The scheduling of the exam diet is an operational matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA), which will be replaced by Qualifications Scotland. Following feedback from stakeholders, the SQA made a change to the published timetable on 9 December to move Higher Health and Food Technology away from the same day as Higher English.

I wrote to Nick Page, the Chief Executive of the SQA and met with the SQA in September regarding the 2026 exam timetable to underline that the priority should be ensuring that young people are supported following the return from the Easter break and do not face unreasonable workloads and additional stress from coincident and consecutive exams.

Developing the timetable is a complex task with over 200 separate exams across 130 different subjects and levels so coincident and consecutive exams are unfortunately unavoidable.

The SQA consult extensively with external stakeholders each year on the exam timetable before the publication, and work to ensure the number of coincident and consecutive exams are minimised. Their timetable advisory group includes representatives from practising teachers, head teachers, teaching unions, local authority representatives, learner agencies, and SQA staff.

Schools have well-established local arrangements to manage any impacts where coincident or consecutive exams arise. Learners are also eligible to use the Exam Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service for the last exam of the day where they are scheduled for more than 6 hours of exams in one day and a request for extra time has been submitted as an assessment arrangement or English as an additional language (EAL) arrangement.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of early diagnosis of diabetes in the avoidance of its complications. The UK National Screening Committee advises on how testing and screening is used across the four UK nations. Based on their most up to date recommendation, there is currently no UK-wide screening programme for Type 1 diabetes in children because there is insufficient evidence that population screening would improve health outcomes compared to current practice.

While current clinical advice does not support mandatory screening for Type 1 diabetes, Scotland - through NHS Research Scotland - supported the UK’s largest screening trial for children with Type 1 diabetes, the ELSA study. The study aimed to screen 20,000 children aged 3 to 13 for early markers of Type 1 diabetes and identify those at high risk of developing the condition. The findings will play a key role in guiding future policy decisions.

Current NICE clinical guidelines recommend that any child displaying symptoms of Type 1 diabetes should be referred immediately to paediatric diabetes services for diagnosis and care. The Scottish Government expects all NHS Boards and healthcare professionals including GPs to consider all relevant clinical guidelines when assessing children who are presenting with symptoms of diabetes.

We encourage parents and carers to urgently contact their GP if their child is displaying symptoms of diabetes. They will be best placed to provide specific advice and support based on their child’s individual circumstances.

The Scottish Government encourages public sector organisations (including local authorities) to adopt a proactive, risk-based governance approach, with board-level accountability to build and improve their cyber resilience. The Scottish Government provides a range of resources and advice to help build public sector cyber resilience. It should be noted that local authorities are independent corporate bodies, entirely separate from the Scottish Government, and each must plan for, mitigate, and manage their own cyber risks.

The public sector provides a range of digital public services and it is critical that these are secure and resilient.

Local Authorities are independent corporate bodies, entirely separate from the Scottish Government, and it is up to each council how it plans for, manages, and mitigates its risks. However, the Scottish Government does actively support and help build the cyber resilience of our local authorities, through the provision of guidance, resources, networking and skills development.

The Scottish Government encourages public sector organisations, including local authorities to adopt a proactive, risk-based governance approach, with board-level accountability to build and improve their cyber resilience. We have set out a framework that includes guidance on how to:

• Assess their cyber resilience maturity,
• Align with minimum security standards,
• Benchmark performance, and
• Prioritise investment based on risk.

The Scottish Government has in place a Notifiable Scottish Public Sector Cyber Incidents Procedure. This is a voluntary process which encourages Scottish Public Sector bodies to report cyber incidents to the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre (SC3). The process also encourages reporting of cyber incidents to the UK Government National Cyber Security Centre and Police Scotland where appropriate.

The SC3 provides ongoing support to local authorities in the form of:

• 24/7 national incident response coordination
• Daily threat intelligence and early warning notifications
• Cyber exercising and preparedness programmes, and
• Guidance on standards and best practice.

This national support is helping to equip our public bodies with the tools, intelligence and skills needed to build and maintain strong cyber resilience.

The public sector provides a range of digital public services and it is critical that these are secure and resilient.

Local Authorities are independent corporate bodies, entirely separate from the Scottish Government, and it is up to each council how it plans for, manages, and mitigates its risks. However the Scottish Government routinely engages with and encourages public sector organisations to adopt a proactive, risk-based governance approach, with board-level accountability to build and improve their cyber resilience.

The Scottish Government has set out a framework including guidance on how to:

• Assess their cyber resilience maturity,
• Align with minimum security standards,
• Benchmark performance, and
• Prioritise investment based on risk.

It is supported by practical tools such as self-assessment templates and critical systems mapping resources.

The Scottish Government has in place the Notifiable Scottish Public Sector Cyber Incidents Procedure. This is a voluntary process which encourages Scottish Public Sector bodies to report cyber incidents to the Scottish Cyber Coordination Centre the SC3). The process also encourages reporting of cyber incidents to the UK Government National Cyber Security Centre and Police Scotland where appropriate.

The SC3 also provides ongoing support to local authorities in the form of:

• 24/7 national incident response coordination
• Daily threat intelligence and early warning notifications
• Cyber exercising and preparedness programmes, and
• Guidance on standards and best practice.

This national support is helping to equip our public bodies with the tools, intelligence and skills needed to build and maintain strong cyber resilience.

During December the Director of Resilience in the National Cyber Security Centre will be briefing all CEOs on the importance of cyber resilience. The Scottish Government will also be meeting with all Chief Information Security Officers to reinforce the importance of extra vigilance during the festive period.

We expect Health Boards to plan for their workforce in conjunction with their responsibilities under the Health and Care (Staffing) (Scotland) Act 2019. The Act places duties on Health Boards to ensure that at all times suitably qualified and competent individuals are working in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, wellbeing and safety of patients, the provision of high-quality care and the wellbeing of staff.

On the 29 October I announced the establishment of the Scottish Maternity and Neonatal Taskforce. The Taskforce will complement the existing audit and inspection system in place in Scotland, and provide support and expertise on implementation of policy, service standards, and improvement activity across NHS Boards. It will be chaired by the Minister for Public Health and Women’s Health.

The Scottish Government is also taking action as part of the Nursing and Midwifery Taskforce (NMT) to drive lasting change to improve retention and attraction into these professions. The NMT recommended actions are designed to have a meaningful and lasting impact on workforce wellbeing. They aim to address key issues such as workload, professional development, and workplace culture to create a more supportive and sustainable environment for Nurses and Midwives to work.

Following a submission for alpelisib (Piqray®), as a treatment for postmenopausal women, and men, with advanced breast cancer, the SMC | Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) published not recommended alpelisib (Piqray) advice in December 2022. The marketing authorisation holder did not present a sufficiently robust clinical or economic analysis to gain acceptance by the SMC. The SMC would welcome a resubmission at any time.

Where licensed medicines, such as Piqray®, are not routinely available on the NHS in Scotland, doctors can use the PACS Tier Two system to request access on a case-by-case basis. The cost of the medicine is not a decision-making criterion when considering PACS Tier Two applications.

The sustainable aviation fuel working group met on three occasions in 2024: 15 February, 9 April and 14 May.