The Scottish Government recognises the importance of supporting young people to remain in education and has taken a range of measurable actions since the COVID-19 pandemic to address the financial pressures that can contribute to early school leaving. These actions include, the continuation of the Education Maintenance Allowance (EMA) programme, increased support for School Clothing Grants, investment in Developing the Young Workforce (DYW), support for a broad range of learner pathways and the continuation of record funding to Scotland’s schools through the Scottish Attainment Challenge programme, providing up to £1billion in additional funding.

The Scottish Government continues to work in partnership with local authorities, schools and third sector organisations to monitor these interventions and assess their impact on young people’s education.

It is the primary duty of Integration Joint Boards (IJB’s) to strategically plan the delivery of integrated adult health and social care provision in a local authority area. This duty will include the gathering of information regarding the impact of local decision making. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not collect or hold this information centrally.

The Scottish Government is taking this issue seriously. As well as regular meetings with the Medicines Healthcare and products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Chief Pharmaceutical Officer (CPO) has met with Police Scotland and Healthcare Improvement Scotland and plans to issue communications for healthcare professionals in Scotland on how to report known or suspected illicit prescribing of these medicines.

The CPO has also met with the Advertising Standards Agency to discuss their work in tackling adverts for weight-loss prescription-only medicines targeting members of the public.

Dallachy Airfield is currently owned and managed by Crown Estate Scotland rather than the Scottish Government. Currently, there are a number of commercial leases in place at the site.

Crown Estate Scotland has submitted a Call for Ideas representation to Moray Council Planning Department for the airfield to be allocated as Industrial and Green Energy development land, as part of the Moray Local Development Plan 2027.

The Scottish Government are checking and reviewing the ownership details used for this site as it appears on the Vacant and Derelict Land Register and will update the register with any changes in due course.

There are a number of factors that impact on how long it takes Social Security Scotland to make a decision on disability benefit applications, including the time taken to gather the supporting information required to make a decision on an application.

Social Security Scotland has a dedicated application route for terminally ill children and young people, and anyone in Scotland diagnosed with a terminal illness by their healthcare professional can apply for disability benefits under Special Rules for Terminal Illness. Published data shows that applications under the Special Rules for Terminal Illness are currently processed within three working days for Child Disability Payment and two working days for Adult Disability Payment.

The most recent official statistics for Child Disability Payment show Social Security Scotland has made decisions on new applications almost twice as fast as in the previous financial year: Social Security Scotland - Child Disability Payment: high level statistics to 31 December 2024.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication shows Social Security Scotland has made faster decisions on applications over the last year, with average processing times decreasing significantly in the last ten months, when compared to the previous financial year: Social Security Scotland - Adult Disability Payment statistics to 31 January 2025

The site of the former Braehead Brickworks is within the operational land of the M8 M73 M74 Motorway Improvements Project and is maintained by the project contractor, Scottish Roads Partnership (SRP). SRP has no plans for the site.

The Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service, Teresa Medhurst, meets the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs on a regular basis to discuss a range of matters including reports such as the recent HMIPS inspection report on HMP Barlinnie.

The most recent meeting of 23 April included discussion of HMIPS’ report, noting its key finding that HMP Barlinnie is a safe, stable, well-run prison and 33 examples of good practice. The Scottish Government agrees with the Inspectorate that the need for a replacement prison through the planned new HMP Glasgow is “overwhelming and urgent”.

There are 83 recommendations made in the report, with the Chief Inspector prioritising 12 of those.

The Scottish Prison Service will respond to all the HMIPS recommendations.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

HMP Shotts was fully redeveloped and completed during 2013-14 at a cost of £93.1m. The establishment remains a valuable part of the SPS estate and delivers consistently high levels of care and support for those individuals who live there.

The land of the former prison site, which sits to the west of the current establishment, remains operational and is partly used for photovoltaic panels, reducing the establishment’s energy use.

SPS is currently in the process of assessing the future use of this area which includes methods to achieve a climate change journey to zero-direct emissions.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS do not record this information. SPS’ Disciplinary Hearings guidance does not provide a specific ‘breach of discipline’ relating to having illicit articles obtained via a drone. Any prosecution remains a matter for Police Scotland and the Crown and Procurator Fiscal Service.

We welcome the Scottish Fiscal Commission’s analysis and recognise the impact that changes in Scotland’s population health and demographics could have on fiscal sustainability, and we are taking steps to mitigate this.