Chamber and committees

All Scottish Government grants are managed in line with the terms of the relevant grant offer letter and the Scottish Public Finance Manual.

Statistics on the employment of primary school teachers who completed the Teacher Induction Scheme in the 2018-19 to 2023-24 cohorts are available from the teacher census supplementary statistics tables, here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/

These statistics show the employment status of teachers as at the annual September teacher census.

MV Glen Sannox has consumed 683m3 of marine diesel and 369 metric tonnes of LNG (Liquified Natural Gas) since she entered service. This has involved sixteen separate LNG deliveries by road tankers.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on all public sector leases centrally. The following table shows all current Scottish Government leased properties and the cost of each lease.

Work has already begun across the Scottish Government to consider the implications of the Supreme Court judgment. While we await the updated Code of Practice from the Equality and Human Rights Commission, the Permanent Secretary has convened a Short Life Working Group (SLWG), at the request of Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government has made clear that it accepts the judgment of the Supreme Court.

Addressing violence against women and girls remains a key focus of the Scottish Government through the Equally Safe strategy, which is co-owned with COSLA. The Equally Safe strategy focuses on violence and abusive behaviour carried out predominately by men and directed at women and girls precisely because they are women and girls. It explicitly lays out that to tackle this violence and abuse, we need to prioritise addressing the root causes of gender inequality, challenging outdated stereotypes and societal attitudes that allow violence against women and girls to persist. That is why Equally Safe places emphasis on challenging gender inequality and norms, and the underpinning attitudes that perpetuate and condone such violence. Under the auspices of Equally Safe, we have strengthened the law in relation to violence against women and girls; and we have taken forward a great deal of work to ensure those working in the public sector are equipped with the resource and knowledge to confidently and sensitively work with those affected.

Specifically, we are implementing the Equally Safe Delivery Plan. The delivery plan consists of 14 deliverables and associated actions which represent a commitment to act from partners across the public and third sector at a local and national level. The plan covers the period from Summer 2024 to Spring 2026. This collaborative approach is vital as it is essential that all spheres of society are involved in the work to tackle violence against violence against women and girls. Development of the delivery plan was informed by extensive engagement with our stakeholders, both internally and externally - including with Public Health Scotland, the Improvement Service, those working within the specialist violence against women sector, COSLA and its allied organisations, and the Equally Safe Joint Strategic Board.

Additionally, we have confirmed that the Delivering Equally Safe Fund will be extended into 2025-26, benefiting from a £2.4m uplift, taking the total Scottish Government investment in the Delivering Equally Safe Fund up to £21.6m for the year ahead. The Delivering Equally Safe fund supports the work of the Equally Safe strategy, which underpins Scotland’s approach to preventing and eradicating violence against women and girls. It supports 115 projects from 107 organisations across every local authority in Scotland.

The Scottish Government published the national relationships and behaviour joint action plan last year, which sets out 20 overarching actions that will be taken before the end of 2027. It addresses issues including violence, attendance, young people’s mental health, exclusion, recording and monitoring, and empowering staff. During its development, I asked the Scottish Government’s Gender Equality Taskforce on Education and Learning (GETEL) to consider the action plan through a gendered lens. The Taskforce worked with officials to shape both the high level ambitions and the detailed actions within the plan, which includes a commitment to continue to work closely together to ensure the Taskforce’s gender equality ambitions and behaviour in schools ambitions align throughout all phases of the plan.

Additionally, the Scottish Government’s Fair Work First Guidance explicitly highlights to employers that violence against women and girls is a workplace issue and how women’s experiences of violence and abuse can have a detrimental impact on employment. The guidance also points to good practice examples for employers, including the Equally Safe at Work accreditation programme and enhanced provision to support workers.

The Young Person’s Guarantee last and final update report was published in March 2023 and outlines the outcomes and opportunities provided by the funding from the Young Person’s Guarantee.

The Scottish Government provides a range of advice and support for people experiencing bereavement.

Our emotional and wellbeing support for adults includes:

Providing funding to Cruse Scotland for the National Bereavement Helpline, which provides free listening and counselling support to people right across Scotland.

Since 2021, we have invested £66 million in our Adults Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund which supports a wide range of grassroots projects to provide compassionate wellbeing support. This fund prioritises supporting people experiencing bereavement and loss; and during 2023-24 we supported 196 such projects.

Working in partnership with Public Health Scotland and SeeMe to deliver a package of support for employers to enable them to support their employee's mental health more confidently; and we have already included a focus on grief and bereavement.

Our Mind to Mind website (hosted on NHS Inform) provides advice and information to the public about improving their wellbeing. The website includes advice and signposting information to support organisations for people (of all ages) who are experiencing grief and bereavement.

Our Suicide Prevention strategy and soon to be published new Palliative Care Strategy will set out the specific support available for people bereaved in these ways.

For children and young people, the loss of a parent can have a profound effect, so it is vital that support is provided at the right time, and in appropriate settings. Our emotional and wellbeing support for this group includes:

• Working with Education Scotland to review learning and teaching resources, as well as support for school staff, so that schools can play their role in supporting the needs of bereaved children and young people.
• Continuing to provide £16 million annually to local authorities to ensure that every secondary school has access to school counselling services.
• Schools being able to refer children and young people to the Seasons for Growth programme, which offers peer and small group bereavement support.
• Since 2016, our Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Funds have provided funding of £14.5 million annually to 115 organisations – including to Child Bereavement UK, Richmond's Hope, and Cruse Scotland who provide vital support to children and young people who are bereaved.

We recognise that the death of a loved one can cause financial and practical challenges for families. Our Funeral Support Payment provides a contribution towards funeral costs for those who receive a low-income qualifying benefit. Since launching the payment in 2019, we have provided £56.9 million of support to over 29,000 people. We are also committed to extending Carer Support Payments from 8 weeks to 12 weeks after the death of a cared for person, and this payment also connects carers to wider forms of support at this difficult time.