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The Scottish Government agrees that Scotland’s school libraries play a key role in supporting literacy and cultivating a love of reading.

Responsibility for school libraries rests with local authorities, who have a statutory duty to ensure there is adequate provision of library services.

At a national level, the Scottish Government worked with key partners to develop and publish the National Strategy for School Libraries. Over the course of 8 years we have provided over £1.8 million via the School Libraries Improvement Fund to enhance school library provision.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on fees set by ports.

Statutory Harbour Authorities are independent bodies governed by their own legislation. A Statutory Harbour Authority’s powers, duties and geographic area of jurisdiction are set out in local Acts of Parliament, or a Harbour Order under the Harbours Act 1964.

All ports are obliged to act in accordance with their local legislation and other relevant laws.

Since 2018, the number of education psychologists in training has more than doubled from a total of 29 in 2016-2017 to over 76 in 2023-2024. This is due to the continued investment Scottish Government in partnership with COSLA make to deliver the training programme for educational psychologists which has risen to nearly £2m per year.

The living costs grant for educational psychologist trainees, in addition to tuition fee funding, is not income assessed and does not need to be repaid. Most post-graduate students studying other subjects are eligible for a £6,900 living costs loan for the duration of their course.

Since 2022, work has been undertaken by Scottish Government, COSLA officials, supported by the National Scottish Steering Group for Educational Psychologists (NSSGEP) and Dundee University, to establish a 3-year doctorate model of training. This package equates to £29,000 per student, per annum, for the duration of the 3-year training programme.

Floral arrangements are supplied via our service partner for Catering Services, Sodexo Limited. Their flower supplier is a small business in Edinburgh established for over 25 years providing fresh flowers and arrangements throughout the year for various events and requests. Sodexo use SME businesses on behalf of the Scottish Parliament prioritising whenever possible using local and Scottish produce.

The Scottish Government recognises the impact that child poverty has on families with a baby, and that some of these families may use baby banks.

Anyone supporting a family in desperate need should refer them to their local authority or a health professional, such as a health visitor, midwife or family nurse, in order to make sure they are getting the holistic support they need, including financial advice and a referral to cash-first crisis supports such as the Scottish Welfare Fund. To support this work, the Scottish Government has published a toolkit to help local areas to respond to and prevent food insecurity.

Our five family payments aim to give children the best start in life and could be worth over £10,000 by the time an eligible child turns six. These include the Scottish Child Payment, which is only available in Scotland, Best Start Foods and three Best Start Grants. They offer financial support to families who are on a low income, both in and out of work. There are no limits to the number of children in a family who can receive these benefits.

Scotland’s universal Baby Box is also offered to all parents in Scotland. It provides essential items worth around £400 for the first 6 months of a baby’s life.

The Scottish Government is developing a new digital strategy which is due for publication in early 2025, for school education in Scotland. This is being developed in partnership with COSLA and key education stakeholders and will help support the use of technology in our schools.

In November 2024, we published an updated Additional Support for Learning Action Plan and a third progress report. The next update is due to be published in 2026. Officials continue to work with local government partners on the ASL Project Board to deliver the remaining actions to improve the experience of children and young people with additional support needs at school, including those who benefit from digital learning and assistive technology.

The Scottish Government also grant fund CALL Scotland £367,177 per year to have a positive and enabling impact on the provision of support to children and young people who can benefit from assistive technology or augmentative and alternative communication.

Work on developing a Stigma Action Plan has taken place, alongside progress with the National Collaborative, who are publishing a Charter of Rights for People Affected by Substance Use on 11 December 2024.

The Charter was developed by a wide network of people with experience of substance use and aims to shift power and change culture, by empowering people affected by substance use to name and claim their rights, and be involved in decisions which impact them. It will also support service providers to understand how to realise these rights.

The purpose of the Medication Assisted Treatment standards is to improve access to treatment and enable people to make an informed choice about their care. The work that services are doing to embed the MAT standards is part of realising the right to health, and therefore very much aligns with the Charter of Rights.

Since the launch of the Young Patients Family Fund in July 2021, Health Boards have reported the following number of claims were made.

The Scottish Quota Management Rules were published on 18 September 2024, these detail how fishing opportunities are distributed to the Scottish fishing industry.

The rules state that a further update may be made, when the application process for West of Scotland cod additional quota launches in 2025. This initiative will invite bids for quota, principally on the basis of enhanced fishing gear selectivity and reduced environmental impact.

In May 2023 we published an analysis of survey data of health boards’ arrangements for the care and support of individuals with ME/CFS, with the aim of establishing a clearer picture of variations in service provision around Scotland.

We have since gathered updated information on ME/CFS care from every health board in Scotland and published this on 20 November 2024.

Subject to approval, the 2025-26 budget includes new investment of £4.5 million to deliver new specialist support across the country for Long Covid, ME/CFS, and other similar conditions.

This important investment will support people with these conditions across Scotland, and we are asking Parliament to unite behind the Budget to ensure this funding reaches the people who need it.