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The Scottish Government does not publish local authority level data for the items requested.

Scottish Government does, however, publish related data on language learning and teaching at a national level. The table below provides a summary of data from the biennial 1+2 languages survey, summarising provision of language teaching for the first additional language (known as “L2”) and the second additional language (known as “L3”) in 2019, 2021 and 2023.

Delivery of the health and social care app for Scotland is being taken forward by NHS Education Scotland (NES) as part of the wider Digital Front Door programme. The majority of costs to date have been on mobilising the team required and developing the Outline Business Case. NHS NES staff have participated in the Civtech Challenge, which has allowed NES to understand what is required to develop the app in a way that integrates into Scottish Government plans to digitise postal communications. More information about this can be found at: https://www.civtech.scot/civtech-9-challenge-8-secure-individualised-and-effective-communications-channel.

In August 2024, I published refreshed guidance to schools on the use of mobile phones, as part of the joint action plan to respond to the Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research.

This guidance was developed in collaboration with the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools (SAGRABIS). All members of SAGRABIS were involved in discussions about the content of the guidance and agreed to its publication. Members of SAGRABIS include School Leaders Scotland (SLS), the Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS), NASUWT, Scottish Secondary Teachers Association (SSTA), the Association of Head Teachers and Deputes in Scotland (AHDS), and UNISON. Other members of SAGRABIS include COSLA, the Association of Directors of Education (ADES), the Scottish Council of Deans of Education (SCDE), the Association of Scottish Principal Educational Psychologists (ASPEP), parents’ representatives and respectme.

To avoid accusations of bias or undue influence in planning and consenting decisions, Minsters cannot undertake any discussions with developers or objectors about the merits or otherwise of forthcoming, or live applications.

Ministers may of course undertake meetings with companies, as part of everyday Scottish Government business. However, these meetings do not contain conversations about specific planning applications and are properly recorded to ensure full transparency.

The online app for health and social care, which is part of our ‘digital front door’ programme, will initially be available to a small cohort of people in Lanarkshire from December 2025. Whilst work continues on preparing for that initial release, we are simultaneously engaging with Health Boards and COSLA to develop the rollout approach beyond Lanarkshire. It is our intention to set this out in more detail from Summer 2025.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on maintenance costs for imaging equipment held by NHS Boards. As holding bodies, NHS Boards are responsible for the management of their infrastructure assets and for identifying maintenance requirements. Maintenance costs are usually met from Boards’ delegated budgets.

The Scottish Government does not collect information on the age profile of scanning equipment held by NHS Boards. As holding bodies, NHS Boards are responsible for the management of their infrastructure assets and for identifying maintenance and replacement requirements.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. This would need to be requested from the NHS Boards directly. It is for NHS Boards to ensure best use of available resources to support service delivery whilst prioritising patient safety and care.

The Scottish Hospitals Inquiry was established in 2020, to investigate planning, design, construction and maintenance of both the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital/ Royal Hospital for Children (QEUH/RHC) and the Royal Hospital for Children and Young People/Department of Clinical Neurosciences (RHCYP/DCN). To that end, the Inquiry recently concluded 12 weeks of hearings into the QEUH/RHC’s built environment and the potential causal links to hospital acquired infections.

The evidence which was presented and heard at the recent hearing has been published by the Inquiry and is available on the Inquiry’s website (https://www.hospitalsinquiry.scot/).

In Counsel to the Inquiry’s closing statement, concerns were raised regarding the recommended guidelines for ventilation at the QEUH/RHC.

Lord Brodie has made it clear that the Scottish Hospitals Inquiry is on-going and therefore no conclusions should be taken from submissions to the Inquiry at this stage. Further oral hearings into the QEUH/RHC are scheduled for later this year.

Like all hospital sites, there is a comprehensive system of clinical oversight and patient safety monitoring at the QEUH/RHC. There has been no information reported through our robust governance arrangements which questions the safety of the hospital.

In addition, there have been no healthcare associated infection incidents reported to Scottish Government in the last 12 months relating to concerns on ventilation control.

To provide additional assurance, I have written to Healthcare Improvement Scotland (HIS) to undertake a formal review of the action plan arising from their Infection Prevention and Control inspection in 2022; to check the progress made against the recommendations and requirements.

The information requested on how many consultants specialising in endometriosis there are, broken down by NHS board is not centrally held.