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Responsibility for publishing data and intelligence on the social service sector in Scotland was delegated to the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) in 2001 by Scottish Ministers under the Regulation of Care Scotland Act 2001.

Reports on sector vacancy rates, including breakdowns by local authority and ‘hard to fill posts’, between 2018 and 2023 can be found on SSSC’s website here:

Vacancies reports | Scottish Social Services Workforce Data

Please note SSSC is working to provide more current data to workforce planners and now publishes data on social worker-filled posts and vacancies every six months which can be found here:

Social worker filled posts and vacancies six-monthly survey at June 2024 | Scottish Social Services Workforce Data

The Scottish Government has the utmost sympathy to the women who were prescribed diethylstilbestrol (DES) and the impact it had on them and their families.

However, Scottish Ministers have no plans to establish a working group on this issue as the regulation for the licensing, safety and efficacy of medicines is reserved to the UK Government and is the responsibility of the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA).

The Ireland Scotland Joint Bilateral Review 2021-25, co-produced by both Scottish and Irish governments, recognises the strong cultural and people-to-people links between the two countries and commits to strengthening these.

The funding from the Scottish Government to Belong To in Ireland is a contribution to the Empowering Voices project, which is also supported by the Welsh Government and British Council. The project is coordinated by Belong To (Ireland), and involves LGBT Youth Scotland (Scotland), Education Authority (Northern Ireland), The Proud Trust (England), and Viva LGBT+ (Wales). The project provides a platform for young LGBT+ people from each of the five nations to share their lived experiences.

The Scottish Government operates two schemes to pay compensation to people who have suffered a miscarriage of justice: the statutory scheme and the ex gratia scheme.

The statutory scheme applies where a person's conviction has been reversed on appeal made ‘out of time’ and the appeal was successful because a new fact shows beyond reasonable doubt that there has been a miscarriage of justice. The ex gratia scheme applies where a person has spent a period of time in custody following wrongful conviction or charge and the wrongful conviction or charge was either the result of serious default on the part of the police or another public authority, or there are other exceptional circumstances justifying the payment of compensation. As such, while it is a condition of eligibility for the ex gratia scheme that the applicant has spent a period of time in custody as a result of wrongful charge or conviction, it is not a condition of the statutory scheme that the applicant was imprisoned for the offence for which they were wrongfully convicted.

Because of the small number of people to whom compensation has been paid to over this time period, there is a risk that information about the amounts paid to individuals could be identified from information about the number of individuals who received compensation in a given year, together with the amount of compensation paid in that year. Within this context, information is provided split into two five year periods.

In the period 2015-16 to 2019-20, five people have been paid compensation under the statutory and ex gratia compensation schemes with the amount paid totalling £1,196,259.

In the period 2020-21 to 2024-25, two people have been paid compensation under the statutory and ex gratia compensation schemes with the amount paid totalling £1,995,468.

The decision to offer home dialysis to patients is primarily a matter for NHS Boards. Last year, we agreed a national policy to reimburse patients for the additional electricity costs of home dialysis so that patients are not exposed to the impact of high energy prices. It also removes the financial disincentive to making a choice for home dialysis over in-centre treatments, allowing personal choice in where and how to receive treatment.

The latest available information on convictions is for the financial year 2022-23. The answer is provided in the following table.

The information you have requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Scotland was the first nation in the UK to introduce a ban on landfilling biodegradable municipal waste. As set out in Regulation 11 of the Landfill (Scotland) Regulations 2003 the ban comes into force on 31 December 2025

While the percentage of school leavers in S4 remains unchanged in 2023-24 from the previous year at 14.4%, we acknowledge the importance of understanding the factors influencing early school leaving.

After a rise last year, the Scottish Government have been exploring with partners factors influencing young people deciding to leave school at S4. These include the ongoing impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis, and also an increase in availability of entry-level jobs.

We are continuing to work with our partners to find ways to support young people to stay in learning.

Scotland continues to demonstrate strong participation in education among 15–19-year-olds, as recognised by the OECD, with over half of pupils (57.1%) leaving school at S6.

The SQA is actively addressing issues in respect of unauthorised use of AI in assessment by providing centres and candidates with guidance on appropriate use of AI in assessment: Generative artificial intelligence (AI) in assessments - SQA.

While any reports of malpractice are concerning, the number of occurrences identified from National Qualifications candidates are relatively low when compared to the numbers of candidates taking these qualifications. We will continue to monitor any issues as they evolve and work with partners to respond as appropriate.

Education Scotland have also produced guidance on the appropriate use of AI in schools: Teaching and Learning with Artificial Intelligence (AI) | Resources | Education Scotland

The Scottish Government is actively working with local government and teachers’ representatives to develop a set of AI guidelines to support learning and teaching.