Seòmar agus comataidhean

Scottish Government engaged extensively with UK Government regarding the development and implementation of their policy to remove the VAT exemption for independent school fees, emphasising the distinctive nature of the Scottish independent school sector.

Since 2018 732 bursaries have been awarded to individuals who may not otherwise have applied for teacher training in STEM and modern language subjects.

The bursary scheme has been effective in increasing the number of teachers teaching in these hard-to-fill subjects.

The Scottish Government is committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders across the public, third, and independent sectors to support individuals affected by hearing loss and cognitive decline.

The Scottish Government’s 2023 Dementia Strategy for Scotland was developed in collaboration with people with sensory loss including from the deaf community, and commits to improving people's experience through timely diagnosis, access to high-quality support and how we can communicate risk factors around cognitive decline and dementia. Since 2020, the Scottish Government has invested around £1.5m to:

• Support the establishment of Brain Health Scotland to promote brain health and dementia risk awareness (in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland)
• Develop and evaluate a Brain Health Service & Clinic test site in Aberdeen, to learn about what such a service can contribute to people's health and wellbeing.

As part of our commitments to deliver the national Dementia Strategy, we will publish an independent evaluation of the Brain Health Service & Clinic test site this year, as well as establish a working group across Scottish Government focused on understanding the implications of the test site, and brain health overall, for how we provide health and social care.

Scottish Government continues to work with local authorities and the independent sector to understand the impact of the UK Government policy on Scottish schools to date. Scottish Ministers have received assurance from local authorities that they have the capacity to support increased school rolls.

The distribution methodology for calculating the block grant is agreed with local authorities and is informed by a number of indicators, including pupil numbers from the latest annual school census.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37115 on 6 May 2025. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37115 on 6 May 2025. 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.

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.