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On 26 October I met with trade union representatives from the culture and arts sector to hear the opportunities and challenges facing the sector. Funding for Creative Scotland was also discussed at this meeting.

The Cabinet Secretary for Constitution, External Affairs and Culture has not met with trade union representatives.

There has not been a reduction in the Scottish Government's funding awarded to Creative Scotland. Over the last five years, the Scottish Government has provided over £33m to Creative Scotland to compensate for the continuous reduction in National Lottery funding.

As a result of rising costs and pressure on budgets across government, we are unable to make up the ongoing shortfall this year.

The Creative Scotland Board agreed on 27 September to use Creative Scotland’s National Lottery reserves of £6.6m to ensure all RFO payments are met in full as provided for in the 2023-24 Funding Agreement.

Subject to the usual Parliamentary processes we will provide the National Lottery Shortfall funding of £6.6m to Creative Scotland in 2024-25.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Data at procedure level is held by Health Boards individually.

The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the impact that scams can have on individuals, including those who are vulnerable to the activity of online romance scammers.

While we have not held any direct discussions with Police Scotland about romance scams, we continue to work with partners on scams prevention and to support the publication of a regular CyberScotland Bulletin (available at cyberscotland.com) which provides information on the latest cyber threats, scams and news. We also supported a media campaign run by Advice Direct Scotland last year to raise awareness around romance and companionship scams.

I would urge anyone who becomes aware of any suspicious activity relating to romance scams to contact ADS on 0808 164 6000 and urge anyone who feels they’ve been a victim of online romance scammers to report it to Police Scotland by calling 101.

Food Standards Scotland (FSS) are in the process of undertaking a policy review on whether home slaughter by an itinerant slaughterer for the purposes of private domestic consumption could be undertaken legally under current food hygiene legislation. Subject to the outcome of this policy review, FSS may consult with relevant stakeholders on next steps in due course.  

Under any revised home slaughter policy, it would not be possible for the meat from home slaughtered animals to enter into the food chain, as this is not permitted under existing food hygiene legislation. Only meat that has been slaughtered in an approved slaughterhouse can be legally placed on the market. There are currently no plans, therefore, to trial the use of itinerant slaughterers on island communities to produce meat that can be placed on the market.

We continue to work with HSCPs to implement the guidance. Chief Officers have been reminded of their duties and we are currently establishing a short life working group. This group will support implementation and ensure adequate provision of equipment, including short-term wheelchair loans, is available.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. However, it is published annually by Public Health Services (PHS) in their ‘Scottish Health Service Costs’ report. The NHSScotland and Board level data from 19-20 to 21-22 can be viewed online at: Scottish health service costs - High-level costs summary 2021 to 2022 - Scottish health service costs - Publications - Public Health Scotland .

Data from 2012 – 18-19 can be viewed online at: Latest Publications | ISD Scotland (under the topic: ‘Finance’).

The Scottish Government’s Nordic Office was officially opened in August 2022. Based in the British Embassy in Copenhagen, it has a regional remit covering the Nordic countries, including Norway.

Scottish Government officials based in the Nordic Office have not engaged in any discussions with Norwegian Government ministers or officials regarding the Rosebank oilfield.

Collaboration with our Nordic partners on North Sea renewable energy policy – including offshore wind, CCUS, and hydrogen – is a key area of activity for the Nordic Office, with recent Ministerial visits to the region having focussed on offshore wind and port infrastructure in particular.

The Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD) is currently the national measure of progress on widening access to higher education, as was recommended by the Commission on Widening Access in its final report, A Blueprint for Fairness, in 2016.

Higher education institutions currently use a range of criteria to identify widening access students, but we recognise that there may be other suitable measures to work alongside SIMD.

Scottish Government has established an Access Data Short-life Working Group to consider proposals and to investigate other widening access measures and data sources. The group’s membership comprises a range of stakeholders, including Colleges Scotland, Universities Scotland, Scottish Funding Council, and further and higher education institutions. The group is due to report to Ministers this autumn.

It is a matter for local authorities to decide how much funding they allocate to specific services. The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

Information on the number of hours of support staff provision per week, including home-school link workers, provided by each local authority is available at School support staff statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . Figures are available from 2017.

The Scottish Government has not been made aware of any discussions between the UK and Norwegian Governments regarding the Rosebank oilfield.

Oil and gas licensing processes are currently reserved to the UK Government. Scottish Ministers have repeatedly called for reform of these processes, to ensure compatibility with climate commitments and we will continue to look for further opportunities to make the case for reform.