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The Scottish Government understand the importance of sport and physical activity and the positive impact that it has, not only on physical, mental, and social health, but also on wider social outcomes.

We are committed to ensuring that all children in primary schools receive at least two hours of physical education each school week, and all young people in secondaries 1 to 4 receive at least two 50-minute periods of physical education each school week. Local authorities and individual schools also have the flexibility, under Curriculum for Excellence, to decide upon the content of their own lessons at the local level, since we believe they are best placed to understand the needs and circumstances of the children and young people in attendance.

Alongside opportunities to be physically active in physical education, sportscotland works in partnership with all 32 local authorities to invest in and support Active Schools. Active Schools is dedicated to developing and supporting the delivery of high quality sport and physical activity opportunities to all children and young people, taking an inclusive approach and providing targeted opportunities where there is a need. Data published by sportscotland shows significantly increased participation levels across the past academic year (2022-23), with 4.6 million visits to Active Schools sessions, a rise of 34% on 2021/22.

We have committed to ensure that the Active Schools programme is free for all children and young people by the end of this Parliament.

In addition we are funding the Active Play Development Project which provides children with the opportunity to develop physical skills in their early years and to encourage a long-term, positive relationship with physical activity. The programme targets areas of disadvantage and will support more children from areas of higher deprivation, to develop the skills and confidence to enjoy being more physically active.

While Scottish Government is responsible for the strategic direction of the NHS, territorial Health Boards are responsible for delivering services in their areas, and providing appropriate community spaces for midwives and allied health professionals.

Community-based maternity services should have access to appropriate accommodation to provide face to face appointments. ‘The Best Start: a Five Year forward Plan for maternity and neonatal care’ outlines the expectation that Boards provide routine care and maternity services through Community Hubs.

We are also supporting development of primary care multi-disciplinary teams (MDT), including allied health professionals, with investment of £190 million in 2023-24 through the Primary Care Improvement Fund.

Integrated Authorities must work closely with local communities and other stakeholders to ensure that Primary Care Improvement Plans address specific local challenges and population need.

While making significant progress in these reforms, we recognise that implementation gaps remain, including around accommodation barriers.

We are now also introducing an additional ‘phased investment programme’ working with a small number of areas to demonstrate what a model MDT can look like in practice. The findings from this programme will build understanding of the national context for further implementation and inform future long-term Scottish Government investment.

The We Make Music schools initiative is led by the Music Education Partnership Group, which is an independent charity and network of music-based organisations.

Information on the We Make Music school initiative and progress with the programme is available via the MEPG website at: https://wemakemusicscotland.org/ or by contacting the Music Education Partnership Group at the following email address which is also available via their website: mae.murray@mepgscotland.org

The Music Education Partnership Group had a joint meeting with myself and the Minister for Culture, Europe And International Development on 29 June 2023.

This was an introductory meeting and covered school and community music in Scotland, the various MEPG initiatives including the “We Make Music” initiatives, recent MEPG engagement with research on music learning and an update on a MEPG paper on the Vision for Scotland’s music industry.

Scottish Government officials liaise with MEPG and a range of music education partners on an ongoing basis.

Scottish Government officials met with NHS Scotland Board Chief Executives on 12 December where they discussed medical locum staffing as one of their priority actions. This follows detailed engagement with Boards regarding the arrangements currently in place for contracting agency staffing, the outputs of which are being used to inform targeted improvement activity in this area.

The Scottish Government keeps the eligibility criteria for free school meals under regular review to take account of any developments which may impact upon it. The eligibility criteria was last amended in April 2023. We notify local authorities whenever any changes are made to the eligibility criteria to enable them to invite fresh applications for free school meals under the new criteria.

We are currently reviewing the existing eligibility criteria for free school meals in light of the latest increases to the National Living Wage, which were announced by the UK Government on 21 November 2023.

I refer the member to question S6W-24236 answered on 8 January 2024. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

All children and young people should receive the support that they need to reach their full potential. Local authorities are under a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs. This includes support arising from a neurodivergence.

The Scottish Government funds the National Autism Implementation Team to produce materials to support professional learning and development for those working with children and young people with autism. This includes content for all Initial Teacher Education courses on autism and how to support autistic pupils, the provision of autism and inclusive practice resources and the Autism Toolbox , which is available for all school staff.

The Scottish Government also funds Dyslexia Scotland to produce materials and professional learning opportunities for those working with children and young people with dyslexia. This includes the Addressing Dyslexia Toolkit and free online professional learning modules on dyslexia and inclusive practice and a GTC Scotland accredited professional recognition programme.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the educational experiences of children and young people with additional support needs. Ministers will work with teachers and support staff to provide additional professional learning opportunities while seeking to build on the Additional Support for Learning Action Plan.

In December 2023, we launched our public consultation for the Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill. The consultation runs until 21 April, and we are encouraging as many people and organisations as possible to take part.

In line with The Scottish Government’s commitment to co-design the Centre for Teaching Excellence, The Scottish Government has undertaken useful engagement with a number of important stakeholders including COSLA, the Scottish Council of Deans of Education, the General Teaching Council for Scotland, professional associations and trade unions and the Strategic Board for Teacher Education to discuss the overall approach to co-designing the Centre.

The Centre will focus on quality learning and teaching, helping Scotland to remain at the cutting edge of teaching practice by, for example, distilling research and evidence into practical and digestible support for every teacher and practitioner in Scotland, meeting a widely recognised need in the system.

The role and remit of the Centre, how it operates, its interaction with teachers and practitioners, performance measures, and associated costs and timescales will be considered as part of the design process.

In light of COSLA and local authorities’ responsibilities and key leadership role as the employers of teachers, The Scottish Government believes that the Centre would be strengthened if it were to have joint oversight by COSLA and is keen to work with COSLA in this regard.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23878 on 8 January 2024. 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