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Information on the deferral rate for disabled students entering Higher Education is not held by the Scottish Government.

UCAS collect and publish information each year on the number of applicants, applications and acceptances for UK providers. As part of their releases, UCAS publish the number of acceptances who defer entry to a later year split by Domicile, Age and Gender, in their interactive dashboard. Deferral rates for those with a Disability Declared are not included.

UCAS Undergraduate end of cycle data resources 2022 | Undergraduate | UCAS

UCAS do publish the number of acceptances with a Disability Declared overall. This shows in the 2022 cycle, there were 6,535 Scottish domiciled acceptances with a Disability Declared, 17.5% of all Scottish domiciled acceptances.

I refer the member to the answer to the question S6W-15375 on 10 March 2023. 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 .

Social Security Scotland routinely produces information at application level and not by household type, such as on behalf of couples or individuals.

Information relating to applications received for benefits is routinely published by Social Security Scotland as part of Official Statistics releases and includes both monthly and financial year breakdowns of data.

These statistics are available at https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/about/statistics/social-security-scotland-statistics-publications .

Social Security Scotland works to progress applications as quickly as possible.

Decisions for the majority of people who applied for Scottish Child Payment, or added additional children to their award, between 14 November and 31 December 2022 have now been issued and this will be reported on in the next round of statistics. As previously announced, all successful awards will be backdated to the date that the application was received.

Around 143,000 school age children benefitted from the Winter 2022 Bridging Payment of £260, with over £37.1 million of payments awarded to families. We do not hold information on the number of people who applied for Scottish Child Payment who also received Bridging Payments.

The latest available information on new applications for Scottish Child Payment is contained in the most recent official statistics release, covering the period to 31 December 2022 - https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/scottish-child-payment-high-level-statistics-to-31-december-2022 .

Social Security Scotland received 91,225 new applications for Scottish Child Payment between 14 November and 31 December 2022. This does not include applications from existing clients looking to add additional children to their current award.

The majority of people who applied or added additional children to their existing award during this period have now received a decision. People who made new applications and received an award decision received their payment by the end of February. For people who were adding additional children, payments will follow their existing payment cycle.

Where someone applied for Scottish Child Payment before 31 December 2022 and has not received a decision, this is because additional information or evidence is required to process their application. Social Security Scotland has been in contact with everyone in this situation.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people living in Scotland with long term conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis are able to access the best possible care and support.

The Scottish Government is working to ensure an overarching approach for advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) is in place in order to facilitate a ‘once for Scotland’ approach, where possible. We recognise that there are wide-ranging implications and challenges for the managed introduction of these personalised medicines, and are committed to adopting a co-ordinated approach where practical. We are working across Government to develop our understanding of the future direction for this area of medicines policy, including associated genomic testing and service planning implications for the NHS.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15269 on 8 March 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website .

The global pandemic was the biggest shock our NHS has faced in its 74 year existence. Our NHS Recovery Plan published on 25 August 2021 invests £1 billion of targeted funding over five years to increase NHS capacity, deliver reform, and ensure everyone has the treatment they need at the right time, in the right place, and as quickly as possible.

In Scotland, the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) appraises the clinical and cost-effectiveness of newly-licensed medicines. Following receipt of a submission from the manufacturer, the SMC carries out an appraisal of the medicine and then determines whether it should be accepted for routine use within the NHS in Scotland. The SMC appraisal is undertaken independently of Scottish Ministers and is based on the clinical and cost-effectiveness of the medicine at a population level. Following the appraisal process, the SMC publishes advice for NHS Scotland Health Boards to consider. The decision to prescribe a medicine for a patient, and which medicine to prescribe, is entirely for the clinician in charge of a patient’s care, having taken into account the patient’s clinical condition and any relevant clinical guidance.

The Scottish Government expects health care professionals to deliver high quality person-centred care in line with best practice guidance. The NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) guideline on management of rheumatoid arthritis in adults (NG100) is available on its website: www.nice.org.uk. The Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network (SIGN) guideline on management of psoriatic arthritis in adults (SIGN 121) is available on its website: www.sign.ac.uk.