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The Solicitor General provided full and detailed answers in response to the questions asked of her regarding the system of fatal accident inquiries in Scotland. As the Solicitor General indicated, either she or the Lord Advocate would be willing to make a statement to Parliament should the need arise. No such statement is planned at the current time.

The Scottish Government has no record of receiving representations from IndustriALL Global Union or IndustriALL Europe Union regarding Liberty Steel’s operations.

As I set out in my statement to Parliament on 30 May 2024, the Scottish Government has no locus to intervene in the current dispute; it is for college management and trade unions to negotiate pay and terms and conditions. We continue to urge the employers and EIS-FELA to work collaboratively to find a fair and affordable settlement, in order to bring the current dispute to an end as a matter of priority.

I have made clear to college management that I expect colleges to do everything within their power to ensure students are not adversely impacted by industrial action.

A pay deal between the college employers and support staff trade unions was agreed on 31 May 2024.

Negotiations between the employers and EIS-FELA in regards to a pay deal for lecturers remains ongoing. The National Joint Negotiating Committee will meet again on 21 June 2024. I continue to urge the employers and EIS-FELA to work collaboratively to agree a fair and affordable settlement, in order to bring an end to this dispute as a matter of priority.

As we set out in our Programme for Government, we will work with COSLA to prepare schools and infrastructure for the expansion of universal free school meal provision to Primary 6 and Primary 7 pupils. The next phase of our expansion will be to pupils in Primary 6 & 7 in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, and will be rolled out from February 2025.

Discussions are ongoing with local government about the establishment of an education assurance board to oversee Scottish education and help deliver the best educational outcomes for our children and young people. The board will form part of the wider assurance and accountability arrangements under the Verity House Agreement with local government.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving support services for children and young people with cancer. Last year we provided recurring funding for the existing dedicated psychologists for children and young people with cancer.

A review of further psychological support services in Scotland is currently being carried out by the Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer and the Scottish Government remains engaged with this.

The British Medical Association has used data from the latest General Practice Workforce Survey , published by NHS Education Scotland in December 2023, which collects data on vacancies throughout the year. This report notes data quality concerns over vacancy status and advises caution when referring to vacancy rates published from the survey, which are likely an overestimation. It further suggests that the particularly high vacancy rates for island boards are unlikely to be an accurate reflection of the current staffing situation.

Improving recruitment and retention of GPs and other doctors is vital in all localities, including rural and island areas. The Scottish Government provides a range of supports to the GP workforce, including a rural specific graduate entry medical degree (ScotGEM), Golden Hello payments for harder to fill posts mostly in remote and rural areas, as well as bursaries for GP Speciality Training aimed at attracting GPs to work in rural Scotland. NHS Education for Scotland (NES) also provide a Rural GP Fellowship for those interested in working in general practice in rural and island Boards.

The Scottish Government funds the National Centre for Remote and Rural Health and Care which focuses on recruitment and retention, education and training, research and evaluation, leadership and good practice.

We will publish a Remote and Rural Workforce Recruitment Strategy by the end of 2024.

The first £5m of the £15m Enterprise Package was announced on 20 May. Exact details and criteria for the interventions are still being developed and are yet to be confirmed. Further details about the allocation of this initial £5m will be provided in due course.

While local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teachers, the Scottish Government is committed to maximising the number of jobs available in a range of subjects, including computing science.

The Teaching Bursary Scheme offers a £20,000 payment to career changers who are looking to undertake graduate teacher training in hard-to-fill STEM subjects, including computing science.

In addition, the Strategic Board for Teacher Education is considering issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland in detail, together with work to improving the promotion of teaching as a valued career.

We are also offering local authorities £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers more widely.