Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government intends to publish a consultation on proposals to introduce a carbon land tax in summer 2024, as set out in the statement made by the Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Net Zero and Energy on 18 April 2024.

The information requested on what data we hold on any current physiotherapist vacancies across all NHS boards can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/data-and-reports/official-workforce-statistics/all-official-statistics-publications/05-march-2024-workforce/dashboards/nhs-scotland-workforce/?pageid=11224

Throughout the public consultation and in reaching the decision to close fishing for sandeel in all Scottish waters, the Scottish Government recognised the importance of potential wider environmental and ecosystem benefits, which included potential benefits to sandeel, seabirds, marine mammals, and other fish species.

There are currently no plans to conduct an assessment of the potential impact of the closure of fishing for sandeel in Scottish waters on seabird populations, including Atlantic puffin, as these measures only came into force on 26 March 2024. However, there are several monitoring and research programmes in place that can add to the evidence base in relation to potential impacts of closing fishing for sandeel in Scottish waters, and which can be drawn on should such an assessment be undertaken in the future.

Please find attached a breakdown of (a) percentage and (b) number of primary schools that are signed up to The Daily Mile Initiative, broken down by local authority area.

Scotland Primary School Sign Up Percentages

Aberdeen City - 88%

Aberdeenshire - 45%

Angus - 53%

Argyll and Bute - 48%

Clackmannanshire - 89%

Dumfries and Galloway - 63%

Dundee City - 97%

East Ayrshire - 43%

East Dunbartonshire - 47%

East Lothian - 42%

East Renfrewshire - 79%

City of Edinburgh - 63%

Na h-Eileanan Sar - 90%

Falkirk - 46%

Fife - 27%

Glasgow City - 52%

Highland - 55%

Inverclyde - 45%

Midlothian - 63%

Moray - 27%

North Ayrshire - 31%

North Lanarkshire - 61%

Orkney Islands - 29%

Perth and Kinross - 47%

Renfrewshire - 38%

Scottish Borders - 27%

Shetland Islands - 52%

South Ayrshire - 68%

South Lanarkshire - 29%

Stirling - 50%

West Dunbartonshire - 72%

West Lothian - 63%

Scottish Primary Schools Sign Up Numbers

Aberdeen City - 42

Aberdeenshire - 65

Angus - 27

Argyll and Bute - 37

Clackmannanshire - 16

Dumfries and Galloway - 61

Dundee City - 32

East Ayrshire - 17

East Dunbartonshire - 16

East Lothian - 15

East Renfrewshire - 19

City of Edinburgh - 57

Na h-Eileanan Sar - 19

Falkirk - 22

Fife - 36

Glasgow City - 74

Highland - 93

Inverclyde - 9

Mid Lothian - 19

Moray - 12

North Ayrshire - 15

North Lanarkshire - 72

Orkney Islands - 6

Perth and Kinross - 33

Renfrewshire - 19

Scottish Borders - 16

Shetland Islands - 14

South Ayrshire - 28

South Lanarkshire - 36

Stirling - 19

West Dunbartonshire - 23

West Lothian - 43

Based on the latest forecasts, our block grant for capital is expected to reduce in real terms by 8.7 per cent by 2027-28 – a cumulative loss of over £1.3 billion. This is why the Scottish Government is currently undertaking a cross government review of all capital projects and anticipate the revised infrastructure investment pipeline will be published alongside the Medium-Term Financial Strategy in the Spring.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26667 on 2 May 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers

The funding for the 38,000 apprentices in training is committed. SDS commenced contracting for up to 25,500 new Modern Apprenticeship opportunities at the start of April.

In October 2022, the Career Review Programme Board published ' Delivering Careers By Design', including 10 recommendations co-created working with stakeholders and young people.

Since then, 'Career Review Final Report' published in March 2023 set out in further detail how the recommendations will be implemented.

Two of the ten recommendations have already been delivered. Recommendation 1; establishment of a new career development model and Recommendation 10; creation of a career services coalition – the Careers Services Collaborative.

The Collaborative continues to meet, chaired by Grahame Smith, to oversee further implementation of improvements to the careers offer, with a focus on the remaining recommendations. Further information on progress will be published via www.careerreview.scot over the course of the year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26656 on 1 May 2024. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The funding for the 38,000 apprentices in training is committed. Skills Development Scotland commenced contracting for up to 25,500 new Modern Apprenticeship opportunities at the start of April, including in the construction sector.