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Throughout the 1140 expansion we have sought to improve conditions across the private, third and childminding workforce delivering funded ELC, including through our investment to support sustainable rates to be set at a level to enable payment of the real Living Wage to those workers delivering funded ELC . Evidence from the Financial Review of the ELC Sector highlights that when the ELC expansion began around 80% of practitioners and 50% of supervisors in private and third sector settings delivering the funded ELC were paid an hourly rate below the real Living Wage. In contrast, our 2021 Financial Sustainability Health Check indicated that 88% of funded ELC providers in the private and third sectors intended to pay the real Living Wage to all their staff from August 2021.

As set out in the supporting Funding Follows the Child and National Standard Contracting Guidance it is expected that within the contract terms and conditions for funded providers local authorities will set out expectations regarding payment of at least the real Living Wage to all childcare workers delivering the funded hours.

In partnership with the sector and local authorities, we have taken important steps to improve our understanding of real Living Wage progress, and to support providers to deliver higher pay and Fair Work. To support this we have established a real Living Wage and Fair Work Implementation Group to explore implementation challenges and potential solutions to help all childcare providers become real living wage employers. The first meeting of the Group took place on 15 December 2022. The group is due to reconvene shortly.

We are also collecting further information regarding the payment of the real Living Wage as part of our update of the Financial Sustainability Health Check; and through the joint Scottish Government and COSLA Review of Sustainable Rates. Both of these reports will be published this Summer.

Routine spending information that councils report does not distinguish between spending on 600 hours of funded ELC and spending on the additional hours provided by the expansion. The Scottish Government has therefore gathered separate financial information on spending on the expansion from councils three times. However, despite best efforts, the information gathered does not provide a comprehensive picture of how much councils have spent specifically on the expansion at a national level. Measures are being taken by the Scottish Government to change reporting through local financial returns to produce more detailed information on how much councils have spent specifically on the provision of funded ELC.

The Scottish Household Survey 1 is published annually and contains statistics on internet access and use by a number of categories. The publication contains statistics covering internet access by household income, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) quintile, tenure, and urban-rural classification, as well as internet usage by age, disability, household income, and SIMD quintile. Additionally, the publication contains information on access to smart appliances, methods of access (e.g. smartphone, tablet, personal computer, laptop etc.), and confidence in using the internet by age and tenure

Furthermore, the Scottish Government is taking forward evaluations of digital infrastructure projects which will enable understanding of the impacts of investment. We have published the Digital Appraisal Manual for Scotland 2 and, informed by this guidance, are taking forward evaluations of the Scottish 4G Infill Programme, and R100 Programme. Evaluations will involve research engaging with affected areas and communities, and allow for gathering of evidence on how people and businesses are using this infrastructure, the associated benefits (e.g. productivity, wellbeing, environmental), and barriers to access.

By embedding best practice in appraisal and evaluation in digital policy making in Scotland, we will not only be able to monitor the effectiveness of our investments as impacts materialise, but we will also be best placed to refine our evidence base and develop effective policies in future.

1. Scottish Household Survey: publications - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

2. Digital appraisal manual for Scotland: guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Office of National Statistics (ONS) have recently changed their measurement of Business Enterprise Research and Development (BERD) expenditure which has led to significant uplift revisions to BERD expenditure estimates. Work is currently underway between the Scottish Government and the ONS to further quality assure the new methodology; once this work is complete the Scottish Government will consider target setting options. The Scottish Government's recently published National Innovation Strategy will monitor a range of metrics to track progress over the next decade through its Innovation Scorecard, including tracking Gross Expenditure on Research and Development (GERD), Higher Education Research and Development (HERD) spend and BERD spend.

We have committed to building a system of school age childcare, providing year-round childcare for families on low incomes. As announced by the First Minister on 3 April ( Expanding school age childcare - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ), in 2023-24 we are investing £15 million in delivering funded school age childcare through our early adopter communities and wider test of change projects.

The Scottish Government published the Scottish Strategy for Autism in 2011. This was a 10 year strategy which ran until 2021.

In March 2021, we published our Towards Transformation Plan as a follow-on to the Scottish Strategy for Autism and the Keys to Life Learning Disability Strategy. The Plan seeks to shape supports, services and attitudes to ensure that the human rights of autistic people and people with learning/intellectual disabilities are respected and protected and that they are empowered to live their lives, the same as everyone else.

We continue to work on delivering the action in our Towards Transformation Plan and also, are currently consulting on proposals for a Learning Disability, Autism and Neurodiversity Bill which will inform future strategies for neurodivergent communities, including autistic people.

In 2019 there were 23,584 adults with learning disability known to local authorities across Scotland, 956 (4.1%) were in employment, 10,483 (44.4%) were not in employment and 12,145 (51.5%) did not have their employment status recorded. Learning-Disability-Statistics-Scotland-2019.pdf (scld.org.uk)

The ONS Annual Population Survey (APS) is the official source for measuring the number of people in employment. Estimates for the number of people with a severe or specific learning difficulty (lasting 12 months or more) who are employed can also be obtained from the APS. Learning disabilities are included in the health problem severe and specific learning difficulty. In 2022, it was estimated that there were 13,100 people aged 16 and over who reported having a severe or specific learning difficulty and were in employment.

SEPA will ensure that the Official Statistics for household waste which report against the national household waste recycling targets, will include DRS materials once it is implemented.

The DRS scheme has been delayed to October 2025 at the earliest. We are in the process of reviewing the existing guidance with a view to updating it in due course.

This information is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Business continuity plans cannot be prepared until completion of the discovery surveys of NHS Scotland properties suspected to contain reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. The outcomes of the discovery surveys will be used to inform business continuity plans by any affected Health Boards.