Since 2021, we have seen year on year increases confirming record breaking funding in Active Travel. However, the significant pressures on public finances, including the failure of the outgoing UK government to provide more capital funding for Scotland in its Spring budget, means that there are real challenges in progressing our ambitions to invest in infrastructure, particularly for my portfolio. Consequently, difficult decisions about how and where to invest our capital for transport projects had to be made and continue to be kept under review.

Nonetheless, the Active Travel budget for 2024-25 was confirmed as £220m, a 16% increase on 2023-24. While the Bute House Agreement came to an end in April 2024, the Scottish Government remains committed to delivering on our ambition to increase investment in and participation in walking, wheeling and cycling.

The patient data stolen during this incident was contained within the NHS D&G IT infrastructure. The vast majority of data related to people who are currently registered as NHS Dumfries and Galloway patients. However, some people currently registered as patients elsewhere will also have interacted with NHS Dumfries and Galloway in recent years, for example receiving treatment while travelling or on holiday, and it is possible that information relating to them may also have been stolen.

In addition, data controlled by National Records of Scotland was also stolen. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27770 on 22 May 2024 for more information. 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/questions-and-answers .

Patient data is typically held on the IT infrastructure of the Health Board delivering, or having previously delivered, the individuals care. This can include data initially generated by other Health Boards or health and care organisations that is transferred to the NHS Dumfries & Galloway (e.g. referral letters) in order for them to deliver the best quality care.

Only data held on the NHS Dumfries and Galloway IT infrastructure was stolen during this cyber-attack.

The investigation into this attack is on-going, and will take several more months to conclude, as such it is not currently possible to determine.

Ministers and officials have regular engagement with the UK Government on labour market matters.

Scottish Government officials meet regularly with Department for Work and Pensions officials from Job Centre Plus to discuss a range of operational and strategic issues as we collectively shape the approach to employability delivery in Scotland. Scottish Government and DWP officials also attend the Access to Work Stakeholder Forum, which last met on 8 May 2024 and discussed research undertaken by Inclusion Scotland on people’s lived experience of using Access to Work.

A notable example of recent constructive engagement was collaborative work with DWP to develop messaging for employers to promote the benefits of Fair Work. The most recent quarterly meeting between Scottish Government officials and the Department for Business and Trade focussed on new Flexible Working legislation.

We continue to call for employment powers to be devolved. Securing the full range of powers in relation to employment will enable the Scottish Parliament to fully implement policies that will best meet Scotland’s distinct needs. These powers would enable us to create fairer workplaces, enhance workers’ rights in Scotland and help shift the curve on poverty and deliver upon our shared ambition for a fairer, greener and more prosperous Scotland.

The information requested is not collected or held centrally by the Scottish Government and would require to be obtained from Health Boards.

(a) The eligibility criteria for the Digital start fund required applicants to meet at least one of the following conditions:

? Unemployed

? In receipt of a low income benefit such as Universal Credit

? Employed on an income of £16,000 or less

? Experience two or more barriers or disadvantages as defined by Scottish Government’s European Structural and Investment Funds Participant Guidance .

SDS, who administered the fund, do not hold the data necessary to determine how many participants met each of these specific criteria.

(b) Over three years, the Digital Start Fund supported 468 individuals with 380 candidates completing training. Their employment status when starting the training is broken down as follows:

? Year One: unemployed individuals 55.7%; employed 28.7%

? Year Two:unemployed individuals 71.3%; employed 18.3%

? Year Three: unemployed individuals 50.9%, employed 35.3%

The 2018 GP contract does not mean that emergency vaccinations for tetanus and other conditions can no longer be provided in GP surgeries.

In 2017, as part of the commitment to reduce GP workload and refocus their role onto more complex care, the Scottish Government and the BMA’s Scottish GP Committee agreed vaccinations would progressively move away from a model based on GP delivery to one based on NHS Board delivery through dedicated teams. NHS Boards can make arrangements for those teams to deliver vaccines on the premises of GP surgeries (many of which are in buildings owned by NHS Boards) if this meets local needs.

In rare circumstances it may be appropriate for GP practices, such as small rural and island practices, to continue delivering these services routinely.

Between 1 August 2023 and 4 June 2024 Cabinet has met 37 times. A Law Officer attended 24 of these meetings: the Lord Advocate on 17 occasions and the Solicitor General on behalf of the Lord Advocate on seven occasions. Law Officers attend Cabinet as principal legal advisers to the Scottish Government and to represent their Ministerial interests.

The SQA publish information on the number of entries to Higher subjects by male and female candidates on the attainment statistics pages of their website: Attainment Statistics - SQA

Based on this the percentage of entries to Higher computing science by female candidates in each year between 2021 and 2023 can be found in the following table.

Table: Percentage of entries to Higher computing science from female candidates, 2021 - 2023