I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37627 on 27 May 2025.

The following table sets out any representations that officials have identified as being received by the Scottish Government referencing bereavement-based exceptional circumstances or appeals arrangements in relation to the National Qualifications.

It should be borne in mind that different exceptional circumstances and appeals arrangements were in place in 2020, 2021 and 2022 as a result of the alternative awarding processes in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Scottish Government is committed to driving key efficiency programmes such as Scottish Single Estates, Commercial Value for Money (CVfM), Collaborative Procurement frameworks, the Intelligence Automation Centre of Excellence, and Digital programme. There has been strong progress across these programmes which are expected to reach up to £280 million of cost avoidance and cash releasing savings over a two-year period by the end of 2024-25. This figure is not related to pay costs for board members of public sector or other non-departmental bodies.

The Scottish Government is working closely with our local government partners to improve the experience of children and young people with additional support needs at school, implementing the recommendations of the 2020 review of additional support for learning.

During a debate in Parliament on the Review of Additional Support for Learning and Implementation of Mainstreaming, held on 14 May 2025, the Scottish Government committed to engaging in a cross-party roundtable with Local Government to discuss what more can be done to support Additional Support Needs in our schools and to undertaking a review of Additional Support for Learning.

The scope and detail of the review will be informed by the outcome of the roundtable discussion and will also draw on the evidence set out in the recent reports from the Education, Children and Young People Committee Inquiry Report, Audit Scotland briefing and the Children and Young People Commissioner’s Report.

As part of the process to determine applications made under Section 36 and 37 of the Electricity Act 1989, consultees are asked by the Energy Consents Unit (ECU) to provide comment on the contents of gate checks. The purpose of a gate check is to set out how comments made by consultees and Scottish Ministers in the scoping opinion are to be addressed by the applicant and taken forward in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report, should an application be submitted. Application documents, including EIA reports, are publicly available on the ECU portal: https://www.energyconsents.scot/ApplicationSearch.aspx

The operation of Police Scotland, including decisions on the allocation of resources and the deployment of officers and staff, is for the Chief Constable, under the oversight of the Scottish Police Authority. This includes the provision of Police Officers in courts, to maintain public order within the building, ensuring that all court users continue to be in an environment where their safety is maintained.

Despite unprecedented challenges to public finances, the 2025-26 Scottish Police Authority budget has increased to £1.64 billion, an increase of almost £90 million when compared to the 2024-25 budget.

Statistics on 'additional support needs teachers’ are published in the teacher census supplementary statistics. This is available on the Scottish government website here Teacher census supplementary statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

In addition, statistics on school support staff are also published on the Scottish Government website and are available here School support staff statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Spending on additional support for learning by local authorities reached a record high of over £1 billion in the last financial year. This year, in addition to that spend, the 2025-26 budget provides £29m investment for additional support for learning. This will support the recruitment retention and training of the ASN workforce at a local level, and will help to enhance professional learning on inclusion for all teachers, at all stages of their careers.

The Scottish Government takes the safety of the public very seriously. Sex offender notification requirements apply to an individual, irrespective of what name they use, and Multi-Agency Public Protection Arrangements documentation includes the recording of any aliases. Sex offenders must inform the police of a name change within three days and failure to notify such a change can result in a prison sentence.

We are aware that the Crime and Policing Bill, recently introduced to the UK Parliament, contains legislative change in this area. A Legislative Consent Memorandum (LCM) was lodged on 16 May 2025 recommending that the Scottish Parliament consents to the legislative provisions around sex offender management contained in the Bill. We await the outcome of the Parliamentary process which will determine whether or not consent is given to the provisions.

The Scottish Government is aware of the limitations of BMI as an indicator of obesity and its links to health outcomes and of NICE updated guidance (January 2025) section 1.9 Identifying and assessing overweight, obesity and central adiposity | Overweight and obesity management | Guidance | NICE

Whilst BMI still remains a useful population level indicator, discussions are in progress to include waist circumference to height ratio data in the future Scottish Health Survey Reports.

In relation to access to NHS IVF treatment, I refer you to the answers to written parliamentary question numbers S6W-37455 and S6W-37456 on 27 May 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

Scottish Government monitor the performance of NHS 24 and regularly engage with the service to discuss any performance related issues. We are satisfied that the Service continue to meet their statutory and clinical obligations and are committed to continuing to support them to enhance the service they provide to patients.

A total of £2,826,472.75 over two years has been allocated to the University of Strathclyde (who submitted a bid in partnership with the Coalition of Racial Equality and Rights) to host and support the Anti-Racism Observatory for Scotland.