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Creative Scotland publishes information on all successful applications made to its funding programmes on its website. The assessment criteria for all funds are also published and are accessible to applicants and indeed any member of the public. It would not be appropriate for Creative Scotland to publish information on unsuccessful applications due to sensitivities around, for example, an applicant's commercial interests. It is the decision of each individual unsuccessful applicant whether they make the outcome of their application publicly known.

I agreed the remit of the Review of Creative Scotland with the independent Chair, Angela Leitch, and it is available on the Scottish Government’s website at the following link: Independent Review of Creative Scotland: remit - gov.scot

The review will include consideration of Creative Scotland’s finances and distribution of funds.

The Review is independent of the Scottish Government and will deliver its recommendations in November.

There are many factors that influence the price consumers pay for electricity. It is essential that we deliver net zero and build a secure energy system, but people in Scotland must see the benefit from that in their energy bills. The Scottish Government has been calling for the UK Government to take urgent action to address the high cost of electricity, as high energy prices remain the single greatest driver of fuel poverty in Scotland.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold this information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Scottish Water is investing some £36m every year to reduce leakage and this investment includes active leakage management to find and repair leaks, as well as repairs of visible and reported leakage and capital schemes to reduce leakage. This sum is part of a broader investment of some £110m every year in the operating and capital costs of managing leakage, repairing bursts, and rehabilitating water networks.

Decisions on offshore oil and gas licensing, as well as on consenting and the associated fiscal regime, are matters currently reserved to the UK Government.

The Scottish Government is clear in its own support for a just transition for Scotland’s valued offshore oil and gas sector, which recognises the maturity of the North Sea basin and is in line with our climate change commitments and energy security.

The Dynamic Support Register (DSR) provides a mechanism for national data collection relating to people with learning disabilities and complex care needs. However, the DSR does not include data broken down by specific conditions or diagnoses, including autism.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) collect and publish the DSR data quarterly, with the most recent collection for the quarter ending 26 December 2024, published in March 2025. This publication reported that forty people with learning disabilities and complex care needs in Scotland had been in hospital for ten years or more. The DSR full March PHS report is available here: Insights into learning disabilities and complex needs: statistics for Scotland - 18 March 2025 - Insights into learning disabilities and complex needs: statistics for Scotland - Publications - Public Health Scotland. The next DSR data collection will be published by PHS in June 2025.

In 2024, we asked the Mental Welfare Commission for Scotland (the Commission) to review the care and treatment of people with learning disabilities and complex care needs who had been in hospital for over ten years. The Mental Welfare Commission Report is available here: Hospital is not home

We are continuing to engage with the Commission and system leaders to address these delays and ensure that people’s human rights are upheld.

The Dynamic Support Register (DSR) provides a mechanism for national data collection on people with learning disabilities and complex care needs. However, data collected through the DSR is not broken down by how many individuals with autism and learning disabilities remain in hospital settings, despite being clinically fit for discharge.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) collect and publish quarterly data, with the most recent collection, from 26 December 2024, published in March 2025. At that time, there were 1,273 people on the DSR, of which there were 84 delayed discharges and 51 inappropriate out-of-area placements.

The full March PHS report is available here: Insights into learning disabilities and complex needs: statistics for Scotland - 18 March 2025 - Insights into learning disabilities and complex needs: statistics for Scotland - Publications - Public Health Scotland

The next DSR data collection will be published by PHS in June 2025.

Additionally, PHS publish monthly data on delayed discharges here: About this release - Delayed discharges in NHSScotland monthly - Figures for March 2025 - Delayed discharges in NHSScotland monthly - Publications - Public Health Scotland. This data is broken down to Health Board and Local Authority level.

Information on university retention rates is published by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) in the statistics publication “Report on Widening Access”. There is no breakdown by those with teacher assessed grades. The latest published data on retention rates covers those students starting in 2021-22 and continuing on to 2022-23.

There are numerous reasons why students may drop out of university which may include personal circumstances or moving into other positive destinations such as work or other forms of study.

We continue to learn from good practice in the sector, such as the University of the West of Scotland’s Student Success Model, which is premised on early intervention and supports student retention and progression.

Scottish Government is committed to enhancing outcomes for young people by delivering a fair and credible qualifications and assessment system as part of our work on qualification reform.

We want young people to have the opportunity to undertake the learner pathway that best matches their abilities and aspirations and ensures they are: successful learners, confident individuals, responsible citizens and effective contributors.

As this is an operational matter for Scottish Water, and the Scottish Government does not hold this information, I have asked them to respond. Their reply is as follows:

Annual leakage levels are published in Scottish Water’s annual report and accounts which are routinely laid before Parliament and available online at https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/Help-and-Resources/Document-Hub/Key-Publications/Annual-Reports. Data for England and Wales is published by Ofwat at https://www.ofwat.gov.uk/publication/leakage-dataset-june-2025/

The leakage figure reported by Scottish Water currently equates to circa 24.7% of water supplied. Leakage is a function of an ageing asset base, and rates are affected by the increase in extreme weather conditions.

If seeking to compare leakage in Scotland with other parts of the UK, it should be noted that Scottish Water’s network is different to many others due to the remote nature of many rural and island communities, as well as the topography and length of pipework used. Direct comparison is difficult due to the very localised nature of how leakage is calculated. When all the various factors are considered, Scotland’s leakage rate appears marginally higher than the average for the UK, however it is still comparable.

Overall, Scottish Water has made great progress and since 2007 has reduced leakage by some 58%.

The Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills has met recently with the Principal of Edinburgh University to discuss its cost-saving programme and potential impact on staff.

Staffing and operational matters are the responsibility of individual universities as autonomous institutions, however the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Councill will continue to engage closely with the sector and offer appropriate support to universities, including Edinburgh, as they develop their plans to address financial challenges.

Whilst Ministers cannot compel institutions to commit to no compulsory redundancies, the Scottish Government’s expectation is that universities work with staff to make every effort to protect jobs, and for compulsory redundancies to be considered as a last resort, after all other cost saving measures have been fully explored.