Seòmar agus comataidhean

In 2023-24 the vast majority (95.8%) of young people who left school at S4 achieved qualifications or units under the All SCQF measure. Less than 43.0% of S4 leavers left school without obtaining at least one qualification at SCQF Level 5 or above. However, many of these young people did leave with qualifications. Of the 3,476 S4 school leavers in 2023-24 without an SCQF Level 5 or above, 2,828 left with a qualification at SCQF Level 3 or 4 (81.4%), 48 left with other qualifications or units, 262 left with units only and 338 left with no qualifications or units (9.7%).

It is important to recognise that many of these young people will have gone on to apprenticeships, to study at college or otherwise remain in education or training, reflecting the strengths of our approach, in creating and supporting a range of pathways and qualifications for young people in Scotland. This is reflected in the statistical evidence which shows consistently high initial and follow-up positive destinations for young people leaving school. For example, the Follow-up Destination Statistics published on the 17th June show that 93.1% of school leavers were in a positive destination. This is the second highest figure since 2009/10.

Consultation on bringing NHS Education in Scotland and NHS National Services Scotland together will take place over 2025 and work is underway to establish the full range of functions of the new organisation.

The Scottish Government recognise that to meet the ambition of service renewal and address the health and care needs of our population we urgently need to work differently. We are therefore taking the opportunity to bring key enablers of national service delivery together to create opportunities for further improvement, innovation and efficiency across NHS Scotland.

Ensuring accountability and value for money is a key priority for the Scottish Government and Scottish Development International (SDI).

To support this, several oversight mechanisms are in place for export and investment support policies, with all programmes designed to support the Scottish Government’s growth strategies, i.e. our Inward Investment Plan and A Trading Nation. These include:

1.Regular Performance Reporting: Mutually agreed bimonthly and quarterly reporting tracking both quantitative and qualitative metrics e.g. number of businesses supported, markets accessed, and the forecasted return on investment of these. As part of this there are project management reviews and programme boards at both operational and strategic levels.

2.Independent Evaluation: Partner and delivery agencies, including SDI’s performance were assessed through external independent evaluations of both Trade and Inward Investment, which was published in 2023.

3.Transparent Reporting: Annual results, research and insight reports, including case studies, are published on Scottish Enterprises website.

The Scottish Government will continue to actively evaluate its trade and investment support programmes through structured internal assessments and independent evaluations to ensure that our package of support remains effective, impactful, meets business need and provides value for money. Updated evaluations have already been commissioned for both inward and export support/promotion and are expected to be completed this financial year.

As set out in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018, Scottish Ministers have a statutory duty to promote take-up of devolved benefits across the Scottish social security system. Reserved benefits remain the responsibility of the UK Government and the Scottish Government has no formal role in the administration of these payments. We continue to urge the UK Government to more actively promote reserved benefits and to follow Scotland's example by developing a Benefit Take-Up Strategy.

Welfare rights advice services, supported by Scottish Government investment, continue to assist people to take up benefits they may be entitled to, including reserved payments. In 2025-26, we are allocating over £15 million for provision of free income maximisation support, welfare and debt advice services.

The total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture and solution (1mg/ml) to the NHS in the last four years, broken down by NHS Board, are presented in the following table. Cost data are complete for all NHS Boards, whereas fees are incomplete as some payment elements are handled locally.

Table 1: Total drug costs and fees for dispensing methadone mixture1 Items dispensed in Scotland, by NHS Board – 2021-22 to 2024-25

We welcomed the publication of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry’s Module 1 report on pre-pandemic preparedness and resilience on 18 July 2024. On 16 January this year, in line with the timeframes set out by the Chair of the UK Covid-19 Inquiry, we published our response to her report and recommendations. Our response set out the actions and steps we are taking to address the Inquiry’s recommendations.

As requested by the Chair, we are today publishing our first six monthly progress report, setting out details of the action taken to date against each of the accepted recommendations. Since the Chair issued her report last year, we have been working together with our stakeholders, at all levels, to continue our efforts to make effective, practical and measurable improvements in pandemic planning preparedness.

Over the past six months the Scottish Government has been working, in partnership with local and national stakeholders and working as a four nations group, where appropriate, to implement the accepted recommendations within the timeframes set out in our response. During autumn 2025, the Scottish Government will be participating in the UK-wide pandemic exercise, Exercise Pegasus, to test our national and local preparedness for future pandemics. This is the first exercise of its kind in almost a decade.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to Public Health Scotland to support the establishment of the National Scottish Pandemic Sciences Partnership, a key recommendation of the Standing Committee on Pandemic Preparedness. The National Scottish Pandemic Sciences Partnership will augment our existing approach to pandemic preparedness and establish itself as a collaboration that leverages our strengths in pandemic science.

The Scottish Government recognises, however, that there is still further work to be done to ensure that Scotland is as resilient as possible to future risks and we are committed to taking the necessary steps. The Scottish Government looks forward to continuing to work closely with our partners and stakeholders to deliver these recommendations and we will provide our next progress update by the end of January 2026.

A copy of the progress report is available online at: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836919100

Our next progress report will be provided in early 2026.

We thank the independent Expert Group for their dedication and expertise in drawing together a proposal for a Minimum Income Guarantee in Scotland. We will take time to consider their recommendations and the research that was published alongside, in light of current fiscal context, and respond in due course.

The Scottish Government, both Ministers and officials, are in regular contact with Alexander Dennis. The First Minister and Deputy First Minister spoke with Alexander Dennis Ltd (ADL) and NFI Group on 25 May and met with them on 5 June. The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Local Government spoke with ADL on 3 July.

Alexander Dennis Limited (ADL) is a significant employer in Scotland and its operations at Falkirk and Larbert support a highly valuable supply chain. That is why the Scottish Government is working with the company to explore every possible option to retain bus manufacturing and safeguard employment.

Economic analysis undertaken by the Scottish Government in June 2025 suggests that the economic impact of closure of ADL’s sites in Larbert and Falkirk, including direct and indirect jobs, would be in the region of £30 to £50 million annually to the Scottish economy. Other analysis produced by Scottish Enterprise in May 2025 estimates the total annual economic impact as being £63 million before considering any reemployment impacts. This includes an estimate of the impact of employee spending (£8 million) which is not included within the Scottish Government estimates.

The Scottish Government has not issued any direct grants to Alexander Dennis since 2010. Grants issued to Alexander Dennis Ltd by Scottish Enterprise are an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise, who will be able to provide further information upon request.