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The Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment is being led by Professor Louise Hayward. Professor Hayward is firmly committed to offering an approach that ensures the achievements of all learners, including those with disabilities, can be recognised. The commitment to proposing a system that works for each and every learner is evident in her recently published interim report.

During the Review’s public consultation Professor Hayward sought views on the specific question of how a system of qualifications and assessment can uphold the right of all learners including those with disabilities to have their achievements recognised.

I understand that Professor Hayward has met Angela Morgan, Chair of the Review of Additional Support for Learning Implementation, on several occasions and that Angela Morgan has also offered advice to the Independent Review Group. Professor Hayward is also visiting several schools which provide specialist education and learning for children and young people with additional support needs and complex health and medical needs, and will hear directly from learners, teachers and staff there.

The final Phase of the Review is now underway, and Professor Hayward is seeking views from a range of stakeholders across the education landscape, and beyond, on a draft model for the future of qualifications and assessment, this Phase is open until the 7 April. I look forward to receiving a final report before the end of May 2023.

The Scottish Government has not allocated funding to local authorities specifically for school meal debt since 1 January 2022.

As referenced in the answer to question S6W-15314 on 6 March 2023, the management of debt is an issue for education authorities and their finance departments.

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

In an update on the Additional Support for Learning Review Action Plan, published in November 2022 ( https://tinyurl.com/ywu6dtcw ) we committed to revisit this research in spring 2023.

In parallel, the Pupil Support Staff Working Group commissioned Education Scotland to undertake a national engagement programme for pupil support staff – ( https://education.gov.scot/improvement/research/pupil-support-staff-engagement-programme-2022-2023/ ). The engagement programme commenced in October 2022, has generated over 2,500 responses to date and will close shortly.

We consider it prudent to let the engagement programme conclude and for the responses to be analysed, before deciding on the requirement for the proposed research.

Information on the first Health and Wellbeing Census undertaken by local authorities in Scotland between October 2021 and June 2022 is available on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/publications/health-and-wellbeing-census-scotland-2021-22/. Pages 22 and 23 of the Key Findings document, contained in the Supporting documents link, set out the frequency of e-cigarette use by pupils.

The report shows that staff across schools are committed to promoting positive relationships within an inclusive environment and seek to prevent and address bullying.

We take the findings of the report very seriously and have put in place a range of actions immediately to respond. We have begun a review of our national anti-bullying guidance, Respect for All, and have established a working group of key stakeholders to support us in this.

HM Inspectors will undertake a second phase of the thematic inspection which will look at good practice in how schools are responding to bullying. Education Scotland will publish this report later this year. The findings will inform our future work.

We are engaging with the Teachers Panel and with teaching unions to discuss their experiences and how we could better support schools and pupils. The fifth wave of our Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research started in February and will provide a robust national picture of current relationships and behaviour. We will use this research and engagement with stakeholders, including the Scottish Advisory Group for Relationships and Behaviour in Schools, to inform the development of further future policy, guidance and support for schools and school staff.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13420 on 19 January 2023. 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

The original Access Bikes scheme closed in February 2022. A new Access Bikes scheme has been running since April 2022.

The Access Bikes scheme closed in February 2022. During the life of the scheme, 4 loans were distributed, though we do not hold information on the recipients or local authority area.

A new Access Bikes scheme has been running since April 2022 which focuses on assisting those facing challenges to access a bike through various means. There is no loan aspect provided in the new scheme.

The Access Bikes scheme closed in February 2022. During the life of the scheme, 348 people expressed an interest, 43 people advanced to the application stage and 4 of those applications were successful and received a loan.

A new Access Bikes scheme has been running since April 2022 which focuses on assisting those facing challenges to access a bike through various means. There is no loan aspect provided in the new scheme.

The Access Bikes scheme closed in February 2022. The scheme was run by Cycling UK, who partnered with Capital Credit Union and ScotWest Credit Union as a mechanism for offering the loans. £250,000 was originally provided for financial transactions, though only £7,000 of this was distributed to successful applicants.

A new Access Bikes scheme has been running since April 2022 which focuses on assisting those facing challenges to access a bike through various means. This scheme is also run by Cycling UK.