Chamber and committees

The timetabling of Computing Science in the senior phase is the responsibility of individual schools who have discretion to deliver a curriculum that best meets the needs of their pupils and the wider community.

Since September 2022, Education Scotland has overseen a national timetabling group bringing school leaders and local authority representatives together to focus on innovative approaches to timetabling across all curricular areas.

The Scottish Government also continues to fund and engage with the organisation, Scottish Teachers Advancing Computing Science (STACS), to support Computing Science as a subject area. One of the key aims of STACS is to promote Computing Science as a desirable career option to young people and their parents/carers.

Scottish Government and Education Scotland have begun user engagement around the development of a National Digital Academy. A survey capturing the views of 2,229 learners has been undertaken, and a series of interviews and focus groups have been held with learners, parents and virtual learning environment providers. Education Scotland will continue this engagement with teaching organisations and other national bodies over the next few months, with overall findings from engagement being shared in due course.

The relationships and behaviour action plan had been agreed by the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS) at its meeting on 15 May 2024, subject to some identified drafting changes. The guidance was in the process of being finalised when the need to consider whether or not it could be published during the pre-election period arose. The guidance would otherwise have been published prior to the end of school year.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all serving Armed Forces personnel and veterans living in Scotland, as well as their families, are able to access the best possible care and support, enjoy their rights on an equal basis to others, and are able to participate fully and lead their own lives.

The Equality Act 2010 requires service providers to make reasonable adjustments in circumstances where a disabled person is placed at a substantial disadvantage in comparison with non-disabled people. That requirement covers changing the way things are done such as making changes to the built environment and providing auxiliary aids and services. The Scottish Government expects all relevant organisations to comply with the requirements of the 2010 Act and with the relevant codes of practice and other guidance published by the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The Scottish Government welcomes the report by Sight Scotland and Sight Scotland Veterans, Enhancing Accessibility: Venues and Visual Impairment and would encourage venues across Scotland to consider implementing the recommendations within the report, and using the checklist and top tips provided, to create a more accessible and inclusive experience for all.

The Scottish Government provide funding to veterans organisations primarily through the Scottish Veterans Fund and the Veterans Scotland Grant usually totalling c.£590,000 per year. We also continue to provide funding to the Unforgotten Forces Consortium totalling £950,000 from 2023-2026.

This global change implemented by Microsoft change only pertains to Microsoft Office desktop apps. Schools, learners and teachers can continue to access web-versions of Microsoft Office products through Glow. Ultimately, local authorities are responsible for the provision of education, including any digital provision they consider appropriate for their schools and particularly where it is required for specific courses or individual needs.

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) is an independent charitable organisation and its governance and operational management are matters for the ERCC Board to consider and act upon. The Scottish Government expects all recipients of public funding to comply with relevant laws.

The A1 licence in Glow remains in place and will continue to provide access to the web-based version of Microsoft Office until our contract end-date in September 2027. The Scottish Government has commissioned Education Scotland to undertake a review of needs for any national digital provision in the future.

Based on registrations for November 2023 Computing Science week, there were no schools registered for Education Scotland's organised live webinars from Argyll and Bute, Orkney Islands or West Dunbartonshire. It is difficult to be definitive on how many schools engaged as schools may also have participated by watching the recordings of sessions or by creating their own activities.

Public Health Scotland worked in close consultation with key stakeholders to develop the core minimum dataset, which will form the basis for the monitoring of residential rehabilitation. Early versions of the dataset were shared with the Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Advisory Group (MERAG) and the Residential Rehabilitation Development Working Group (RRDWG), which have representatives from groups such as individuals with experience, families and recovery organisations.

Current residential rehabilitation clients were given the opportunity to complete a survey to provide details of their own experience. Qualitative research was also undertaken with people with lived experience of having accessed residential rehabilitation to explore their experiences of the pathways into, through and out of this form of treatment.

The Scottish Government is committed to equality in agriculture, which is set out in the Agricultural Reform Route Map and in our 2023-2024 Programme for Government.

In line with the 2023-2024 Programme for Government, we are co-developing a gender strategy for agriculture. The strategy will be developed in partnership with women living and working in agriculture and through a ministerial roundtable with stakeholders. The results of these discussions will inform the development of the strategy and any future legislative needs. We are also continuing to fund training opportunities for women, new entrants, and young farmers as part of increasing business resilience, just transition, and equality of opportunity for all.

We will to bring forward a consultation on how trust law interacts with the pre-emptive right to buy for tenant farmers within the next year. This will draw on the views of the Tenant Farming Advisory Forum.

The Scottish Government remains committed to supporting everyone living and working in Scottish agriculture and empowering them to play their role in making our Vision for Agriculture a reality.