The Scottish Government continues to deliver on its commitment to give people the information they need to make an informed choice about their future, and I’m pleased to confirm that today we are publishing An independent Scotland in the EU.

This is the seventh paper in the Building a New Scotland series, which sets out the Scottish Government’s vision for an independent Scotland in the EU. It details how EU membership is central to Scotland’s future economic and social success, and explains the benefits of EU membership to an independent Scotland, as well as what Scotland could contribute to the EU as a member state.

I can also confirm that we intend to bring the matters raised in this publication forward for a debate in the Chamber.

The Scottish Government is continuing to prepare further papers in the Building a New Scotland series. The next will be published shortly setting out our prospectus for the marine environment in an independent Scotland.

Building a New Scotland: An independent Scotland in the EU is available to view on the Scottish Government website from today at www.gov.scot/newscotland .

We have taken stock and listened to the initial feedback to the consultation, which showed that around 95% of respondents did not support the proposal. I can confirm that the Scottish Government will not change the Council Tax Multipliers to increase Council Tax for Bands E to H in 2024-25.

All children and young people should receive the support they need to reach their full potential. In the most recently published figures, spending on additional support for learning by authorities reached a record high of £830m. We have invested an additional £15m per year since 2019-20 to support the recruitment of pupil support assistants to help local authorities respond to the individual needs of children and young people. In addition, we provide over £11m of funding to directly support pupils with complex additional support needs and services to children and families.

We recognise that children and young people should learn in the environment which best suits their needs and there is a range of provision available to support the needs of learners. This includes 109 local authority special schools across Scotland, in addition to the specialist provision in place within mainstream schools. In 2022, we saw an increase in the number of pupils attending a special school by 222.

The Scottish Government is determined to improve the experiences of children and young people with additional support needs, and we work closely with local government partners to do so. We are currently implementing the actions in our Additional Support for Learning Action Plan, in response to the recommendations of the Morgan review, which were published in 2020. Progress reports were published in November 2021 and November 2022. A further update is due to be published in May 2024.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. The Teacher Induction Scheme is administered by the General Teaching Council of Scotland (GTCS). As such, the GTCS is best placed to advise on how many newly qualified teachers are eligible each year to undertake probation, and subsequently how many teachers complete their probation year.  

Breakfasts are being provided across Scotland by a range of service providers including public, private and third sector. We do not collect national-level data associated with this provision.

There is a currently a mixed delivery of breakfast provision across Scotland with a range of service providers including public, private and third sector. We have conducted provisional modelling of breakfast provision and have begun work with local authorities and key stakeholders to better understand and map provision in order to identify gaps in provision. This will help us develop a plan for breakfast provision, designed around the needs of children and families.

Actions taken by the Scottish Government to respond to the report’s recommendations are set out in the Equalities and Wellbeing in Manufacturing Working Group Recommendations: One Year Report, which was published on the Scottish Government website on 29 August 2023.

Scottish Government worked in collaboration with industry and flexible working specialists, and provided them with grant funding, to produce a set of 3 flexible working video case studies which are real-life examples of flexible working best practice in SME manufacturers. These popular video case studies are available online and have been well publicised at industry events and shared with business organisations to promote to their members. They have been shared with public bodies such as DWP jobcentres, Scottish Council for Development and Industry, Scottish Enterprise, Food and Drink Federation (Scotland and UK) for use and promotion of flexible working best practice in industry.

Scottish Government published its refreshed Fair Work action plan and Anti-Racist Employment Strategy in December 2022, setting out actions to help promote and support fair and inclusive workplaces across Scotland.

We will continue to work with industry and seek feedback on what further support is required to support SMEs to develop inclusivity and flexible working practices.

Actions taken by the Scottish Government to respond to the report’s recommendations are set out in the Equalities and Wellbeing in Manufacturing Working Group Recommendations: One Year Report, which was published on the Scottish Government website on 29 August 2023.

Link to Equalities and Wellbeing in Manufacturing Report here

Link to Equalities and Wellbeing in Manufacturing: One Year Report here

Breakfasts are being provided across Scotland by a range of service providers including public, private and third sector. We are working with local authorities and key stakeholders to better understand and map existing provision. This will help us develop a plan for breakfast provision, designed around the needs of children and families, which will include estimated costs.

In June this year, a delivery action plan was announced aimed at ramping up tree planting levels. This included a £1 million investment by Scottish Forestry to provide comprehensive training for its staff to speed up the woodland creation application process.

Other measures announced include increasing the level of support for smaller scale woodland projects, providing more advice and support for farmers, refreshed community engagement guidance and more support for riparian planting.

I will chair a Woodland Creation Summit on 12 December, with industry leaders and stakeholders directly involved in woodland creation, which will look at the opportunities for growing more trees and also look at overcoming any associated barriers in meeting the woodland creation targets.

To date this year, Scottish Forestry has provided regulatory approval for over 11,200 hectares worth of new woodland applications, which already exceeds last year’s total, with more approvals expected.