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The Scottish Government has regular meetings with both College Employers Scotland and the representative campus trade unions, where a number of broad workforce issues are discussed.

Given there is no timeframe set out in your question, I have provided a note of all meetings for the 2023 calendar year where pay and industrial relations within the sector was discussed since I have taken up office as Minister for Higher Education and Further Education.

The latest data available on admissions and length of stay for people in Mental Health Hospitals is collected as part of the Mental Health & Learning Disability Inpatient Census and Out of Scotland NHS Placements Census, 2022.

At the census point 11th April 2022, 166 adults with a diagnosis of a learning disability were inpatient within an NHS Scotland hospital. In addition, there were fewer than 5 patient(s) under 18. There were a further 33 adults with a diagnosis of a learning disability inpatient outwith an NHS Scotland hospital. These individuals also may or may not have a co-occurring autism diagnosis.

Data on the numbers of people with a diagnosis of a learning disability who have been admitted to hospital for treatment following offending is not collected.

There were 44 patients with a diagnosis of a learning disability who have been in an NHS Scotland hospital more than a decade, with an average length of stay of 19 years and 2 months. There are a further 8 patients with a learning disability who have been treated outwith NHS Scotland for more than a decade with an average length of stay of 19 years and 5 months. These individuals also may or may not have a co-occurring autism diagnosis.

The latest publication of the Mental Welfare Commissions Mental Health Act Monitoring Report covers the period 2021-22 and provides some information on compulsory treatment under criminal proceedings and you may wish to ask if they have further information.

We understand the distress and pain that migraines cause and want to ensure that everyone living with this debilitating condition can access the best possible care and support.

The Neurology Specialty Delivery Group (SDG), commissioned via the National Centre for Sustainable Delivery, has developed a national pathway for headache, including migraine, which will be published and implemented this autumn.

The pathway will aid the diagnosis and management of headache disorders and offer guidance on management. It is aimed towards those working across primary care including community pharmacy and general practice and those working across secondary care including emergency care, acute/general medicine and neurology.

The SDG have also developed factsheets on migraine for use by primary care clinicians.

The percentage of individuals procured by the Scottish Government to provide specialist services under Service Level Agreements compared to the total headcount (as at 30 June 2023) is 1.44%.

Funding for mental health services is drawn from the overall funds allocated to NHS Scotland by the Scottish Government. The latest available data from the Public Health Scotland Scottish Health Service Costs shows that for
‎ 2021-22 total expenditure by NHS Scotland on mental health was £1.299 billion.

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/scottish-health-service-costs/scottish-health-service-costs-high-level-costs-summary-2021-to-2022/

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring our children and young people have access to healthy and nutritious food when at school. The Scottish Government ensure that all food and drink served in education authority and grant aided schools, including free and paid for school meals, meet these high standards through the Nutritional Requirements for food and drink in schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020. The Regulations are based on scientific evidence and dietary advice and designed to ensure children and young people can access an appropriate amount of energy and key nutrients as part of their school day to support their healthy growth and development.

The Regulations require 2 full portions of vegetables and 1 full portion of fruit to be served as part of a primary school lunch and a secondary school analysed lunch, building on the previous standards which required a variety of fruit and vegetables to be on offer but did not specify a required portion size. In addition, portions of fruit and vegetables must be made available in any place within school premises where food is provided at other times of the school day for example morning break provision or tuckshops. Compliance with the Regulations is monitored by Education Scotland Health and Nutrition Inspectors as part of their annual inspection programme.

As set out in our Programme for Government, we will continue to work with local authorities to ensure that school meals meet the highest standards of nutrition, recognising that this is vital to our children’s effective learning.

The Scottish Government is currently working with Local Authorities on the roll out of the next phase of Free School Meal expansion therefore ensuring more of our children and young people are provided the opportunity to benefit from healthy and nutritious meals.

Food and nutrition is an integral part of our national educational curriculum set out in the health and wellbeing experiences and outcomes detailed in Curriculum for Excellence. This will help to ensure that children and young people are provided with the knowledge, skills and experience they need to make positive dietary choices, including why it is important to consume plenty of fruit and vegetables as part of a balanced and nutritious school lunch.

Funding for mental health services is drawn from the overall funds allocated to NHS Scotland by the Scottish Government. The latest available data from the Public Health Scotland Scottish Health Service Costs shows that for 2021-22 total expenditure by NHS Scotland on mental health was £1.299 billion. The figures for 2022-2023 are yet to be published.

As part of the block funding provided to NHS Boards by the Scottish Government, NHS Boards make operational decisions on how to deploy spend, in a way which best meets local needs. The detail of this is not held by the Scottish Government.

Prevention and early intervention remain a priority for the Scottish Government.

We have placed a stronger focus on preventing mental health issues and tackling the underlying causes and inequalities through our recently published Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. The provision of advice and support will continue to be an important part of our approach.

We continue to undertake a range of preventative and early intervention mental health work, key examples include:

• We have invested a total of £51m since 2021 in our Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults, with approximately 3,300 grants made to local projects across Scotland in the first two years alone.
• We have allocated a total of £45m since 2021-22 for local authorities to provide over 300 community mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children, young people and their families.
• We published an ambitious Suicide Prevention Strategy and Action Plan with COSLA in 2022, with the vision of reducing suicide deaths and tackling the inequalities which contribute to suicide. The strategy is supported by record funding to double the annual suicide prevention budget to £2.8m by 2026 and we are well on track to achieving this target.
• Since 2016, we have invested over £21m in our world-leading Distress Brief Intervention (DBI) programme, which offers timely, compassionate support to people in distress who come into contact with frontline services. Over 50,000 people have already been referred for DBI support. We are on track to have DBI available in all NHS Board areas by March 2024.

This information is publicly available and can be found on the Public Health Scotland website: National dental inspection programme - National dental inspection programme - Publications - Public Health Scotland

The conditions of eligibility and access to free bus travel for people aged under 22 are set out in the National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons (Scotland) Order 2021. There are no powers to enable local authorities to revoke a person's free bus travel card.

Over the last three years (2021-24), £51 million has been provided through the Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults. The following amounts have been provided in each year:

• 2021-22 (Year 1) – £21 million.
• 2022-23 (Year 2) – £15 million.
• 2023-24 (Year 3) – £15 million.

This is in addition to the £45 million allocated to local authorities since 2021 to provide community-based mental health and wellbeing support for children, young people and their families.

Future funding will be subject to the annual budget process and approval by the Scottish Parliament.