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In 2024-25, the Scottish Government invested £535,000 in college and university led SEEP projects.

Additional information on the year 2 projects can be found on the Scottish Government website: Scottish Education Exchange Programme: - Test and Learn: funded projects - gov.scot.

The information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Government does not collect or hold data about the condition of early learning and childcare (ELC) settings. Owners and managers are responsible for building management and for ensuring the safety of their premises. Statutory requirements for the fitness of premises to be used for the provision of ELC are set out in Section 10 of The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011.

Now in its third year (2025-2026), the SEEP Test and Learn project has been expanded to include Scottish Community Learning and Development (CLD) providers.

In year three, the SEEP Test and Learn Project budget for Scottish college and universities projects is £400,000. It is £100,000 for Scottish Community Learning and Development led projects. The total budget is £500,000.

Additional details are available here Scottish Education Exchange Programme: Test and Learn project - gov.scot

The Scottish Government monitors trends across the whole childcare sector, drawing on data published by the Care Inspectorate. In recent years the Scottish Government has published financial sustainability health checks and the Sustainable Rates Review, which have considered issues relating to the financial sustainability of the sector.

Local authorities are responsible for assessing and monitoring compliance with the National Standard in all funded providers, as part of their contract management arrangements and in their role as guarantors of quality. This includes monitoring the financial viability of these services.

Concerns regarding rising staffing costs have been raised by childcare sector representative organisations, in particular providers’ ability to meet the additional costs resulting from the UK Government’s changes to employer National Insurance Contributions. These changes are estimated to add £5 million per year to funded providers’ costs for the delivery of funded ELC (with higher additional costs expected for the whole of the childcare sector).

To strengthen the evidence base on the costs for private, third sector and childminding providers to deliver funded ELC, and to deliver a key action from the Sustainable Rates Review, a national funded ELC cost survey is currently underway. The findings will inform future rates-setting and Scottish Government and COSLA’s future financial planning.

The Scottish Education Exchange Programme (SEEP) Test and Learn Project was launched in 2023. In year 1 the project did not directly fund any student exchanges. Institutions prioritised staff mobility projects supporting the development of partnerships between Scottish institutions and their international partners.

In year 2, the Scottish Government invested £535,000 in SEEP enabling students from Scottish institutions who would not meet the criteria for Turing Scheme funding to participate in a mobility project. In year 2, 14 projects contained a student mobility element.

An external evaluation of the SEEP is currently underway which will contain further detail on funded projects. The report is due to be published late summer.

Data relating to the Turing scheme is provided by the UK Government. The year 1 (2021-22) figures have been published:

Turing Scheme funding outcomes 2021 to 2022 - GOV.UK.

The Scottish Education Exchange Programme (SEEP) Test and Learn Project was launched in 2023.

In year 1 the project did not directly fund any student exchanges. Institutions prioritised staff mobility projects supporting the development of sustainable partnerships.

Projects in year 2 of the test and learn provided opportunities for students from Scottish institutions who would not meet the criteria for Turing Scheme funding to participate in a mobility project.

Year 2 projects concluded on 31 March 2025. Institutions are currently submitting end of project reports which will feed into the external evaluation of the project, the report from which is due to be published late summer.

Additional information on the year 2 projects can be found on the Scottish Government website: Scottish Education Exchange Programme: - Test and Learn: funded projects - gov.scot.

The information requested is not held centrally.

Information on university retention rates is published by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in the statistics publication Report on Widening Access. There is no breakdown by those with teacher assessed grades.

The latest publication is available on the SFC’s website: https://www.sfc.ac.uk/publications/report-on-widening-access-2022-23/.

In the following table, details are provided of the exact amount of funding that has been allocated to the Scottish Upland Sheep Support Scheme each year since 2021.

The Scottish Government remains committed to its vision for an integrated and community-based hearing service in Scotland. However, in considering the future direction for the audiology sector, it is right that we move forward in step with the work of the Independent Review of Audiology and this – together with the wider financial and strategic context in which we are currently operating – has necessitated the re-phasing of our commitment on community hearing. We will continue to meet with Professional Bodies, NHS services, third sector, private providers and individuals with lived experience to help inform decision-making as our work progresses.

The 2025-26 Budget provides record funding of £21 billion for health and social care - with NHS boards receiving an additional £200 million to reduce waiting lists and help support reduction of delayed discharge. Ear, Nose and Throat will be an important part of this work, with over £9 million being allocated as part of this funding.

In addition, NHS Boards have been proactive in addressing waiting times by releasing additional appointments and reducing their failed to attend rate.

There has also been substantial work to redesign patient pathways and Specialist Audiologists/Diagnosticians now handle referrals traditionally made through Ear Nose and Throat. This practice not only reduces Board costs for unnecessary medic time and expertise, but also directs the patient to the correct speciality and reduces the number of appointments needed overall.

The Mental Welfare Commission publishes percentage of all place of safety orders under 18 but not the numbers.

In addition, the Commission does not publish numbers that small: as a rule it suppresses any figures equal to and under 5 and in some cases it uses secondary suppression to ensure that there is no statistical disclosure.