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The Violence Against Women and Girls Sustainable Funding Project Board is currently being developed and I expect it to meet for the first time in March. It has been formed to take forward our commitment to develop a flexible and stable funding model that will ensure a focus on prevention and high quality, accessible, specialist violence against women and girls services.

‎ The Project Board, will be co-chaired by Scottish Government and CoSLA, and will include representatives of public sector and specialist stakeholders. The remit of the group will be agreed with the members and will include producing an accurate assessment of the current costs and spend of violence against women and girls, to help inform the development of a sustainable funding model.

Dentists that choose to provide a wholly private service would be required to resign their NHS list number and would therefore be unable to issue NHS prescriptions.

Through the 2023-24 Affordable Housing Supply Programme we are investing £752 million to support local authority strategic housing priorities, including accessible housing. All new build properties which are delivered directly by councils and social landlords should, as a minimum, meet the ‘basic’ requirement within the Housing for Varying Needs Design guide. This guide incorporates the ‘barrier free’ concept of accessibility and is a key reference document for the affordable housing sector in Scotland.

We support registered social landlords to undertake adaptations to their properties, and in 2023-24 we are making available £11 million for this purpose. Adaptations in Glasgow and Edinburgh are funded separately within those local authorities’ Affordable Housing Supply Programme allocations as part of the Transfer of the Management of Development Funding arrangements.

Unregistered patients who require urgent care can access services through the Public Dental Service’s (PDS) weekend and evening clinics, and will be able to receive a free NHS prescription if this is clinically required.

In my statement to Parliament on  5th December 2023, I reiterated my commitment to streamline funding for colleges, universities and apprenticeships. As a first step, this means bringing together funding for student support into one place and funding for apprenticeships into one place.

The Scottish Government will provide further detail shortly.

The Scottish Government recognises the significant contribution that international students and their families bring to our economy, communities and culture.

UK Government immigration policies fail to address Scotland’s distinct demographic and economic needs and highlights the need for a tailored approach to migration. We are working closely with colleges and universities in Scotland to establish and understand the impact that the UK Government’s damaging migration policies have on the sector.

The UK Government frames family migration as a burden. The Scottish Government takes a different view. Scotland needs people to live, work and raise their families here, in light of the pronounced demographic challenge ahead.

The Scottish Government has not undertaken any specific assessment regarding the impact of recent changes to visa restrictions introduced by the UK Government on students studying modern languages at Scottish universities.

The Scottish Government recognises the important and valuable contribution that international students make to the Scottish economy, our educational environment and Scottish society. It is essential that immigration policy allows Scotland to attract and retain talent without excessive barriers.

The Scottish Government remains deeply concerned about the new UK visa changes and the impact on Scotland’s ability to attract international students.

The Scottish Government will launch a Talent Attraction and Migration Service in 2024. The service will help address Scotland's demographic challenges and will attract and welcome more workers from outside Scotland, including the rest of the UK, with the skills that our economy needs.

The service will provide immigration support for employers, including our universities and colleges, based in Scotland and for those wishing to set up in Scotland, to enable them to use the UK’s immigration system effectively and efficiently to help meet Scotland’s skills and labour needs.

The service will also cater to immigration queries from people whose leave is about to expire and to international students approaching the end of their studies who wish to remain in Scotland and seek employment with a Scotland-based employer.

We have also recently launched our International Education Strategy which sets out steps we will take to work collaboratively with the sector to support international students to study in Scotland.

As immigration is a complex legal area, students may wish to seek professional advice, as the Scottish Government cannot provide legal or immigration advice. An immigration advisor can be found through the Office of the Immigration Services Commissioner which regulates immigration advice and services.

UK Government immigration policies fail to address Scotland’s distinct demographic and economic needs and highlights the need for a tailored approach to migration. We are working closely with colleges and universities in Scotland to establish the impact that the UK Government’s damaging migration policies have on the sector.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting school leavers and return learners to access career support services to fulfil their potential. The national all age careers service, led by Skills Development Scotland, ensures that everyone has access to quality careers information and advice that supports individuals to make informed decisions regarding career options.

Local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of teaching staff. The Scottish Government will continue to support local authorities to assist them in being able to recruit to their teaching workforce, including teachers of Physical Education.