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As reported by the Deputy First Minister on 21 November, the‎ £13 million originally allocated in 2023-24 has been announced as part of the savings required to reach a balanced budget. We remain committed to improving digital access in schools and work is ongoing regarding delivery options for future years.

In February 2022, we wrote to Chief Executives of territorial Health Boards asking that they provide free period products for their staff, if they did not already do so. All of them confirmed that these products were available for staff.

As part of the annual Staff Governance Standard Monitoring exercise for 2022-23, Health Boards have been asked how they are ensuring all staff have access to emergency period products in the workplace. Returns from this, are expected on 4 December 2023.

NHS staff can also access period products, free of charge, as and when they are required from either the local authority in which they live or in which they work.

The National Dental Inspection Programme carries out a basic inspection on all P1 and P7 pupils each year and then a representative sample of around 20% of pupils in either P1 or P7 receive a detailed inspection. A minimum threshold of around 20%, weighted to take account of SIMD, is used to produce a representative sample.

Planning applications are determined by planning authorities locally in the first instance and are not recorded centrally. The information requested is not held centrally.

The content of initial teacher education (ITE) programmes are the responsibility of university providers. All ITE programmes are accredited by the General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS) based on the Standard for Provisional Registration. The Professional Standards that both student teachers and registered teachers are expected to meet now specifically recognise Additional Support Needs. The Standards ensure that the needs of all learners are assessed and successfully addressed. This is at the heart of all teachers’ work and is recognised throughout the Standards.

Specifically, the GTCS has produced a professional guide “ Teaching and supporting deaf learners ” in partnership with the Scottish Sensory Centre. The purpose of the guide is to provide support for teachers to reflect on their actions and consider whether they may need further advice or professional learning and complements employer’s policies. Supporting learners and other members of the school community who have a sensory impairment is a key part of a teacher’s role. All teachers should know about the implications for learning of having a sensory impairment and should be aware of what support is available.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the experiences and outcomes for young people with additional support needs, which we have outlined in our Programme for Government 2023-24.

The legislative framework is clear about the responsibilities for the provision of additional support for children and young people. Education authorities are under a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and to review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs including those who are deaf or deafblind. In our most recently published figures, spending on additional support for learning by authorities reached a record high of £830m.

Modern Languages is one of the eight core curricular areas within Curriculum for Excellence, and British Sign Language (BSL) is one of the languages that can be provided within a school’s language offer to their pupils. While it is the responsibility of local authorities and schools to choose the specific languages covered within their language curriculum, the Scottish Government is taking a range of steps to promote and support BSL learning.

Since 2013, Scottish Government has provided more than £50 million in funding to local authorities and partners to support the teaching of additional languages in schools.

The Scottish Government and the General Teaching Council for Scotland are supportive of pathways that will allow BSL users to obtain qualified teacher status. We have held discussions with the University of Edinburgh about the programme they are currently developing, which aims to include pathways for both hearing and non-hearing students. This is currently undergoing internal university validation.

The Guidance on the presumption to provide education in a mainstream setting , published in 2019, was informed by a wide range of information and evidence taking into account all children and young people with additional support needs, including those pupils who are deaf or deafblind.

The presumption of mainstreaming policy and the guidance which supports it enshrines the right of all children and young people with additional support needs to learn in mainstream schools and early learning and childcare settings.

The BSL National Plan Implementation Advisory Group will be formed early in the new year. Following that, it will be for the group to collective agree as to the frequency of meetings.

In accordance with the guidance contained within the Scottish Public Finance Manual, grant in aid funding to public bodies should not be paid in advance of need. Due to this requirement, the Scottish Government has not asked the Scottish Police Authority or Police Scotland to return any funding since their creation in 2013.

Despite UK Government austerity, we have increased police funding year-on-year since 2016-17, investing over £11.6 billion since the creation of Police Scotland in 2013.