Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government spent £20,000 (excluding VAT) in 2024-25 for advice on a specification for a financial advisor to provide expertise and guidance to support an inaugural issuance. This remains the only external fees incurred to date. The civil service resource for this work is met through the DG Scottish Exchequer budget allocation.

Improving gender balance and tackling inequity within STEM learning and careers is at the heart of the Scottish Government’s STEM Education and Training Strategy. To support schools challenge long-established stereotypes, a range of resources have been developed by Education Scotland, based around understanding bias and highlighting the impact of inequality.

Education Scotland also work with organisations, including Tech She Can and Code Club, to promote female role models and provide professional learning for Computing Science teachers. In addition, the Scottish Government has provided over £800,000 to Scottish Teachers Advancing Computing Science (STACS) to promote Computing Science as a subject for all, helping to challenge gender stereotypes.

As a result of the STEM Education and Training Strategy, SSERC continues to deliver the Young STEM Leader Programme which enables young people to inspire, lead and mentor through delivery of inspirational STEM activities. Since its inception, over 20,000 young people have engaged with the programme, with 51% of awards being completed by female participants.

The Scottish Government is also investing in programmes designed to increase the engagement of young people in STEM activity. This includes £70,000 of funding to Digital Xtra to support their work on the development of digital technology skills and over £90,000 to support Edinburgh Science’s ‘Generation Science’ workshops and Prosper’s ‘Stemovators’ programme.

Through the Curriculum Improvement Cycle we have established a systematic approach to curriculum improvement including in respect of Science and Technology. This exercise provides a further opportunity to ensure STEM subjects are attractive to all learners, particularly girls.

The following table summarises VisitScotland’s paid media advertising spend in the UK and Republic of Ireland and international markets over the previous five financial years.

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes statistics on Adult Disability Payment caseload, broken down by mobility award level. However, it does not currently publish statistics on clients leaving the Adult Disability Payment caseload. It also does not currently publish statistics on Adult Disability Payment by Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD). It also does not hold information on the employment status of clients as it is not necessary to collect information on a client’s employment to assess their application.

Valuable work has been undertaken to deliver against the recommendations made by the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland.

In December 2024 work concluded to address all 55 of the recommendations, and each has now been completed or transitioned into ongoing workplans to see the remaining tasks through to completion.

A detailed report will be shared with Parliament in March 2025 outlining the rationale for this, including recommendations 52, 53 and 54, and confirming the timelines for the remaining actions to conclude.

The national public bodies directory contains a full list of non-departmental public bodies (NDPBs) and shows their creation date. The national directory can be viewed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-public-bodies-directory/pages/executive-non-departmental-public-bodies/.

Since 2007, the following public bodies have been established as NDPBs:

Care Inspectorate

Children’s Hearing Scotland

Community Justice Scotland

Creative Scotland

Ferguson Marine

First-tier Tribunal for Scotland

Historic Environment Scotland

Independent Living Fund Scotland

Judicial Appointments Board

National Smart Ticketing Advisory Board

Poverty and Inequality Commission

Redress Scotland

Scottish Canals

Scottish Commission on Social Security

Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel

Scottish Futures Trust

Scottish Land Commission

Scottish Legal Complaints Commission

Scottish National Investment Bank

Scottish Rail Holdings Ltd

Skills Development Scotland

South of Scotland Enterprise

Upper Tribunal for Scotland

Zero Waste Scotland

Since 2007, the following public bodies no longer operate as NDPBs, due to merger, abolishment, or reclassification:

Additional Support Needs Tribunals for Scotland

Advisory Committee on Sites of Special Scientific Interest

Building Standards Advisory Committee

Children’s Panel (x32)

Deer Commission for Scotland

Fisheries (Electricity) Committee

General Teaching Council for Scotland

Historic Environment Advisory Council for Scotland

Lands Tribunal for Scotland

Learning & Teaching Scotland

Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland

Police Complaints Commission for Scotland

Private Rented Housing Panel

Public Transport Users Committee for Scotland

Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland

Scottish Arts Council

Scottish Charity Appeals Panel

Scottish Commission for the Regulation of Care

Scottish Industrial Development Advisory Board

Scottish Local Authorities Remuneration Committee

Scottish Police Services Authority

Scottish Records Advisory Council

Scottish Screen

Scottish University for Industry

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Information on the outcomes of the long COVID pilot project undertaken by Chest Heart & Stroke Scotland, Pogo Digital Healthcare and NHS Lothian is not held centrally. This is a matter for those organisations.

The Scottish Government’s £10 million long COVID Support Fund was announced in September 2021 and resource has been allocated from the fund from the financial year 2022-2023 onwards. The following table provides an overview of funding recipients from the start of the financial year 2022-23 to 28 February 2025. Allocations to NHS boards are made in tranches across the financial year to account for any slippage in programme delivery. It is anticipated that further allocations will be made to NHS boards from the fund before the end of this financial year, and in the financial year 2025-26.

The 2025-2026 budget outlines £7.586 million for the ‘Long Covid, ME, Chronic Fatigue and other similar conditions’ budget line. This represents a £4.5m uplift to the 2024-2025 long COVID budget line.