Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to driving key efficiency programmes such as Scottish Single Estates, Commercial Value for Money (CVfM), Collaborative Procurement frameworks, the Intelligence Automation Centre of Excellence, and Digital programme. There has been strong progress across these programmes which are expected to reach up to £280 million of cost avoidance and cash releasing savings over a two-year period by the end of 2024-25. This figure is not related to pay costs for board members of public sector or other non-departmental bodies.

The Scottish Government does not collect this data.

The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2022-23. The answer is provided in the following table.

The information you have requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The Ireland Scotland Joint Bilateral Review 2021-25, co-produced by both Scottish and Irish governments, recognises the strong cultural and people-to-people links between the two countries and commits to strengthening these.

The funding from the Scottish Government to Belong To in Ireland is a contribution to the Empowering Voices project, which is also supported by the Welsh Government and British Council. The project is coordinated by Belong To (Ireland), and involves LGBT Youth Scotland (Scotland), Education Authority (Northern Ireland), The Proud Trust (England), and Viva LGBT+ (Wales). The project provides a platform for young LGBT+ people from each of the five nations to share their lived experiences.

Scotland was the first nation in the UK to introduce a ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste. As set out in Regulation 11 of the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003 the ban comes into force on 31 December 2025

While the percentage of school leavers in S4 remains unchanged in 2023-24 from the previous year at 14.4%, we acknowledge the importance of understanding the factors influencing early school leaving.

After a rise last year, the Scottish Government have been exploring with partners factors influencing young people deciding to leave school at S4. These include the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis, and also an increase in availability of entry-level jobs.

We are continuing to work with our partners to find ways to support young people to stay in learning.

Scotland continues to demonstrate strong participation in education among 15–19-year-olds, as recognised by the OECD, with over half of pupils (57.1%) leaving school at S6.

Our marine environment is one of Scotland's most important natural assets and we are committed to protecting it for future generations.

Ministers have a legal requirement to put in place fisheries management measures for Marine Protected Areas and priority marine features.

Developing evidence-based and effective fisheries management measures for more than 160 sites and areas within the inshore region is a complicated and challenging process.

We are continuing to work at pace to complete the necessary statutory social, economic and environmental assessments. These are currently being undertaken and we are progressing them as a matter of urgency in preparation for the launch of the public consultation. Fisheries management measures will be implemented as soon as possible after this.

The four Health Boards providing regional services to those with Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) have now started to contact all families with children eligible under the national early access programme to set out the timelines involved. In addition, the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer has been assured that the consultants have reviewed all those who are eligible to ensure fair and equitable access across Scotland.

No changes are currently planned to the questions asked in the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) donor health check questionnaire as a result of the Supreme Court judgment. However, SNBTS will continue to review its polices in the light of any further guidance issued.

The Scottish Government is grateful to everyone who takes the time to volunteer to give blood. The questionnaire aims to treat all potential donors equitably, but it is essential that all questions are answered fully in order to ensure that blood can be donated safely. Nonetheless, the Scottish Government regrets any upset caused to people who are not able to donate blood as a result of not answering any of the questions in the questionnaire.

SNBTS adjusted the questionnaire in 2022 so that all donors are asked the same questions. In response to some concerns raised, SNBTS further amended the questionnaire in 2023 to make clear that if the question about whether a donor might be pregnant is not applicable then donors should tick ‘No’. Although some questions will not be relevant for many donors – male and female – the questionnaire is the most practical way of asking sensitive questions in a busy donor environment. Staff cannot know or make assumptions in all cases about a person’s biological sex, so the current approach avoids any risk that someone who could be pregnant does not answer the pregnancy question.