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Given the different approaches to assessment the pandemic has necessitated since 2020, it is difficult to directly compare this year’s exam results with any other year. However, in 2023, 20% of Higher entries by candidates from the most deprived areas (SIMD quintile 1) resulted in a grade A. This is higher than in 2017 (18.1%).

We use a basket of measures (including the 13 NIF measures, ACEL data and school leaver attainment) to measure the attainment gap as different conclusions may be drawn depending upon the data under consideration. For example, the attainment gap at National 5 has narrowed between 2017 and 2023. It is therefore unrealistic to assess the performance of the education system via a single measure (such as Higher A grades).

This year’s exam results showed significant progress with overall pass rates for National 5, Highers and Advanced Highers being above those in 2019.

The proportion of A grades for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher were also above those in 2019.

It is testament to the resilience and hard work of our young people that overall, this is a strong set of results in an exam year.

I fully recognise that young people continue to be impacted by the disruption arising from COVID-19. The package of support in place has rightly evolved to reflect the latest circumstances, with decisions being matched to the assessment approaches taken each year.

SQA took a sensitive, evidence-based approach to grading for the 2023 results and continued the existing modifications to National Courses from 2022 – as part of the transition back to pre-pandemic standards - informed by evaluation of the assessment arrangements in places in 2022 and feedback from the National Qualifications 2023 Group, which includes representatives of teachers, parents and learners. SQA will also be undertaking an evaluation of their 2023 assessment arrangements to inform decisions going forward.

The Scottish Government and Education Scotland published the Equity Audit in January 2021 which involved an evidence review of local, national and international literature, along with a representative sample of 54 schools in Scotland. This helped our understanding of the impact that COVID-19 and school building closures had on children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and set clear areas of focus for accelerating recovery, including the refresh of the Scottish Attainment Challenge programme.

In addition, Officials have begun research and stakeholder engagement work to ensure that the Scottish Government fully understands the impact of COVID-19 in schools and continues to support ongoing education recovery. This follows on from the actions and next steps publication in October 2021.

We have laid before Parliament today an annual progress report against our Heat in Buildings Strategy, the second since its publication in 2021: https://www.gov.scot/publications/heat-in-buildings-progress-report-2023 .

We have made significant progress in key areas during the past year, including our broad package of delivery schemes, heat networks, building standards and new build regulations. The biggest challenge facing us now is in existing buildings, and therefore the report confirms our intention to consult later this year on proposals for a Heat in Buildings Bill.

One Parent Families Scotland is a national organisation which works with and on behalf of one parent families, with the aim and purpose to improve the lives of single parents and their families, enabling them to benefit from life’s opportunities and fulfil their potential.

In 2022-23 One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) received £371,700 in core funding via the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning & Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) third sector fund. The agreed outcomes from this funding were:

• Build Single Parents’ Capacity & Resilience so they will be stronger and more confident in knowing their rights and controlling their lives and supporting their children.
• Single parent families will have improved their standard of living, so reducing child poverty
• OPFS will be a resilient and responsive organisation, ensuring government has an increased understanding of issues affecting single parents, resulting in the development of more effective policies and services for children, young people and their families.
• Single parent families will participate and take an active role in making positive change.

In addition, the Scottish Government allocated £393,096 in 2022-23 to OPFS for welfare and debt advice. This funding included £320,233 for OPFS’s National Advice and Information Service and £72,863 debt levy funding for debt advice. The funding objectives were;

• to provide holistic advice and information on welfare benefits and other issues that affect single parents and their families’ financial inclusion and wellbeing
• to enable single parents to maximise their income
• to increase OPFS capacity to provide debt advice to single parents.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on allocation of Community Link Worker posts and capacity at individual General Practice level. This data will be held by individual Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCP) alongside their local Primary Care Improvement Plans (PCIP).

At 31 st March 2023, there were over 308 WTE primary care Community Link Workers in post across Scotland. The following PCIP publication shows a breakdown of the Whole Time Equivalent by HSCP area:

Primary Care Improvement Plans: Summary of Implementation Progress at March 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government, in collaboration with NHS Education for Scotland (NES), has made available a full suite of information for dental teams on the forthcoming changes including interactive webinars, short educational videos and a comprehensive FAQ document. These can be accessed on Scottish Dental and through NES Turas learning accounts.

In addition to these materials, officials will continue to meet regularly with NHS Boards to understand how dentists can be better supported, within their local area, in transitioning to the new payment system.

We understand that dentists will be eager to communicate with their patients about the changes, and we will shortly be providing materials direct to practices to help deliver this information.

The 2023 “Brush Up” campaign aims to deliver key messaging to the public using a variety of media, community and partnership channels.

Additionally, dentists will be able to offer a review examination as often as necessary to any patient where it is clinically necessary to do so. There will be no charge to the patient for the review exam.

The Forestry Grant Scheme opened for applications in 2015 as part of the Scottish Rural Development Programme (SRDP) and initially had a 7 year budget of £36m per year. The Forestry Grants budget has since been reviewed on an annual basis, as part of the wider Scottish Government Budget process, to reflect the Climate Change Plan woodland creation target and on-going legal commitments.

Forestry Grant Scheme contracts are issued by Scottish Forestry, and underspends can occur where insufficient applications are received or approved schemes are delayed. Underspends occurred in 2015-16 and 2016-17 due to insufficient applications being received in the first two years of FGS. Since then underspends have occurred in 2020-21, 2021-22 and 2022-23, due to combination insufficient applications and delays with approved projects being implemented.

The refreshed Tobacco Action Plan will be published in the autumn in line with our commitment in the PfG. No fixed date for publication has been set.

We are grateful to Heart Research UK for their continued work to prevent, treat and cure heart disease in Scotland.

We recognise the scale and impact of heart disease in Scotland and have set out our strategic direction to address this in our Heart Disease Action Plan (2021).

The plan outlines a collaborative approach and acknowledges the important role of the third sector in minimising preventable heart disease and ensuring that everyone with suspected heart disease has timely and equitable access to diagnosis treatment and care.