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This information is not held by Scottish Government. The Scottish Government published updated national-guidance-child-protection-scotland-2021-updated-2023.pdf in 2023, which includes practitioner guidance on raising child protection concerns and outlines that health visitors have a professional duty to raise concerns when they consider a child is at risk of, or experiencing, significant harm.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a strong and sustainable construction skills pipeline through the Modern Apprenticeship (MA) programme, delivered in partnership with Skills Development Scotland (SDS) and the Construction Industry Training Board (CITB).

Modern apprenticeships in construction continue to be delivered across a wide range of occupational areas, and full details are available on the Skills Development Scotland website here: https://www.apprenticeships.scot/browse-frameworks/?frameworkAudience=Individual&searchTerm=&apprenticeshipType=ma#letterC. These frameworks have been developed and maintained through close collaboration with industry to meet the sector’s diverse needs. Construction and related occupations accounted for 25.6% of all MA starts in 2024-25.

The Scottish Government recognises the potential of the shared apprenticeship model to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that may lack the capacity to employ an apprentice independently. Officials will continue to explore this model alongside other measures which may enable more SMEs to take on apprentices.

A key priority for the Scottish Government is also to promote apprenticeship delivery in island and rural communities, reflecting it's commitment to inclusive growth. To ensure equitable access to apprenticeships, particularly in remote and rural areas, the Scottish Government has introduced a rural uplift: an enhanced payment to training providers that incentivises delivery in these locations. This additional support enables providers to develop and deliver flexible, locally tailored apprenticeship programmes that meet the needs of learners and employers in these communities.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

Public Health Scotland (PHS), as Scotland’s national public health body for the purpose of intelligence and analysis, is responsible for sourcing waiting times data from hospital administrative systems.

PHS publish regular statistics relating to the length of time patients wait to be seen as a new outpatient or admitted for treatment as an inpatient or day case. This data can be used to identify the volume of long waits and the median waiting time by the specialty of treatment, including ophthalmology. The latest publication can be found here: Stage of treatment waiting times - Inpatients, day cases and new outpatients quarter ending 30 June 2025 - NHS waiting times - stage of treatment - Publications - Public Health Scotland.

The Scottish Government, along with our tourism agency VisitScotland, acknowledges the significance of adventure tourism. VisitScotland has teams strategically located throughout rural Scotland that are instrumental in collaborating with regional stakeholders to identify local needs and opportunities.

Scotland has an enviable global reputation as a major events powerhouse. Across the country our iconic venues and picture-perfect backdrops play host to world-leading cultural, business and sporting events all year round.

The Scottish Government recognises the potential of the shared apprenticeship model to support small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) that may lack the capacity to employ an apprentice independently. Officials will continue to explore this model alongside other measures which may enable more SMEs to take on apprentices.

A key priority for the Scottish Government is also to promote apprenticeship delivery in island and rural communities, reflecting its commitment to inclusive growth. To ensure equitable access, particularly in remote and rural areas, the Government has introduced a rural uplift: an enhanced payment to training providers that incentivises delivery in these locations. This additional support enables providers to develop and deliver flexible, locally tailored apprenticeship programmes that meet the needs of learners and employers in these communities.

The Scottish Government has had no recent discussions with the UK Government about rescheduling ayahuasca which contains dimethyltryptamine, classified as a class A drug under the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

Our work with NHS Scotland to optimise the use of evidence supported technology to detect and manage the risk factors associated with heart attacks and strokes includes;

• Investing £1.9 million (2026-28) to support the use of Ambulatory ECG patch monitors, potentially preventing nearly 700 strokes over five years.
• The Connect Me remote monitoring and self-management service has helped around 120,000 people self-manage their hypertension, including over 19,000 in the past year.
• Committing £4.5 million (2025-28) to a national diabetes programme, offering intensive weight management support to 3,000 more people with newly or recently diagnosed type 2 diabetes in Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Local authorities are responsible for paying foster carers’ allowances and may choose to pay above the Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA).

It is not possible to determine the number of prescription items dispensed by community pharmacies at weekends, since 1999, using existing data.

The annual Dispenser Payments and Prescription Cost Analysis publication, managed by Public Health Scotland, provides information on the total number and cost of NHS prescriptions items dispensed in the community in Scotland. The most recent publication shows that 117 million items were dispensed in primary care settings for the financial year 2024-25. The most recent publication can be found online at Dispenser Payments and Prescription Cost Analysis - Prescribing data - System monitoring, accountability and quality of care - Healthcare system - Public Health Scotland.

The Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) is the body responsible for issuing guidance to and ensuring compliance by public bodies in this matter as it is the statutory regulator and enforcer of the Equality Act 2010. The Scottish Government has consistently supported the view that public bodies must comply with the law, and has actively encouraged them to take any necessary steps to do so since the Supreme Court’s judgment.

We wrote to the UK Government on 4 September, requesting sight of the revised Code of Practice sent to them by the EHRC, which we have not yet seen. We will continue to engage with the UK Government to seek urgent clarity on the timeline for the Code’s approval and laying before the UK Parliament. While we acknowledge the time that was needed by the EHRC, to analyse the public consultation responses and revise the Code before they sent it to the UK Government for approval, it is essential that clear, authoritative guidance is now provided to all those operating in this complex legal area.