Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36670 on 6 May 2025. 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 Scottish Government currently own 22 properties under the core estate.

The Scottish Government is committed to working collaboratively with stakeholders across the public, third, and independent sectors to support individuals affected by hearing loss and cognitive decline.

The Scottish Government’s 2023 Dementia Strategy for Scotland was developed in collaboration with people with sensory loss including from the deaf community, and commits to improving people's experience through timely diagnosis, access to high-quality support and how we can communicate risk factors around cognitive decline and dementia. Since 2020, the Scottish Government has invested around £1.5m to:

• Support the establishment of Brain Health Scotland to promote brain health and dementia risk awareness (in partnership with Alzheimer Scotland)
• Develop and evaluate a Brain Health Service & Clinic test site in Aberdeen, to learn about what such a service can contribute to people's health and wellbeing.

As part of our commitments to deliver the national Dementia Strategy, we will publish an independent evaluation of the Brain Health Service & Clinic test site this year, as well as establish a working group across Scottish Government focused on understanding the implications of the test site, and brain health overall, for how we provide health and social care.

Patients who are not registered with a dentist can access emergency and urgent dental care via the Public Dental Service.

The Scottish Government also has a range of programmes to support those in vulnerable groups to maintain and improve their oral health:

• 'Childsmile' our flagship programme designed to reduce oral health inequalities and improve oral health among children;
• 'Caring For Smiles' for dependent older people over 65;
• 'Smile4Life' for people experiencing homelessness;
• 'Mouth Matters' for people with experience of the justice system;
• 'Open Wide' for adults between 16-64 years of age with additional care needs.

More information on our oral health improvement programmes is available online at: Oral Health Improvement – Scottish Dental

Scottish Government continues to work with local authorities and the independent sector to understand the impact of the UK Government policy on Scottish schools to date. Scottish Ministers have received assurance from local authorities that they have the capacity to support increased school rolls.

The distribution methodology for calculating the block grant is agreed with local authorities and is informed by a number of indicators, including pupil numbers from the latest annual school census.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37115 on 6 May 2025. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37115 on 6 May 2025. 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.

A small number of local authorities have provided indicative figures for the number of pupils enrolling in state schools from independent schools.

However, the annual fluctuation of pupil rolls in those local authorities is typically significantly larger than the increase in the number of pupils enrolling in schools from the independent sector that has been reported. We do not therefore anticipate the number of pupils transferring representing a significant issue for Local Authorities.

In terms of funding, the Scottish Government collects information on the number of pupils in state schools every September as part of the pupil census. The distribution methodology for calculating the Local Government Settlement is agreed with local authorities and is informed by a number of indicators including pupil numbers from the latest annual school census.

Local authorities have the statutory responsibility to provide education for children and young people in their area.

In 2025/26, an additional £28m will be invested in additional support for learning, to support the recruitment and retention of the ASN workforce at a local level, to help enhance professional learning on inclusion for all teachers at all stages of their careers and to support teacher specialism in inclusion. A further £1 million will be provided to support national initiatives, which will enable us to build on the work being delivered through our Additional Support for Learning Action Plan.

The Scottish Government remains committed to an all-age careers information and guidance offer that supports all people, including young people who are at risk of leaving school with no or few SQA qualifications to progress rewarding careers.