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The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested as it relates to inspection activities undertaken by the Care Inspectorate and Education Scotland, who will be able to provide analysis of inspection grades on request.

The Teacher Induction Scheme guarantees every eligible student a one-year probationary placement, however it does not provide a guarantee of future employment with a particular local authority.

While local authorities are the direct employers of teachers, the Scottish Government continues to make available £145.5m to local authorities to protect teaching jobs.

In addition, I have also asked the Strategic Board for Teacher Education, which is made up of a range of key education stakeholders, to consider issues around the recruitment and retention of teachers in Scotland. This includes geographical issues as well as how we can increase diversity within the profession, and improve support for early career teachers.

Despite substantial investment, and the progress we have made in recruiting thousands of additional teachers since 2018, we recognise that more work is needed to ensure that our teachers have access to long term, sustainable, employment opportunities, regardless of which stage of their career they are at, and we will continue to work with COSLA to ensure this can happen.

Total number of Enforcement Notices issued by the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team in each of the last 5 years:

2020: 16

2021: 0

2022: 3

2023: 8

2024: 13

Enforcement Notices (ENs) are issued as a result of non-compliance with AWET correspondence. If an underpayment has been identified as a result of a wages inspection or complaint, ENs are used if an Employer fails to fulfil a request for payment. These act as the end of deliberation between the Employer and AWET, and now form a legal requirement for the Employer to provide reimbursement to an Employee.

Any further objection to the contents of an EN may now only be challenged via Employment Tribunal or an agreed settlement.

The Scottish Government has contracted provision for interpretation services (face-to-face, remote video and telephone). This provision can be used by the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team under the interpreting, translation and transcription services framework should it be required.

This is an operational matter for Scottish Enterprise. I have asked their Chief Executive, Adrian Gillespie, to contact you directly with a response.

Driven by our Good Practice Principles, community benefits are a well-established and integral part of renewable energy projects in Scotland, with over £26 million of community benefits offered to Scottish communities in the last 12 months. The Scottish Government continues to work with industry and communities to build on this success, including through our Onshore Wind Sector Deal that commits industry to meet or exceed the Good Practice Principles.

The Good Practice Principles for Onshore Developments, published in 2019 were developed in close collaboration with the sector and local communities to set national standards for community benefits. We are currently considering feedback from stakeholders on the potential for a review of these Good Practice Principles.

The Scottish Government remains committed to tackling the child-poverty related attainment gap and is already ensuring eligible pupils in Secondary 1 to Secondary 6 can receive free school meals.

Local authorities issue specific complementary guidance about how Pupil Equity Funding operates locally. This varies across Local Authorities and is designed to provide targeted support for children and young people affected by poverty to achieve their full potential. Headteachers have the flexibility to use this funding to help support children in their schools to close the poverty related attainment gap.

In light of the challenging financial context, we have been clear that our initial focus will be on expanding Free School Meals to Primary 6 and 7 pupils who are in receipt of the Scottish Child Payment, which will be delivered in this Parliament.

The Scottish Government is committed to fostering an inclusive and equitable educational environment. Engaging with key partners such as Education Scotland to gather feedback on professional learning, training and the information provided about antisemitism takes place in various ways, including during meetings of the Education Learning and Professional Leadership workstream of the Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism in Education programme.

Education Scotland supports a range of organisations who create resources for or deliver teaching about antisemitism. It is crucial that any approach to antisemitism within educational materials also considers the broader context of how race and racism operate in society. This includes understanding the role of structural racism, institutional discrimination, and the persistence of stereotypes.

The mental health and emotional wellbeing of children and young people in Scotland is of paramount importance. That is why we continue to support our local authority partners with £16 million in funding to ensure that all school pupils aged 10 and above and all secondary schools in Scotland have access to school counselling services. Children impacted by parental alcohol or substance misuse can access these services and can also be referred to the school nurse service in order to receive appropriate support.

We are also providing local authorities with £15 million per annum to deliver community-based mental health and wellbeing support and services for children and young people, with many of these delivered through primary and secondary schools. It is for local authorities and schools to determine what support is put in place to best meet the needs of children and young people in their area.

The Building Racial Literacy (BRL) Programme is funded by the Scottish Government as part of the work of the Anti-Racism in Education Programme. An interim review Building Racial Literacy (education.gov.scot) was undertaken in 2022 and the programme underwent an external review in 2023 by The Collective, which can be viewed here. BRL External Evaluation (education.gov.scot).

While the programme does not focus on one single experience or type of racism, feedback from participants evidences the wide range of racialised experiences, including antisemitism, which are incorporated into the programme’s learning, as well as the ongoing commitment to spotlighting the social evolution of systemic racism.