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Regular updates are provided by CMAL to The Scottish Government and the new ferries at the Cemre Shipyard in Turkey for the Islay and Little Minch routes are on schedule and on budget.

Following the recommendations by the Net Zero Energy and Transport Committee in its report on A Modern and Sustainable Ferry Service for Scotland, Ministers have agreed that quarterly reports will also be shared with the Committee. The format of these reports is currently being finalised.

In order to determine the number and distribution of the additional graduate posts across local authorities, datasets are used from the Care Inspectorate on the postcode location of Early Learning and Childcare settings, as well as the latest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation.

The most disadvantaged areas are defined by the latest Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), which identifies the 20% most deprived postcode areas in Scotland. Funding for Equity and Excellence Leads has been allocated to local authorities based on their share of the nurseries located in the 20% most deprived postcode areas, according to Care Inspectorate data on the location of nurseries. To ensure that this commitment benefits as many children as possible local authorities have flexibility to draw on their local data to prioritise how they allocate their additional teachers or graduates across settings.

The 3 local authorities without a nursery in the 20% most deprived postcode areas (Orkney, Shetland, and Western Isles) each receive funding for 1 additional full-time equivalent (FTE) teacher or graduate.

The Scottish Government is deeply concerned about the impact that scams can have on individuals and our wider economy, particularly given the ongoing cost of living crisis.

As well as working closely with partners such as Police Scotland, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), and Fraud Centre Scotland, we support the publication of a regular CyberScotland Bulletin which provides information on the latest cyber threats, scams, and news.

We have also partnered with The Data Lab to create the Scottish AI Alliance who deliver a free online course, Living with AI (available at livingwithai.me ). This is designed to help people inform themselves about AI and how it is used in our daily lives.

Anybody who has fallen victim to a scam should contact Police Scotland in the first instance. However, they should also be aware of the Scottish Government funded services - Victim Support Scotland and consumeradvice.scot who can help by providing free, emotional and practical help.

The Scottish Government provides funding to local authorities to recruit Equity and Excellence Lead posts across all 32 local authorities, but does not monitor the movement of specific staff.

Scottish Government publishes snapshot figures of graduate level posts in funded Early Learning and Childcare in each local authority annually in ‘Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland’ report. The latest figures were collected in the week commencing 12 September 2022 and published on 13 December 2022, in Table 19 of the ‘Additional early learning and childcare tables’: Supporting documents - Summary Statistics For Schools In Scotland 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This showed that 422 Equity and Excellence Leads were in post at that point in time, 376 Full Time Equivalent (FTE). This was an increase from 2021 when there were 356 (327 FTE).

The Scottish Government is engaging with Screen Scotland to explore all avenues for supporting the future of Screen Machine. I am also meeting with Regional Screen Scotland, who operate the Machine, on 5 October, so I can hear directly about the Machine and the support it needs to continue.

We recognise the value of cinema to communities as an important cultural asset, and we particularly understand the role Screen Machine plays in bringing cinema to communities for whom such access is limited.

We welcome the funding provided by Screen Scotland earlier this year, which allowed Screen Machine to lease a temporary replacement cinema until April 2024.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21342 on 27 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Health and Social Care Partnerships submit monthly reports to Public Health Scotland on the number of people waiting for packages of care. The last published submission on the 21st August showed that 294 people were waiting for a care at home package in the community and 65 people were waiting for a care at home package from hospital on the 7 th of August in Dumfries and Galloway. 84 people were waiting for a social care support assessment from the community and no one was waiting for a social care support assessment from hospital on the 7th August in Dumfries and Galloway.

These figures represent a snapshot and will vary on a daily basis as individuals are added to lists at point of assessment and are subsequently assigned care packages.

The Scottish Government knows that the sector faces challenges and is committed to working with all partners to improve social care support services and to delivering a National Care Service to provide high quality care across the country.

We have been engaging with NHS Grampian on these issues. The Scottish Government facilitated a visit involving Royal College of Emergency Medicine to NHS Grampian on 12 June this year to meet with staff and offer support. The visiting team subsequently made a number of recommendations that will support improvements. We will work closely with the board to support implementation.

We continue to work with NHS Grampian on delivery of their improvement plan, which contains a range of initiatives to support reduced waiting times. The Board have demonstrated progress against their improvement aims including increasing staffing levels to better manage the A&E footprint, increasing hospital at home capacity and reducing ambulance conveyance by strengthening alternative services which focus on A&E prevention.

27 of the 33 recommendations of the LGBTI Inclusive Education Working Group have been delivered. The LGBT Inclusive Education Implementation Group is continuing to work on the outstanding recommendations, with further delivery expected by the end of the current academic year.

A public consultation on the revised statutory guidance for relationships, sexual health and parenthood education was published on 3 August 2023 and closes on 23 November 2023. The consultation can be access through the Scottish Government's consultation portal at https://consult.gov.scot/learning-directorate/teaching-guidance-for-relationships-sexual-health . The guidance published in 2014 remains in force until the revised guidance is finalised and formally published.