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We are committed to ensuring the highest standards of animal welfare. Where lethal control of beavers is required to be undertaken, this must be carried out under licence by an authorised person who must have attended training in beaver ecology, the law, and best practice in beaver control as well as holding the appropriate firearms certificate. Furthermore, NatureScot now require carcasses from licensed control to be submitted for independent post mortem in order that aspects of beaver health and welfare can be monitored, other than in the exceptional circumstances where a carcass cannot safely be retrieved.

The latest available figures for the number of beavers killed are for the calendar year 2021. A summary of licence returns for 2021 is publicly available on the NatureScot website at https://www.nature.scot/doc/summary-beaver-populations-and-licence-returns-covering-period-1st-january-31st-december-2021 .

To summarise, during that period eighty seven beavers were killed under licence and thirty three animals were trapped and translocated from conflict areas to licensed projects. NatureScot intends to release the figures for 2022 as part of a Beaver Management Report planned for the end of May this year. We expect to see a further shift in the proportion of beavers being trapped and translocated as opposed to being lethally controlled.

The Scottish Government wants to ensure the quality, fairness and consistency of social care support provision regardless of where people live in Scotland. Framework guidance on National Eligibility Criteria and Waiting times for the Personal and Nursing Care of Older People was issued jointly by the Scottish Government and COSLA for use by local authorities on 28 September 2009.

Four eligibility categories - Critical, Substantial, Moderate and Low Risk are defined in the framework. In addition, the category of "No Risk" is used for people who are assessed as not coming under any of the four eligibility categories, and "Not available" is used when the eligibility category is not known. The eligibility criteria consider both the severity of the risks and the urgency for intervention to respond to the risks.

The national framework recognised that local authorities should set eligibility criteria that indicate what level of need they and their partners recognise as requiring services. In setting criteria, local authorities consider a range of factors including the overall level of resources available to meet need, the cost of service provision and ensuring equity in their service decisions. These criteria are not required by statute, but most local authorities have relied on them for the allocation of limited resources.

Eligibility criteria can be a barrier to accessing social care support. We want the focus to be on people getting the support they need when they need it, not on eligibility. The Scottish Government and COSLA are committed to "the overhaul of the current mechanism of eligibility criteria to ensure an approach to social care support that is based upon human rights and needs" (Joint Statement of Intent and Next Steps for Adult Social Care, December 2022), and are working together with partners and stakeholders on the development of alternative approaches.

Table 1 presents the latest available statistics on the total waiting list size for patients covered by the Treatment Time Guarantee (TTG) and the number of ongoing waits for treatment within an inpatient or day case setting at 31 December 2022, broken down by waiting times of over (a)two years (104 weeks), (b) two years and six months (130 weeks), and (c) three years (156 weeks) for an orthopaedic procedure.

Table 1 - Number of ongoing waits for an inpatient or day case admission for orthopaedics by length of wait in NHS Scotland, at 31 December 2022

The Scottish Government can investigate complex cases in relation to future broadband connections delivered through Scottish Government funded programmes such as the Reaching 100% (R100) programme. Through our online checker at www.scotlandsuperfast.com , members of the public are able to check if their property will receive a connection through the R100 contracts or if it is eligible for a voucher worth up to £5,000 through our R100 Scottish Broadband Voucher Scheme (SBVS). There is an online enquiry form to contact the R100 team directly for additional information.

In cases where members of the public have issues related to connections being delivered by commercial suppliers, it falls upon Ofcom as the UK’s telecoms regulator to investigate any such matters: https://www.ofcom.org.uk/about-ofcom/contact-us .

Attainment in literacy in Scotland’s schools remains strong. The 2021/22 Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence levels (ACEL) data demonstrates that approaches to COVID recovery in education are working.

Data on ACEL showed a record increase for 2021-22 in the proportion of primary school pupils achieving the expected levels of literacy. Comparing 2021/22 levels with 2020/21, primary literacy attainment was up 4 percentage points to 71%. In terms of the poverty related attainment gap, 2021-22 ACEL data also showed a record decrease in the gap between primary literacy levels, which are now more similar to pre-pandemic levels. 2022 exam results show a Higher English pass rate of 81.3% which represents an increase of 7.9 percentage points compared to 2019 when exams were last held. English is the most common subject at National 5 and Higher. In addition, the Policy Prospectus launched in April by the First Minister, includes a commitment to re-joining the Trends in International Mathematics and Science and Progress in International Reading Literacy studies. Participation in international surveys enables countries to share important information about their educational policies and practices and how these foster educational progress.

The Community Land Scotland Gaelic Development Officer post is the result of a partnership between Bòrd na Gidhlig and Community Land Scotland and independent from the Scottish Government. The project is being evaluated externally to the Bòrd and though originally expected to be completed in February there have been in delays experienced by researchers who had difficulty in reaching some consultees. The draft report will now be presented to Bòrd na Gidhlig’s Policy and Resources Committee at its meeting on 9 May 2023.

We understand that the Bòrd have offered to meet with you discuss the project.

As set out in the November 2022 update to the Additional Support for Learning Review Action Plan, the Scottish Government discussed with GTCS and SCDE the viability of a first teaching qualification in additional support for learning being available at the initial teacher education stage.

The conclusion of these discussions was that this type of qualification may not be considered attractive to those considering a career in teaching and that student teachers need to experience the full spectrum of school teaching during initial teacher education and probation before being in a position to make an informed judgement on specialising in additional support for learning.

The Scottish Government is working with the other UK administrations on reforms to the producer responsibility system for Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) to make it easier for consumers to recycle WEEE and incentivise producers to make more sustainable design choices. We will consult on these reforms in due course.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally.

sport scotland will write directly to Tess White MSP to provide the information requested.

Patients travelling outwith their local Health Board area for treatment at a National Treatment Centre (NTC) will be compensated for their travel expenses by their Board of Residence, in line with the process for other cross boundary patients.

Patients referred in the first instance will be expected to make their own way to the NTC. However, to ensure equity of access, where necessary - and by special arrangement between the NHS Board and the NTC - every effort should be made to support transport arrangements for patients who otherwise meet the referral criteria for treatment within an NTC facility. To support equity of access across patient groups, where NTC transport services are not available, alternative transport methods may be used (e.g. Hospital Ambulance Car Service, a volunteer service, ambulance or taxi). On all occasions the cost of transporting patients will be passed back to the purchaser (referring Board) for payment.

Patients should speak to their local health board about help with travel or accommodation costs to attend an appointment at an NTC and should follow the NHS Board travel expense policy requirements guidelines to make an expense claim.

In the specific case of NHS Grampian patients receiving treatment at NTC Highland:

Patient travel costs and the travel cost of a person accompanying them will be reimbursed. This is either at a cost per mile if they choose to drive or full reimbursement of public transport. If required by the patient, support can be provided by NHS Grampian’s Central Waiting Times Team to arrange transport on their behalf.

Accommodation is offered to the patient, and person accompanying the patient under reasonable circumstances, and would be arranged through NHS Grampian’s Central Waiting Times Team. Costs are either reimbursed to the patient or paid for directly by NHS Grampian (as is the case for Golden Jubilee Hospital).

Examples of reasonable circumstances

•if the appointment or admission time is early morning or late afternoon.

•if the patient requires an overnight or multiple nights’ stay at which point accommodation would be arranged for the person accompanying the patient.

•The patient or person accompanying them has medical conditions which would prevent travel to and back from location on same day.

If capacity at NTC Highland were to be allocated to other Boards outwith the local health board area, the responsibility for accommodation and transport would similarly fall upon the patient’s Board of Residence and be subject to that Boards’ procedures for cross-boundary patients.