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It is the primary duty of Integration Joint Boards (IJB’s) to strategically plan the delivery of integrated adult health and social care provision in a local authority area. This duty will include the gathering of information regarding the impact of local decision making. Therefore, the Scottish Government does not collect or hold this information centrally.

Our national guidance on mobile phones in Scotland’s schools sets out the considerations schools and education authorities should give to respectful and responsible use of mobile phone policies. While the guidance is clear that headteachers can ban mobile phones if they think this is the appropriate approach for their school environment, the guidance takes a broader approach to identifying the features that should comprise a respectful and responsible use of mobile technology policy. This includes digital etiquette (standards of conduct when using mobile phones); digital rights and responsibilities (what individuals can and cannot do); and safe and secure use of mobile technology (precautions that can be taken to ensure digital safety).

Supporting children and young people to use mobile phones respectfully and responsibly is a key element of preparing them to be responsible citizens, successful learners, confident individuals and effective contributors. The Scottish Government wants children and young people to be protected, safe and supported in the online world and for them to be able to enjoy the internet, show resilience and take advantage of the opportunities it has to offer. We are committed to making sure child internet safety is properly recognised in Scottish education and wider child protection policies.

Education Scotland published Experiences and Outcomes for the Technologies area of the Curriculum including internet safety and cyber resilience. There are clear links between internet safety and Personal and Social Education/health and wellbeing and these statements will help teachers to know what to teach. Children and young people will learn about the safe and responsible use of different technologies, including the internet and social media, as part of their broad general education under Curriculum for Excellence.

The salary and pay range of a Chief Executive should be within the pay bands in the Scottish Chief Executive Framework (as detailed in the Chief Executive Pay Policy). This is to ensure consistency and fairness between the remuneration of Chief Executives in public bodies covered by the Pay Policy, and senior staff employed in Scottish Government Agencies and associated departments, who are civil servants (and members of the Senior Civil Service).

For local government employees, pay and other employment matters are delegated to local authorities. The Scottish Government and COSLA have committed to respect this arrangement as part of the Verity House Agreement.

For Senior Civil Servants, pay is reserved.

The retention or otherwise of Crown immunity from prosecution under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974 is a reserved matter for the UK Government. The Scottish Government is committed to working with the UK Government on the removal of corporate Crown immunity from prosecution, under the Health and Safety at Work etc. Act 1974.

I recently wrote to the Secretary of State for Justice asking to meeting, with this being one of the several agenda items for discussion. The Secretary of State for Justice has now responded and a meeting will be held in due course.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

HMP Shotts was fully redeveloped and completed during 2013-14 at a cost of £93.1m. The establishment remains a valuable part of the SPS estate and delivers consistently high levels of care and support for those individuals who live there.

The land of the former prison site, which sits to the west of the current establishment, remains operational and is partly used for photovoltaic panels, reducing the establishment’s energy use.

SPS is currently in the process of assessing the future use of this area which includes methods to achieve a climate change journey to zero-direct emissions.

Dallachy Airfield is currently owned and managed by Crown Estate Scotland rather than the Scottish Government. Currently, there are a number of commercial leases in place at the site.

Crown Estate Scotland has submitted a Call for Ideas representation to Moray Council Planning Department for the airfield to be allocated as Industrial and Green Energy development land, as part of the Moray Local Development Plan 2027.

The Scottish Government are checking and reviewing the ownership details used for this site as it appears on the Vacant and Derelict Land Register and will update the register with any changes in due course.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) reports that the 2024-25 flu season in Scotland had the highest number of flu cases reported in recent years. Flu case numbers reached their highest levels between week 50 of 2024 and week 1 of 2025, and remained high in weeks 2 and 3 of 2025 as well. England, Wales and Northern Ireland also reported peak levels of infection around December 2024. While flu cases often rise over the festive period, this sustained high level of infection in the community was unusual compared to previous seasons.

As expected with the high levels of flu circulating during the early part of the winter season, proportionate numbers of flu-related hospital admissions followed in late December and early January, with deaths rising briefly thereafter. Epidemiological information on respiratory infection activity across Scotland can be found here.

PHS are currently undertaking a series of analyses of the flu season, including mortality rates.

Whilst high numbers of flu cases were reported over the winter season, there was no evidence to suggest that this season's flu caused more severe illness than in previous years or led to unexpectedly high rates of hospitalisation or a proportionally greater number of deaths.

A recent Eurosurveillance paper analysing the 2024-25 season, along with interim vaccine effectiveness (VE) data from the UK and Europe and including Scotland’s hospital data, showed that flu vaccines provided similar levels of protection against severe influenza disease in hospital settings as in previous years. VE against influenza A in hospitals ranged from 33% to 56%, and VE against influenza B was higher at 58%.

PHS continues to analyse data from the current and historical seasons to understand whether particular groups are more at risk for severe outcomes, with the goal of ensuring that appropriate public health action is taken as warranted.

In order to protect people and the NHS this coming winter it will be critical to maximise uptake across all eligible groups. The Scottish Government urges all those who are eligible to come forward in winter 2025 to receive their flu vaccine. We will continue to work with PHS and other partners within the Scottish Vaccination and Immunisation Programme to look at ways to improve uptake across the board.

The Scottish Government does not collate data on the number of people who have cited ADHD as part of their defence.

Having ADHD would not amount to a defence in law to a criminal charge, though it might be something a defence solicitor presents in mitigation on behalf of a client with ADHD.

The information held on the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Services (SCTS) live operational case management systems is structured to support the processing of court business, rather than for statistical reporting or research purposes. SCTS and their staff provide administrative support to the Scottish courts, tribunals and their judiciary and rely on information provided by justice partners to consider any adjustment that may be required to facilitate a court hearing.

Information on the number of violent incidents involving pupils is not held centrally.

Some information is available on physical assaults have either resulted in, or contributed to, the exclusion of a pupil. The latest data available is for school year 2022-23.

Table 1 shows those exclusions from school in 2022-23 which included the reasons of physical assault. It should be noted that each exclusion can include more than one reason.

Table 1: Reasons for exclusion from school, 2022-23

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all young people have access to education and the opportunity to fulfil their potential. Schools and Local Authorities are responsible for admissions to school and therefore can allow pupils to rejoin school if there are sufficient places available on a case-by-case basis.

We continue to work closely with education authorities to ensure that young people have the opportunity to undertake the learner pathway that best matches their abilities and aspirations. We keep all aspects of education policy under review to better support young people’s engagement with education.