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In April 2022 increased planning fees came into effect providing much needed additional resource to Planning Authorities. Whilst the use of this additional resource is a matter for individual authorities, some authorities have reported that the fee increase has allowed them to retain or recruit new members of staff.

We are committed to continuing to work with Heads of Planning Scotland, the Royal Town Planning Institute and other stakeholders on training and skills. The Future Planners Project, commissioned by the Scottish Government, was carried out between January – April 2022. The project focused on exploring the options available to support the growth of entrants into the planning profession in Scotland. We are currently working with the Royal Town Planning Institute and Heads of Planning Scotland to implement the recommendations of the report.

Ministers meet representatives of civil society organisations from time to time to discuss matters of common interest. Meetings with the Human Rights Consortium Scotland have been held on a number of occasions since May 2021.

Information about ministerial engagements is proactively released and is publicly available on the Scottish Government website .

Civil society organisations contribute in other ways to the development and delivery of public policy in Scotland, for example through participation in working groups and advisory boards.

The Human Rights Consortium Scotland is a member of the Governance and Engagement Board for the Scottish Government’s proposed Human Rights Bill. Details are available on the Scottish Government website .

Ministers meet representatives of civil society organisations from time to time to discuss matters of common interest. Meetings with JustRight Scotland have been held on a number of occasions since May 2021.

Information about ministerial engagements is proactively released and is publicly available on the Scottish Government website .

Civil society organisations contribute in other ways to the development and delivery of public policy in Scotland, for example through participation in working groups and advisory boards.

JustRight Scotland are a member of the Scottish Government Human Rights Bill Advisory Board. Details of the Advisory Board are available on the Scottish Government website .

Ministers meet representatives of civil society organisations from time to time to discuss matters of common interest. Meetings with Amnesty International have been held on a number of occasions since May 2021.

Information about ministerial engagements is proactively released and is publicly available on the Scottish Government website .

Civil society organisations contribute in other ways to the development and delivery of public policy in Scotland, for example through participation in working groups and advisory boards.

Amnesty International is a member of the steering committee for the Scottish Human Rights Defender Fellowship, which is funded by the Scottish Government and delivered by the University of Dundee in collaboration with Amnesty International and other independent civil society organisations.

No decision has yet been taken regarding funding for counsellors in colleges and universities beyond the end of the current Academic Year.

The 2021 Digital Health and Care strategy aims to make the right information available to all appropriate staff, when and where it is needed. It builds on the existing use of electronic patient record systems used by all Health Boards and GP practices. Our recently publish Data Strategy for Health and Social Care augments this ambition.

Improving the creation and retention of digital records allows for greater sharing of information and reduces the need for multiple paper records to exist across multiple locations. The focus is on allowing medical records to be stored, linked, and shared securely according to the information needed. To achieve this most Health Boards, have a Clinical Portal. This system works across organisational, regional, and national boundaries to provide a timely transfer of information. The key developments to improve the sharing of information within Health Boards is the GPIT Programme, the National Digital Platform, TRAK Care and Clinical Portal.

HEPMA ( Hospital Electronic Prescribing and Medicines Administration ) is a system that can also replace paper prescribing and medication administration systems within hospitals. It has already been successfully implemented in six Health boards across Scotland and all remaining Health Boards all expected to roll it out by the end of 2025.

The annual Scottish Budget document sets out the detail of the health, including Scottish Government funding for NHS boards. Budget documents are available from the Scottish Government’s website: Scottish Budget - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government continues to prioritise investment in frontline NHS services, with funding increasing by over £1.4 billion since 2021-22 – well ahead of our trajectory to increase funding by 20% over the life of the Parliament.

Data from Scottish Colleges covering Successful Completions and Destinations are collected and published as National and Official Statistics by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

• College Performance Indicators (CPI) – – College Performance Indicators 2020-21 (sfc.ac.uk)
• College Leaver Destinations – College Leaver Destinations 2020-21 (sfc.ac.uk)

Under the Code of Practice for Statistics, publications undergo systematic and periodic reviews on the strengths and limitations of the data.

As an example of the continuing work in this area, SFC has initiated collection of students’ reasons for withdrawal (RfW) from colleges. The first year of collection of the data in 2021-22 was during the Covid-19 pandemic and is therefore considered experimental data. SFC will be working with Colleges Scotland and College Development Network (CDN) to improve the capture of student withdrawal data in future years to enable publication.

Over the coming months SFC will also be undertaking a review of the definitions of college student outcomes metrics, to ensure that they provide the most appropriate measures of success for students.

Student Satisfaction statistics are published on an annual basis. The latest Student Satisfaction statistics published by the SFC show that nine out of 10 (90.2%) full-time students were satisfied with their college experience in 2021-22. This is a positive improvement on the previous year’s statistics and similar to the figures for years preceding the pandemic. These figures will continue to be monitored.

Operational decisions are matters for colleges to determine and they must adapt and respond to the current economic needs flexibly. The future financial position remains exceptionally challenging and consequently, colleges are considering the steps that they must take in order to ensure their financial viability and sustainability. It is for each individual college to determine how best to secure its sustainability while continuing to deliver provision to meet the needs of their regions, communities and students.

The Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) College Infrastructure Strategy: The Approach to Delivering Scotland’s College Infrastructure, published in November 2022, supports the college sector’s ambitions for net zero with the planned production of an Infrastructure Investment Plan for the college sector being a key goal.

The strategy recognises that investment in college infrastructure is needed and presents a significant opportunity for colleges to play their part in tackling the climate emergency. SFC will support colleges to progress their Net Zero ambitions that are integral to any future infrastructure investment.