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The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is a top priority for the Scottish Government.

We continue to provide £16 million per year to enable local authorities to support access to school counselling services for pupils aged 10 and over. Local authorities provide annual reports to the Scottish Government which show the overall picture on improving children and young people’s outcomes is positive. Whilst the reports do not focus specifically on capturing data on school absences, local authorities may hold this information.

The Scottish Government publishes national data on attendance annually through the Summary Statistics for Schools in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is aware of the reports indicating that the cost of publicly funded care home beds in Scotland is higher than in England. This disparity is likely to be influenced by several factors, including differences in service models, staffing levels, and the geographical distribution of care facilities.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.

Scotland does not have a mandatory curriculum. Instead, Curriculum for Excellence is a flexible framework for teachers to determine what they wish to teach and how, including providing learning and teaching about the Holocaust.

The Curriculum Improvement Cycle will begin the review of Social Studies this academic year, where all aspects of the social studies curriculum will be reviewed. Practitioners will play a central role in this process.

Scottish Government intends to provide estimates of the costs and benefits of the policies and proposals in the draft Climate Change Plan when that is published later this year. Information on the expected distribution of costs may not be available for all policies and proposals at the time of CCP publication but will be provided through the normal processes (impact assessments, financial memoranda) as the policies and proposals are developed and introduced over the coming years.

The Scottish Government understands concerns regarding the withholding of cost information for publicly funded care home places under claims of commercial confidentiality. While commercial interests are protected under the Freedom of Information (Scotland) Act 2002 (FOISA), such exemptions are subject to a public interest test. While respecting legitimate commercial interests, the Scottish Government encourages public authorities and care providers to adopt best practices in information sharing

More than £1bn will be provided through the Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF) to tackle the poverty-related attainment gap during this parliamentary term. Headteachers and education authorities are free to decide to use this funding to provide additional tutoring support.

Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all young people have the opportunity to develop core STEM skills and knowledge, which is why tackling inequity within STEM learning and careers is at the heart of our STEM Education and Training Strategy. Through the Curriculum Improvement Cycle, we have established a systematic approach to curriculum improvement which will help to ensure that STEM subjects are attractive and accessible to all learners.

Specialist STEM programmes for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds are currently being delivered across Scotland. These include SSERC’s Research Placements Programme, funded by a range of partners, which provides S5 pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds the opportunity to undertake online modules to develop their professional skills, followed by a two-week STEM research placement.

In addition, Strathclyde University run an Engineering Scholars Programme open to senior phase pupils from under-represented groups who are interested in studying Engineering at university. The opportunity includes a scholarship package featuring personal or small group tutoring.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 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

Since 2009, the Scottish Government has provided almost £3.3 million to support the Holocaust Educational Trust’s Lessons from Auschwitz programme.

The programme promotes and embeds learning about and remembrance of the Holocaust. Since 2009, 5,595 Scottish students have participated in the project as well as 660 Scottish teachers.

395 schools or 76% of all eligible schools from across Scotland’s 32 local authorities have participated.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37086 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