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If the Ministry of Defence objects to an application for consent for a wind farm which impacts on the Eskdalemuir seismic array, then the Scottish Government would not proceed to consent the application unless that objection is withdrawn.

In cases where further information is provided by an applicant or changes are made to a proposal to overcome an objection, there will be further consultation to establish if the Ministry of Defence are content to remove their safeguarding objection.

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.

An assessment of participation - defined as the proportion of registered patients who saw a dentist in the last 2 years - needs to be seen against the backdrop of pandemic restrictions to March 2022.

Since April 2022, with the relaxation of restrictions, NHS dentistry has averaged more than 300,000 courses of treatment per month, an increase of 40 per cent in NHS dental activity compared with 2021-22.

The latest report from Public Health Scotland on participation rates (as at 30 September 2022) shows rates increasing for the period March to September 2022 following the emergence from pandemic restrictions.

Due to the onset of the pandemic in Scotland all routine dental services ceased from 23 March 2020, with emergency and urgent dental care being provided by dedicated urgent dental care centres from NHS Boards.

The majority of dental services require the use of an aerosol which carries a higher risk of viral transmission. Dental services operated under specific infection, prevention and control measures for two years to April 2022.

Information on the deferral rate for disabled students entering Higher Education is not held by the Scottish Government.

UCAS collect and publish information each year on the number of applicants, applications and acceptances for UK providers. As part of their releases, UCAS publish the number of acceptances who defer entry to a later year split by Domicile, Age and Gender, in their interactive dashboard. Deferral rates for those with a Disability Declared are not included.

UCAS Undergraduate end of cycle data resources 2022 | Undergraduate | UCAS

UCAS do publish the number of acceptances with a Disability Declared overall. This shows in the 2022 cycle, there were 6,535 Scottish domiciled acceptances with a Disability Declared, 17.5% of all Scottish domiciled acceptances.

This is not a matter for the Scottish Government.

This is not a matter for the Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government does not hold this data. Court operational matters, including the system and arrangements for jury service, fall within the remit of the independent Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS).

The Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS) is an annual, large-scale social survey which asks people about their experiences and perceptions of crime in Scotland. It includes a module on sexual victimisation, which produces estimates of adults’ experiences of different types of sexual assault. At present this does not include a question on experiences of violence during what began as consensual sexual activity.

We are currently progressing set up of a new multi-year run of the SCJS, following a recent re-procurement exercise. As part of this ongoing work we will consider in 2023-24 whether a question on this specific topic could be added to the above module. Given the subject sensitivity, this requires careful consideration and testing prior to any roll-out, to ensure such a question is understandable, accessible and doesn’t place undue stress on survey respondents.

Such a change would build on the continuous improvements being made to the survey, whereby we are currently cognitively testing and piloting a new survey module on Partner Abuse and new and updated questions on Violence Against Women and Girls (VAWG). These areas were identified as a key priority by survey users in last year’s consultation .

Through our draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan (ESJTP) we are consulting on setting an ambition for solar deployment in Scotland, and what level that ambition should be set at. The consultation period for the draft ESJTP is open until 9 May 2023, and we encourage stakeholders to engage in the consultation and bring forward evidence relating to this.

It is vital that we consult widely upon the need for, and achievability of, any deployment ambition for solar before such an ambition is set. Following engagement with stakeholders and analysis of the consultation responses, we will finalise the solar vision and solar deployment ambition as part of the final ESJTP.