scottish Government has no plans to issue updated guidance at this time, as decisions on forecasting and securing contributions sit with local authorities.

National Planning Framework 4 supports an Infrastructure First approach, recognising the importance of aligning development and infrastructure provision. Local development plans are expected to be informed by evidence on the infrastructure of the area, including ELC settings, primary and secondary schools. Where infrastructure is necessary to enable development, it is a decision for the planning authority whether it should be funded – in full or in part – through developer contributions, taking local needs and development viability into account.

Local authorities have the statutory responsibility to manage their school estate, including assessing the impact of all housing developments on school capacity.

The Scottish Government’s Determining Primary School Capacity guidance provides a consistent framework for assessing planning and working capacity, supporting local authorities to respond to pressures arising from windfall sites. Decisions on mitigating capacity pressures, including infrastructure timing, are matters for each local authority.