The Scottish Government’s vision for education is to achieve excellence and equity. Therefore, consideration of equity, which includes in terms of poverty, is a factor in all education policy. However, the Scottish Attainment Challenge is the principal policy and investment to address the poverty related attainment gap. The Scottish Attainment Challenge began in 2015, when funding was distributed to targeted local authorities through the Schools Programme and Challenge Authorities. In 2017, the Pupil Equity Fund (PEF) was introduced, providing funding direct to schools. In 2018, the Care Experienced Children and Young People fund (CECYP) began, providing funding to local authorities to enable them to target initiatives, activities, and resources that will improve the educational outcomes of this group of young people.

In 2022, the Scottish Attainment Challenge was refreshed, and the ‘Schools Programme and ‘Challenge Authorities’ funds were replaced by Strategic Equity Funding (SEF) which provided grants to all 32 local authorities.

The National Programmes include a range of initiatives to policies to close the poverty related attainment gap, including support for various third sector organisations including Young Scot, Child Poverty Action Group and Youth Link; investment in Education Scotland attainment advisors, CELCIS work in co-ordination the virtual school headteachers network, teacher leadership training, training of educational psychologists.

There is a further suite of policies, outwith SAC, which contribute to both the government’s vision of excellence and equity and the ambition to eradicate child poverty by reducing the cost of the school day and improving readiness to learn. These have contributed to reducing the poverty related gap by 60% (or three-fifths) since 2009-10 for young people leaving school and going on to a positive destination, such as work, training or further study 9 months after leaving school. So, regardless of socio-economic background, most young people leaving school today are going on to a positive destination.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes a Benchmarking Report each year to demonstrate progress being made by local areas in their implementation of the Medication Assisted Treatment standards. The Report each year includes a detailed breakdown on the three streams of evidence required to assess implementation – processes in place, numerical data gathered and a summary of experiential feedback from people in treatment and recovery.

Process evidence demonstrates that local policies and procedures are in place for service delivery in line with the MAT standards criteria. Numerical evidence demonstrates services are actively gathering data required for future service improvement and to ensure the services available are best targeted. Experiential evidence demonstrates what people receiving support say about the services so that further improvement and focus can be implemented.

The most recent PHS Report was published in July 2024 in which the evidence confirmed 90% of standards 1-5 have been implemented against the criteria set out. That report covered 2023/24 and concluded that all 29 local areas reported evidence to show implementation of MAT standards 1-5.

Marking of exams, and quality assurance of the associated processes, is an operational matter for the SQA in its independent role as an examination body.

The Scottish Government did not instruct the review into the marking of Higher History in 2024 carried out by SQA and the detail of the methodology (including who the reviewer spoke to) were operational decisions for the SQA.

The Scottish Government notes that the SQA has undertaken a substantial review which has demonstrably considered a wide range of evidence in reaching its conclusions. These findings have been independently peer reviewed by the Executive Director of Qualifications and Assessment at the Welsh Joint Education Committee (WJEC), who agreed that its conclusions and recommendations are supported by evidence.

Plans for any future Health and Wellbeing Census are still under consideration.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-31366 on 5 December 2024. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-31366 on 5 December 2024. 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 will aim to have the independent Chair of the Creative Scotland review in post early next year and for them to publish their recommendations by summer 2025. The Scottish Government will then work to consider these recommendations.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-31366 on 5 December 2024. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-31605 on 4 December 2024. 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 possible introduction of a Public Health Supplement was raised at a number of meetings of the New Deal for Business Group and its Non-Domestic Rates sub-group. The minutes of both groups are published on the Scottish Government’s website.