Chamber and committees

NHS Boards are separate entities with their own local governance and performance management arrangements in place, in line with national guidance, such as the ‘NHS Scotland Blueprint for Good Governance.’ This can be accessed at: www.gov.scot/publications/blueprint-good-governance-nhs-scotland-second-edition/.

There is also an ongoing cycle of routine engagement, scrutiny and support between the Scottish Government and NHS Boards. This helps ensure the latter are delivering on local and national priorities, and are being held to account for the significant public investment in the NHS. This evidence-based approach to monitoring performance and managing risk across the NHS in Scotland is underpinned by the ‘NHS Scotland Support and Intervention Framework’, which consists of five stages in a ladder of escalation that provides a model for support and intervention by the Scottish Government. NHS Boards can be escalated on the Framework as a result of significant and persistent performance issues; informing further scrutiny, support and intervention, as required. Further details can be accessed at: www.gov.scot/publications/nhs-scotland-support-and-intervention-framework/.

The Scottish Government recognises the disruption a homeless household can experience when placed in temporary accommodation and is aware of the issues that can arise if accommodation is located too far from the household’s employment, education and support services.

The Unsuitable Accommodation Order states that accommodation is unsuitable if it is not in the locality of facilities and services for the purposes of education which are being used, or might reasonably be expected to be used, by members of the household. The exception to this is if those facilities are reasonably accessible from the accommodation, taking into account the distance of travel by public transport or transport provided by a local authority.

It can be challenging for local authorities to place homeless households close to existing family and social networks due to the location of available properties and the high demand in particular areas. The risk assessment conducted as part of the housing support service and allocation process informs the offers of accommodation made. While it is preferable for households to continue to access the same facilities as they have previously, this is not always possible. The Scottish Government’s code of guidance on homelessness makes clear that it is acceptable for local authorities to offer households access to similar facilities.

A new temporary accommodation standards framework, which built on the 2019 advisory standards, was published by the Scottish Government in 2023. Local authorities and social landlords are expected to work towards meeting the framework before it becomes legally enforceable. The framework requires accommodation to be in a location that allows access to school either by foot, by public transport or by transport provided.

The Scottish Government is actively considering the role of AI in schools. Discussions have been ongoing with key partners including the SQA, Education Scotland, local authorities, the Scottish AI Alliance and academics, to ensure that AI can be used effectively and safely in learning and teaching.

In addition, we are undertaking an education-based project via the Scottish Government’s technology accelerator programme, CivTech. The project seeks to use AI and technology to streamline administrative tasks for teachers and contribute to a reduction in workload. The project is currently in early development.

Following the recent International Summit on the Teaching Profession, we have committed to consider carefully the guidance produced by the OECD and Education International, and to create an equivalent set of guidelines and guardrails for the Scottish context. We will do this through a partnership approach, liaising with local government and teachers’ representatives.

In addition, it is anticipated that the Curriculum Improvement Cycle will examine the skills, knowledge and understanding that children and young people will be required to develop in respect of AI.

Local authorities employ education staff and must ensure their schools have policies in place that determine clearly what action should be taken to address challenging behaviour and protect their staff in the workplace. This includes having processes in place to record violent and abusive incidents towards staff including teachers.

Data on school violence and staff assaults is collected at local authority level, where it is primarily used to monitor trends and ensure appropriate support is available for staff and young people. This remains appropriate and we have no plans to collect and publish this data on a quarterly basis.

I have made clear to Parliament on several occasions, including in my statement to Parliament on 29 November 2023, my position on the need for more accurate recording of all incidents of inappropriate, abusive or violent behaviour in our schools, and I continue to encourage all schools to do that. To support schools and education authorities, as part of the Relationships and Behaviour in Schools Action Plan 2024-27, over the coming year we will undertake work to review processes for recording incidents, with a view to streamlining and improving consistency. We will also commission the next wave of the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research, with fieldwork expected in early 2026.

Exclusion statistics are currently reported biennially. The next data will be published in December 2025 covering 2024-2025. There are currently no plans to change the frequency of this publication.

