Chamber and committees

All applications for trapping or lethal control of beavers require that satisfactory alternatives are considered.

The beaver licence application form asks what alternative mitigations have been attempted. NatureScot specialists can advise whether there are other satisfactory alternatives that could be put in place and can require that these should be attempted first, before determining an application for a licence.

Since the publication of the 2020 report by the RSE Scotland's artificial intelligence strategy - Royal Society of Edinburgh : Royal Society of Edinburgh I have commissioned an independent review into the opportunities for AI which was published last year AI+Independent+Review+-+Call+for+Views+-+Initial+Report+-+Advancing+AI+for+Scotland+-+Reformatted+-+January+2024.pdf.

We have been continuously engaging with the UK Government to advocate that their approach to the regulation of AI considers the interests of the citizens and businesses of Scotland. We continue to provide AI support to business through our enterprise agencies and the AI Alliance, our delivery body for Scotland’s AI Strategy. They have recently relaunched the AI Playbook Guidance on AI Adoption Including Information on AI Policies — Scottish AI Playbook which is a one-stop shop for supporting businesses with AI adoption. The playbook also includes information on legal and regulatory provisions relating to the development and use of AI systems.

The Memorandum of Understanding is a jointly drafted and agreed document between the Parole Board for Scotland (PBS) and Scottish Ministers. The MOU defines the relationship and interaction between Parole Board for Scotland and the Scottish Government.

The MoU is set to be rebranded as a Memorandum of Agreement (MoA).

Both the Parole Board for Scotland and the Scottish Government have reached agreement on the MoA document and are now finalising sign-off prior to publication.

The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each initial destination (three months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.1a in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition. The supplementary tables with data on initial destinations are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-for-attainment-and-initial-leaver-destinations-no-7-2025-edition/documents/.

The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each follow-up destination (nine months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.2 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations, No. 6: 2024 Edition. The supplementary tables with data on follow-up destinations are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-follow-up-leaver-destinations-no-6-2024-edition/documents/.

The mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland is of paramount importance. Since 2021 we have provided our local authority partners with £16 million a year in funding to ensure that all school pupils aged 10 and above and all secondary schools in Scotland have access to school counselling services.

It is for local authorities to determine how they deliver the counselling service in their area. Our local authority partners have confirmed that access to counselling support services are in place across Scotland. Information on the number of counsellors employed is available in summary reports, for the time periods January to June 2021, July to December 2021, January to June 2022, July to December 2022 and January to June 2023. This information can be found on the Scottish Government website at: Access to counsellors in secondary schools and children and young people’s community mental health services – summary reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Information prior to 2021 is not held. From April 2024 counselling reports moved from six-monthly to annual reporting and information for the July 2023 to March 2024 period is currently being analysed.

The Scottish Government keeps all dog control legislation under review and that includes the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (“the 1991 Act”).

A Scottish Government led Short Life Working Group was established in 2022 to assist with taking forward our commitment to review the 1991 Act.

The focus of the review was on the criminal offence in the 1991 Act of a dog being dangerously out of control.

The working group has undertaken this review, and the Scottish Government is continuing to consider the wide range of views offered to determine what may be appropriate as next steps. The Minutes of the group meetings can be found on the Scottish Government website: https://www.gov.scot/groups/dangerous-dogs-act-short-life-working-group/

In the meantime the Scottish Government has taken action to introduce new safeguards in relation to XL Bully dogs. The XL Bully dog has now been added to the list of prohibited dog breeds under the 1991 Act.

The Scottish Government also hosted a ‘Responsible Dog Ownership’ Summit on 20 September 2024. The summit brought together attendees from a range of organisations, including the police, local authorities, veterinary bodies, public health, third sector organisations and the Communication Workers Union to consider how dog control and dog welfare can be improved upon.

Information is not held centrally. Students apply directly to colleges, as such only colleges would hold this information.

The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each initial destination (three months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.1a in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition. The supplementary tables with data on initial destinations are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-for-attainment-and-initial-leaver-destinations-no-7-2025-edition/documents/.

The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each follow-up destination (nine months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.2 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations, No. 6: 2024 Edition. The supplementary tables with data on follow-up destinations are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-follow-up-leaver-destinations-no-6-2024-edition/documents/.

The Fracture Liaison Services (FLS) audit was commissioned by Scottish Government in July 2024. Whilst there was an initial delay regarding recruitment, this has now been completed, and progress now continues at pace.

Public Health Scotland are responsible for the delivery of the FLS audit and Scottish Government officials remain close to its development.

In line with all newly commissioned audits, we expect the audit to take several years to create high-quality, standardised data and consistency across NHS Boards in order to drive improvements and support clinical decision making.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-35534 and S6W-35567 on 21 March 2025. 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 latest data showing the number of school leavers in each initial destination (three months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.1a in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations, No. 7: 2025 edition. The supplementary tables with data on initial destinations are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-for-attainment-and-initial-leaver-destinations-no-7-2025-edition/documents/.

The latest data showing the number of school leavers in each follow-up destination (nine months after the end of the school year) by local authority and nationally for each year since 2009-10 can be found in Table L2.2 in the supplementary tables published alongside the Summary statistics for Follow-Up Leaver Destinations, No. 6: 2024 Edition. The supplementary tables with data on follow-up destinations are available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/summary-statistics-follow-up-leaver-destinations-no-6-2024-edition/documents/.