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The number of children who have been fostered has been collected centrally since 2008-09. The following table shows the number of looked after children who have been placed with foster carers, in each year since the data first became available. Data on the number of adoptions is taken from statistics published by National Records of Scotland.

Data from Public Health Scotland shows the number of (a) children and (b) adults presenting with self-harming issues within Scottish NHS acute hospitals in each year from 2007 to 2020, broken down by calendar year of admission (inpatient data only). Figures for 2021 cannot be provided at this time.

Notes :

• The recording of data does not allow for a breakdown between NHS boards.
• There are some quality issues with this data set due to the recording of self-harm in Acute inpatient settings.
• Figures on self-harm presentations in Accident & Emergency departments, psychiatric inpatient hospitals and outpatients settings cannot be published at this time, due to data quality issues.
• Many people with self-harm related injuries are not treated as Acute inpatients, or do not present to NHS hospitals. Therefore, the data provided will likely be an undercount of self-harm related injuries in the period 2007-2020

The Scottish Government is actively working with partners to develop Scotland’s approach to self-harm; a commitment in the Mental Health Transition & Recovery Plan. We recognise self harm behaviour is complex and often reflects underlying emotional distress. We commissioned Samaritans Scotland to undertake research in 2020 which resulted in the publication of ‘Hidden too long: uncovering self-harm in Scotland’ ( https://media.samaritans.org/documents/HiddenTooLong_uncoveringself-harminScotland.pdf ). Building on that research, our engagement with partners and people with lived experience will allow us to better understand the prevalence and nature of self-harm (and associated data requirements). Crucially, it will inform our approach to ensuring compassionate responses which effectively support individuals and families.

The Programme Business Case which was published in February 2020 provides a full breakdown of implementation costs each year since Social Security Scotland was established. The link to the Executive Summary of the PBC can be found at the following link: https://www.gov.scot/publications/social-security-programme-business-case-executive-summary/ .

Information on the numbers of people employed by Social Security Scotland is published quarterly and can be accessed using the following link:

Social Security Scotland - Social Security Scotland Workforce Information to March 2021 .

Social Security Scotland routinely publish information as part of the quarterly Official Statistics release ‘Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods’. This includes information on the number of applications authorised for payment and the value of payments issued in each local authority area.

Information on Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods was last published on the 27th July 2021 and provided information up to the 31st May 2021. This publication is available from:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/best-start-grant-and-best-start-foods-high-level-statistics-to-31-may-2021/

I am meeting with the industry on a weekly basis to address the supply chain issues, which are due to a number of factors including the COVID-19 pandemic and EU Exit.

Data from the fortnightly Business Insights and Conditions Survey (BICS) provides us with an insight into the impact on the construction industry in Scotland, for example:

• In Wave 34 of the survey (covering the period 28 June 2021 to 11 July 2021), 59.6% of Construction businesses reported that the prices of materials, goods or services bought in the last two weeks had increased by more than normal price fluctuations. The proportion of Construction businesses reporting that prices had increased more than normal has been rising since April 2021 (32.7% in Wave 29).
• In Wave 33 of the survey (covering the period 14 June 2021 to 27 June 2021), 50.1% of applicable Construction businesses reported that they were able to get the materials, goods or services they needed from the EU in the past two weeks, but 36.6% reported that the business had to change suppliers or find alternative solutions, and a further 13.3% reported that they had not been able to get the materials, goods or services needed. The proportion of Construction businesses reporting that they had been able to access materials has been declining since April 2021 (83.0% in Wave 29), and Construction businesses reporting that they had not been able to access materials has increased since April 2021 (8.1% in Wave 29).

The latest data from the Scottish Government analysis of the BICS is available at: BICS weighted Scotland estimates: data to wave 34 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally on how many people have been referred by their GP to mental health services.

Public Health Scotland have provided the following table information showing the number of mental health inpatients referred by their GP for the calendar years 2016 to 2020, broken down by year of admission and NHS board of treatment. This information will not show referrals to non-statutory mental health services which routinely are not recorded. Patients will be counted multiple times if they have been admitted within the same board in different years, or different boards in the same year, or both. Complete figures for 2021 cannot yet be provided.

The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested. All information on prescribed and dispensed items are published, and categorised by British National Formulary chapter, in both monthly open data files and as part of the annual Dispenser Payments and Prescription Cost Analysis which was released on 29 September 2020. Public Health Scotland published data does not provide details on reason for prescribing a specific medicine.

The General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) is the independent, regulatory body for the teaching profession and are responsible for the accreditation and approval of all Initial Teacher Education (ITE) programmes. They will only approve programmes which meet the requirements in their Guidelines for Accreditation of ITE Programmes. The Framework specifically asks how student teachers are supported to develop an understanding of a range of pedagogy approaches in a number of key areas. One of the key areas is health and wellbeing education.

ITE providers regularly meet to discuss the quality of their provision and, on 8 June, held a symposium covering health and wellbeing. The learning from this symposium will inform future revisions to programmes.

We are currently working with Public Health Scotland and Health Boards to plan for the 2021-22 Seasonal Flu Vaccination Programme for the autumn. We welcome the interim advice from the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation who have indicated that where possible, a COVID-19 vaccination booster programme could run in parallel with the flu vaccination programme. We are working closely with partners to plan for the coming season, and will align both programmes with these recommendations, and any future JCVI advice.