The Scottish Government provides core funding annually to Health Boards for sexual health and blood borne virus (BBV) services. From 2018-19 to 2023-24, Health Boards received funding through the annual Outcomes Framework allocation to cover a range of outcomes, including sexual health and BBVs. It was up to Health Boards to decide how much to allocate to each outcome within this envelope. In order to give Boards more control over local priorities this funding was baselined in 2023-24.

The total value for Outcomes Framework allocations since 2018-19 is set out in the following table.

Given the wide range of bodies that make up the public bodies landscape in Scotland, and that not all public bodies share the same relationship with Government, there are no set rules as to the frequency ministers and officials should meet with them. Ministers with portfolio responsibility for public bodies do meet with them on a regular basis, and I have met with multiple public bodies over the past 6 months.

Of the 131 public bodies referred to there are some public bodies such as Parliamentary Commissioner that Ministers are not responsible for, but those public bodies that Ministers have responsibility for, civil servants make up the public body sponsor team within the Scottish Government.

Sponsor teams are the first point of contact between an Non-Departmental Public Bodies (NDPBs) and the Scottish Government. They provide advice, help and support to the public body and advice on accountability, governance and performance to Ministers and Portfolio Accountable Officers both on an ad-hoc basis and as part of regular meetings. Sponsorship is flexible, proportionate and responsive; and facilitates positive relationships between the body and the Scottish Government. Each public body will have a Framework Document that outlines the working relationship between itself and the Scottish Government. The Framework Document should be published on the public bodies website and will set out expectations for regular meetings.

It is not possible to determine how many people contracted HIV in any given year as people may not be tested or diagnosed for a number of years after they contract HIV.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) publishes an annual HIV in Scotland surveillance report which includes data on new diagnoses. The report includes indicators of recently acquired infections and late diagnoses since 2017, however this does not identify the year in which people acquired HIV. In addition to this there are a number of people who remain undiagnosed, which is why it is important that anyone who thinks they may have been at risk seeks a HIV test.

Data on the number of new HIV diagnoses in Scotland each year from 2014 to 2023 can be found in Table 3 of the latest HIV in Scotland report at: https://publichealthscotland.scot/media/29204/final-hiv-in-scotland-update-to-31-december-2023-1.pdf.

The following provisions of the Act have come into force

• Section 76 dealing with the effect of divorce, dissolution or annulment on special destination;
• Section 77 involving the rights of succession to intestate estate respectively;
• Section 7, under which an unfit trustee may be removed by the court for the purposes of section 8; and,
• Parts of section 9 concerning removal from office by a majority of co-trustees of a trustee who is no longer a member of a regulated profession or entitled to practice, and who was appointed or assumed to provide professional services in managing the trust, together with sections 13 and 14 by which decisions on the removal of a professional trustee by co-trustees are to be governed for these purposes.

The remaining provisions of the Act will come into force in due course although no decision has been taken about a date for that. The decision on when to commence the rest of the provisions generally is closely related to ongoing work with UK Government regarding the provisions covering the reserved matter of pension trusts.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. However, the information in this report https://www.gov.scot/publications/miscarriage-care-facilities-scotland-scoping-report-national-overview/ which details the findings of a scoping exercise to enable better understanding of miscarriage care in Scotland nationally may be of interest.

Statistics on the percentage of primary school teachers moved directly from their Teacher Induction Scheme probation period to a permanent teaching contract are shown in the post-probationer teacher employment dashboard, available from the Scottish Government website here:

Post-probationer teacher employment dashboard - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The statistics are not available by parliamentary constituency as the Scottish Government does not hold information on the address of teachers. The statistics are available split by local authority as the employers of teachers.

The Scottish Government continually reviews the support available to communities through the CARES scheme and uses this information to inform future support. An evaluation of the current contract, which is due to end on 31 March 2025, will be completed prior to the beginning of a new contract. Stakeholders will have an opportunity to input into this evaluation.

The Scottish Government has published an Invitation to Tender for the new CARES contract with a submission deadline on 26 November 2024. Ahead of publication, the Scottish Government gathered information from stakeholders via an in-person supplier engagement event and Request for Information. The feedback gathered from these engagements were taken into consideration when developing the new CARES Statement of Requirement.

We recognise that pulmonary rehabilitation is an important element in managing respiratory disease and it is already a key recommendation for all appropriate patients in NICE clinical guidelines which we expect all NHS Boards to follow.

The funding announced in the UK Autumn Statement is welcome, however, the Scottish Government continues to face the most challenging financial situation since devolution. The new Scottish Budget will be presented to Parliament on Wednesday 4 December 2024. This will detail Scottish Ministers spend proposals for the year ahead.

The Scottish Government takes into account a broad range of data and evidence when considering priorities to improve and support literacy including reading.

For example, Scotland’s performance in the PISA (Reading) international survey in 2022 was above the OECD average and higher than 24 other countries. 9.6% of students in Scotland performed at “PISA Level 5” or better in reading, which is defined by the OECD as top performers, and above the OECD average of 7.2%.

The most recent Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels (ACEL) data for literacy showed that 73% of primary school pupils achieved the expected Curriculum for Excellence (CfE) Level for literacy, the highest figure on record. The poverty related attainment gap in primary literacy was the narrowest on record.

The focus remains on improving further, and the answer to S6W-30944 on 12 November 2024 provides a summary of the action being taken to support reading and literacy in schools. 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 fully committed to implementing the recommendations of the Pathways Review: Pathways: A new approach for women in entrepreneurship - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). Record levels of funding have been allocated to support women’s enterprise, including the £1.3m Pathways Fund in 2023 and a further £2.6m of funding in 2024-25 for the Pathways Fund and Pre-Start regional pilot.

The successful applicants of the Pathways Fund have been notified and will be announced shortly. The funded projects addressing the challenges faced by women and other under-represented groups while promoting the key Pathways themes of access to support, education, finance and investment.

These interventions are foundational to the full implementation of the Pathways Review and the Scottish Government remains determined to unlock the full potential of Scotland’s female business leaders.