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Up to 1,000 new applicants will be offered awards in 2024-25. The actual number of applications received will be monitored by ILF Scotland and Scottish Government.

The Scottish Government values the important work that childminders undertake in communities and is committed to supporting and growing the sector. We commissioned research on the reasons for the reduction in childminder numbers (a trend that is mirrored elsewhere in the UK) which was published in April 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/childminding-workforce-trends-qualitative-research-report/

Informed by that research, we are working with the Scottish Childminding Association to address the decline in the childminding workforce via a programme of recruitment and retention work. This work has been informed by recent pilot activity and will ensure that more families have access to the unique and flexible experience of childcare that childminders can offer. This programme is expected to launch in the Spring.

We will implement a range of measures to address retention issues, ensuring that our childminders are supported with their workloads and professional development, including trialling a mentoring scheme and models of funded time off the floor to allow childminders to undertake activity such as planning and continuous professional learning.

The Scottish Government is working with local government and other stakeholders to support justice social workers and to enhance the delivery of services. This includes increasing funding and providing updated operational guidance.

In 2024-25, a total of £148 million will be invested in community justice. This includes an additional £14 million to encourage wider use of robust community-based interventions where appropriate. This additional investment reflects the evidence that such interventions can be more effective than short-term imprisonment at reducing reoffending, assisting with rehabilitation and ultimately ensuring there are fewer victims of crime.

A budget of £9m has been committed to reopening the Independent Living Fund in 2024-25. Funding for 2025-26 will be agreed through the annual budget process.

There is currently no reason for Transport Scotland officials to consider the closure of the M74 Junction 1 Kingston Interchange, which is likely to have significant adverse impacts on the wider local road network given the volume of traffic on the M74 and M8. A clear rationale for changes to the strategic transport network, such as this, need to emerge from a robust business case in line with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance and Transport Scotland's Guidance on the Development of Business Cases . If this change was for planning or land use change purposes, I would expect this to be initiated by Glasgow City Council.

Individuals who are not healthcare professionals and provide such procedures are not currently regulated and there is no requirement to obtain public liability insurance for these procedures.

The Scottish Government has a commitment to provide an update to Parliament on the implementation of the MAT Standards every six months.

I will update Parliament on progress in June and this will coincide with the publication of the 2023-2024 National Benchmarking Report, which will be published by Public Health Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to the timelines previously agreed by Scottish Ministers and Public Health Scotland and for full implementation of all ten MAT standards by April 2025.

This information in relation to treatment in Scotland is not centrally collected. When NHS Scotland treats someone who has suffered harm from a non-surgical cosmetic procedure that has gone wrong, NHS Scotland will not necessarily record the cause as there is no specific code to record this. The Scottish Government does not hold information relating to treatments outside Scotland.

Individuals who are not healthcare professionals and provide such procedures are not currently regulated and therefore there are currently no regulated training requirements to work in the sector. Accreditation for training for the sector will also be considered as part of the work with stakeholders and the Scottish Cosmetics Interventions Expert Group.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken such a review however, this will be taken into consideration as officials continue to explore next steps in potential further regulation of non-surgical cosmetic procedures that pierce or penetrate the skin.