Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government regularly publishes a register of orders submitted to the Scottish Ministers for confirmation since 2012: https://www.gov.scot/publications/compulsory-purchase-order-register/. The current register, published in December, includes compulsory purchase orders (CPOs) received up to the end of October 2024. The register includes information on the time taken between receipt of a CPO by the Scottish Government and the decision as to whether the order is confirmed.

A number of steps typically precede a CPO being submitted for confirmation, including negotiation with affected landowners and preparation of the relevant documentation. These are matters for the relevant acquiring authority and are not included in the CPO register.

Through the FONE membership itself, which comprises a range of stakeholder membership organisations, and by routinely engaging with individuals who can add value to discussions.

In line with other reporting from programmes funded via the General Revenue Grant, we do not routinely gather detail on the totality of Children’s Services Planning Partnerships spend, instead focusing on the activities they are delivering, outcomes achieved, and resources allocated to each activity. However, to help understand future funding needs we did gather some limited data from CSPPs regarding their spending plans.

The following table collates information from the 29 CSPP areas who responded.

All our professional memberships are held by and apply to individuals so the Scottish Government as a body does not hold professional memberships.

The Scottish Government works together with the other devolved governments, Defra and the Forestry Commission as part of the UK Plant Health Service to reduce the risk from imported tree diseases and pests that threaten Scotland’s native woodland and commercial forests. As part of that service, the UK Plant Health Risk Group manage the UK Plant Health Risk Register and advise of new and emerging plant health threats with recommendations for actions.

Biosecurity measures to reduce risks from imported plant (including tree) pests and diseases have three main stages: Pre-border, at the border, and inland. Pre-border controls include phytosanitary regulations which can be used to ban commodities posing a high risk, for example imports of ash trees to GB are prohibited from countries where the damaging tree pest Emerald ash borer is known to be present. Plant health controls at the border include documentary checks and physical inspections, following a risk-based approach. Inland, monitoring and surveillance, including aerial surveillance, ground surveys and trapping networks, is conducted across forests and woodlands as a further measure to detect any potential incursions. A system of plant passports allows the internal movement within GB of regulated plants and plant products to be traced.

The Scottish Government funded Scottish Education Exchange Programme test and learn project enables Scottish colleges and universities to re-establish some of the opportunities Erasmus+ provided, which the UK Government Turing Scheme does not. In particular, to encourage the development of partnerships between institutions that could enable staff and inward exchanges.

The test and learn project has been developed with stakeholders from across the sector. Feedback from institutions to the working group has been positive and we have committed to working collaboratively on the project moving forward.

The project focuses on closing the shortfall between the UK Government Turing Scheme and Erasmus+. In year 1 the project did not directly fund any student exchanges. Institutions prioritised staff mobility projects supporting the development of sustainable partnerships.

Projects in year 2 of the test and learn are providing opportunities for disadvantaged students from Scotland, who are excluded from the UK Government Turing Scheme, to undertake an exchange.

These projects are live. Details of the number of students who participated will be shared after the projects conclude in March 2025.

Additional information on the Scottish Education Exchange Programme projects can be found on the Scottish Government website. Link

Scotland’s screening policy relies on recommendations from the UK National Screening Committee (UK NSC), an independent scientific body that provides advice on screening policy to all four UK nations. To date, the UK NSC has not recommended Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) screening through the existing newborn blood spot test, and has stated it requires further evidence before a decision can be made.

The UK NSC continues to monitor and review the rapidly developing evidence base regarding SMA screening. Most recently, in November 2024, the interim results of a new modelling study into SMA screening for the UK context were presented at a workshop to stakeholders. The findings of this study, in conjunction with the proposed In Service Evaluation of SMA screening in some areas of England, will inform the UK NSC’s considerations regarding whether SMA screening should be recommended.

The UK NSC updates on significant developments regarding potential and existing screening programmes on their blog. This can be found at UK National Screening Committee – News and updates from the UK National Screening Committee

As set out in the answer to question S6W-33241 on 24 January 2025, Screening Oversight and Assurance Scotland are developing a business case for the implementation of a targeted lung screening programme, which is expected by the end of February 2025.

Following receipt, the Scottish Screening Committee will be convened to discuss its findings and consider next steps.

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 funds the School Library Improvement Fund which has provided £1.85m of funding to support improvement in library provision across Scotland since 2017.

The Scottish Government is working with partners and stakeholders to reconvene the School Libraries Education and Policy Working Group to build on the success of the National School Library Strategy – Vibrant Libraries, Thriving Schools at a national level.

I am pleased to confirm that the 2025 Education Improvement Plan was published today: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836911227.

The Improvement Plan sets out the actions that will be taken to deliver the seven key educational outcomes set out in the National Improvement Framework, the evidence to support those actions and how we will measure progress against them.

In addition, the Scottish Government also published an update on actions from the 2024 National Improvement Framework and Improvement Plan setting out progress on existing actions from across the education and skills landscape: www.gov.scot/isbn/9781836911234.