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The Scottish Government published ‘Migration - Meeting Scotland's Needs’ in January setting out the economic benefits of migration to Scotland.

Scotland’s has distinct demographic challenges. While the UK’s working population is projected to increase by 0.5% between 2025-75 Scotland’s is projected to fall by 14.7%. Positive net migration increases the size of the working-age population, which is crucial for economic growth as well as fiscal sustainability. The UK Migration Advisory Committee has found that a 1% increase in the migrant share of the workforce is associated with a productivity improvement of between 1.2% and 3%. Research has shown that migrants contribute more to government revenue through taxes than they receive in public services. Migration can help meet the needs of our economy, public services and communities.

Local authorities are responsible for the management of their school estate including decisions about the closure of schools. Scottish Ministers do not receive requests for school closures from local authorities.

Local authorities are however required by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) to submit school closure decisions for Ministerial review. Ministers can then “call-in” the decision for review by an independent school closure review panel if it appears to Scottish Ministers that the local authority may have failed, in a significant regard, to comply with the requirements imposed on it by the 2010 Act, or to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision.

The following table sets out the number of school closure decisions for rural schools only, received by Scottish Ministers for their review from each local authority over the last four years.

Local authorities are responsible for the management of their school estate including decisions about the closure of schools. Local authorities are required by the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) to carry out a full public consultation where they are proposing a permanent school closure.

Local authorities must also undertake specific additional steps when they propose to close a rural school. These include clearly demonstrating that they have considered alternatives to closure, an assessment of the likely impact on the community and impact on travel to school arrangements for local pupils. The local authority must also set out the educational benefit of the closure which is subject to an independent report by HM Inspectors. The local authority must respond to HM Inspectors’ assessment of the educational impact on those affected. If a proposal to close a school is rejected, then the local authority cannot repeat the process for five years, providing stability for the local community. These protections are intended to ensure that local authorities think very carefully before closing a rural school and consult extensively with the local community about their proposal.

Where it appears to Scottish Ministers that the local authority may have failed, in a significant regard, to comply with the requirements imposed on it by the 2010 Act, or to take proper account of a material consideration relevant to its decision they may “call-in” the decision for review by an independent School Closure Review Panel.

The information is not available in the format requested, however, the Scottish Government routinely publishes data on local authority voids, with the latest data available here: Housing statistics: Local authority housing stock - gov.scot.

Data on alcohol-specific deaths are published annually by National Records Scotland (NRS) and can be found here: https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/publications/alcohol-specific-deaths-2023/

Data on alcohol-specific deaths for 2024 are not yet published. The number of alcohol-specific deaths for the five year period 2019-2023 are listed in the following table, alongside the number and proportion of these deaths where the underlying cause of death was alcoholic liver disease.

The number of hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol is published on the Public Health Scotland’s (PHS) website. For the five year period, the number of hospital admissions wholly attributable to alcohol is presented in the following table.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Ministers act in a manner consistent with the Scottish Government’s duty to uphold the Equality Act 2010 at all times.

Any form of violence is unacceptable and will not be tolerated. Schools should be safe and consistent learning environments for all.

Since May 2023, we have responded to teachers’ concerns about relationships and behaviour in a number of ways. This includes the publication of new guidance on gender-based violence, updating our guidance on mobile phones and anti-bullying, and providing £900k to local authorities to support training of support staff.

In August 2024, we published a joint relationships and behaviour in schools action plan with COSLA. The action plan sets out 20 actions to be taken by 2027 at both national and local level to help support schools to improve relationships and behaviour. This includes guidance on the use of consequences in schools and updating our national guidance on exclusions.

In addition, in 2025-26 we are providing:

• A further £29 million of additional investment to local authorities for additional support needs.
• £130 million Pupil Equity Funding to schools.
• £186.5 million to local authorities to restore overall teacher numbers across the country to 2023 level, and maximise the number of teaching posts available.

Finally, through implementation of the Violence Prevention Framework for Scotland, we have invested over £4m in the last two years to help prevent and reduce violence across Scotland. Over 2024-25, £2m of this investment has been used to support delivery of prevention activity including action focussed specially towards young people in collaboration with a range of partners.

Research conducted by Public Health Scotland estimated that Minimum Unit Pricing had reduced alcohol-attributable deaths in Scotland by 13.4%, or 156 per year, up to the end of 2020, compared to what would have happened if Minimum Unit Pricing had not been in place.

Public Health Scotland’s final report on the independent evaluation of the impact of Minimum Unit Pricing can be found here:

https://publichealthscotland.scot/publications/evaluating-the-impact-of-minimum-unit-pricing-for-alcohol-in-scotland-a-synthesis-of-the-evidence/

Data on alcohol-specific deaths for 2024 is due to be published later this year. The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment for the continuation and future pricing of Minimum Unit Pricing includes estimated impacts of a 65p per unit minimum price on mortality outcomes based on modelling undertaken by the University of Sheffield. It is estimated that, compared to the removal of Minimum Unit Pricing, a minimum price of 65p per unit would result in 110 fewer alcohol-specific deaths in the first year. Additionally, it is estimated that there would be 191 fewer all-cause deaths, as reducing alcohol consumption can prevent deaths from causes beyond those wholly attributed to alcohol, such as injuries or other health conditions.

The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/minimum-unit-pricing-mup-continuation-future-pricing-business-regulatory-impact-assessment/

The Scottish Government is committed to addressing the gender export gap in Scotland, confirmed by the findings in the recent Gender Export Gap research report.

Recognising the significant economic potential of women-led businesses, we are determined to ensure they are supported to expand internationally.

Our delivery agencies, including Scottish Enterprise, Business Gateway, and the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, play a pivotal role in delivering this support. Working with the Scottish Government, they will be instrumental in implementing the report's recommendations, providing tailored advice, assistance, and international market access opportunities to help women-led businesses succeed on the global stage. Through these efforts, we aim to foster a more inclusive and dynamic exporting landscape in Scotland.

The Gender Export Gap report and Scottish Government’s response to it is available here: Gender export gap report: response - gov.scot.