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There are an estimated 930,000 people eligible for the Young Person’s Free Bus Travel Scheme. This refers to the number of people aged 5-21 who have become eligible for concessionary travel as a result of the Young Person’s Scheme.

(b) Transport Scotland does not hold application information. The Improvement Service are in charge of applications made through getyournec.scot and parentsportal.scot, and all other applications are managed by the individual local authorities.

(c) As of end of day 19th December 2022, there were 561,623 cardholders under the Young Persons’ Free Bus Travel Scheme.

This data is supplied by the National Entitlement Card Programme Office (NECPO). NECPO support the 32 local authorities by assisting with the integration of various national and local public services on the National Entitlement Card (NEC) and are the joint controller with local authorities of this data. The figure includes travel products collected from the Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile application.

Alcohol duty is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty.

The Scottish Government believes that the stronger the beverage, the higher the duty should be, as it is the alcohol that causes the harms and stronger alcoholic drinks allow for faster consumption of alcohol. This is in line with the rationale behind our world leading minimum unit pricing policy which targets high strength, low-cost alcohol.

Our Alcohol Framework sets out our priorities for preventing alcohol-related harm. We take a whole population approach to tackling alcohol-related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

Alcohol duty is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty.

We have made no assessment of the impact of the six-month freeze on alcohol duty on alcohol harm in Scotland. We remain committed to reducing alcohol related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

The health and wellbeing of children and young people is a top priority for the Scottish Government.

We do not take a prescriptive approach to the education curriculum in Scotland. The curriculum is not statutory and therefore it is for individual schools and local authorities to decide which approaches they use to help them deliver relevant and engaging learning.

The curriculum already provides opportunities for teachers to deliver learning and teaching on bereavement and loss. One of the health and wellbeing “experiences and outcomes” ensures that young people are learning skills and strategies which will support them in challenging times, particularly in relation to change and loss.

In addition, Education Scotland's National Improvement Hub contains resources for schools to support them in delivering learning and teaching on bereavement issues.

Alcohol duty is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty.

The Scottish Government believes that the stronger the beverage, the higher the duty should be, as it is the alcohol that causes the harms and stronger alcoholic drinks allow for faster consumption of alcohol. This is in line with the rationale behind our world leading minimum unit pricing policy which targets high strength, low-cost alcohol.

Our Alcohol Framework sets out our priorities for preventing alcohol-related harm. We take a whole population approach to tackling alcohol-related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

The Scottish Government has not carried out recent assessment of the financial viability of independent, third sector Scottish Hospices.

As confirmed by the First Minister in the Chamber on 15 December 2022, the Scottish Government will meet with Hospice representatives to discuss the pressures they are facing, in common with other voluntary and statutory sectors, due to the impact of increased inflation and energy costs.

Alcohol duty is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty.

The Scottish Government believes that the stronger the beverage, the higher the duty should be, as it is the alcohol that causes the harms and stronger alcoholic drinks allow for faster consumption of alcohol. This is in line with the rationale behind our world leading minimum unit pricing policy which targets high strength, low-cost alcohol.

Our Alcohol Framework sets out our priorities for preventing alcohol-related harm. We take a whole population approach to tackling alcohol-related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

Alcohol duty is reserved to the UK Government. The Scottish Government would strongly recommend that the UK Government considers public health as part of any review to alcohol duty.

We have made no assessment of the impact of the six-month freeze on alcohol duty on alcohol harm in Scotland. We remain committed to reducing alcohol related harms, in line with the World Health Organization’s focus on affordability, availability and attractiveness of alcohol.

The mental health and wellbeing of children and young people is a top priority for the Scottish Government. We are committed to improving support for children and young people’s mental health, in order to ensure early intervention and prevention of suicide.

We do not take a prescriptive approach to the education curriculum in Scotland. The curriculum is not statutory and therefore it is for individual schools and local authorities to decide which approaches they use to help them deliver relevant and engaging learning.

Schools are encouraged to develop the curriculum to suit their local context and meet the needs of children and young people, this can include delivering learning on suicide prevention. It is good practice for schools to consult with children and young people and respond to their views appropriately, to ensure this meets the needs of all children and young people in the school or educational setting.

Education Scotland's National Improvement Hub contains resources and learning for school staff to support young people in relation to self-harm and suicide. In addition, in June 2021, we published an online professional learning resource aimed at school staff to support young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The resource includes a section on suicide.

There has been no specific assessment by the Scottish Government of the additional cost of living pressures experienced by residents in Edinburgh. However, in November 2022 the Scottish Government published a report: ‘The Cost of Living Crisis in Scotland: Analytical Report’ which drew together analysis to provide an overview of emerging evidence on the cost of living crisis. Although the report didn’t specifically look at the impact on Edinburgh residents it did identify, at a national level, those low income households who will be most negatively affected by the cost of living crisis.

The Scottish Government is continuing to monitor the cost of living crisis closely and has announced a number of measures to support households, including residents in Edinburgh. This includes introducing emergency legislation to put in place a rent freeze, increasing the Scottish Child Payment (SCP) and doubling both the Fuel Insecurity Fund and the December 2022 SCP Bridging Payment.