Scottish Government do not hold information on all public sector leases centrally. The following table shows the top 10 most expensive leases held by Scottish Government. This is made up of the costs of rent and service charges.

The Scottish Government routinely analyses data related to the labour market. The link between waiting times and the economy is most frequently viewed through economic inactivity due to ill-health. A 2024 Scottish Parliament Information Centre briefing, for example, examined Annual Population Survey responses alongside Accident and Emergency (A&E) performance in Scotland. They found that the correlation between A&E performance and economic inactivity due to ill health was very low but statistically significant. Similarly, the Office for Budget Responsibility in 2023 found that “the rising NHS waiting list itself is unlikely to have been a significant driver of rising inactivity due to long-term sickness in recent years”.

We are looking closely at how our health system can better support people to stay healthy in work and move back in to work, alongside actions which can be taken by government, employers and individuals.

The Programme for Government sets out action we will take in health to address the challenges faced by those who are economically inactive, and to support those at risk of becoming economically inactive. This includes:

• Creating a single point of access through Healthy Working Lives for employers and workers to access advice and support, with ongoing improvements to the site’s accessibility and navigation.
• Free NHS case management support, available through Working Health Services Scotland, is available to employees and employers, focusing on small to medium size businesses. As of January 2025, within existing budget, we have been able to expand this service to 8am – 8pm Monday to Friday with early indications showing healthy demand for these extended hours (between 80-90% of appt slots filled).
• Continued support for the Healthy Working Lives’ online platform to help employers build mentally healthy workplaces, and delivery of the Mentally Healthy Workplaces network for employers.

We are also developing a new heath and work action plan, with engagement currently taking place cross-government.

Ministers approved recommendations in July 2024 to maximise the effect of existing service provision across fair work and employability, health and local service delivery to reduce the risk of people leaving the labour market due to ill health.

Our evidence review, published September 2024, examines the evidence on supporting those with longer-term conditions and disabilities to remain in work. Its focus is on the upstream prevention of economic inactivity to ensure the protective factors for health that good work provides.

The action plan, due for Summer 2025, will reflect both the priorities of the Programme for Government and the longer-term system changes noted in the forthcoming Population Health Framework and will focus on enabling those wanting to work to enter, thrive and remain in the workforce and to tackle Scotland’s increasing rates of economic inactivity due to ill health.

Recognising reserved powers and our own levers within the Scottish Government, the plan will bring together health, mental health, employability services, social security, business representative organisations, the UK government and other organisations established in the delivery of healthy, safe and fair work.

There have been 35 public bodies established since 2013 which are included below. Further information on their core functions is publicly available on the National Public Bodies Directory: https://www.gov.scot/publications/national-public-bodies-directory/.

Electrification remains an option for the entire line from Glasgow Central to Carlisle via Kilmarnock, however no timescale has been established for the decarbonisation of this route, including the section from Barrhead to Kilmarnock. Electrification of the northern section of this route from Glasgow Central to Barrhead Line was successfully completed in December 2023.

Future rolling stock options for the Glasgow to Carlisle via Kilmarnock route, including Barrhead to Kilmarnock, will be considered by ScotRail as part of the option selection process for decarbonisation of the route, subject to relevant appraisal processes and available budgets.

The Scottish Government has published the minutes of these meetings. The final National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group meeting took place on 26 June 2024, so no subsequent meetings of the National Bairns’ Hoose Governance Group have been held since this date.

Since the answer given to question S6W-32194 on 3 January:

1.The position on funding for new flood protection schemes has not changed since 3 January 2025.

2.The total available funding to date for flood resilience including flood resilience schemes has not changed since 3 January 2025.

3.Potential new Flood Protection Schemes outlined in Local Authority Flood Risk Management Plans in 2021 will be considered as part of any new funding agreement – this will require updated estimated costs from Local Authorities for cycle 2 schemes.

Expected costs for cycle 1 schemes are given below. This updates the information given in response to question S6W-30798 on 7 November. 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.

Table for local authorities for cycle 1