Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Education Exchange Programme (SEEP) Test and Learn Project was launched in 2023.

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 provided opportunities for students from Scottish institutions who would not meet the criteria for Turing Scheme funding to participate in a mobility project.

Year 2 projects concluded on 31 March 2025. Institutions are currently submitting end of project reports which will feed into the external evaluation of the project, the report from which is due to be published late summer.

Additional information on the year 2 projects can be found on the Scottish Government website: Scottish Education Exchange Programme: - Test and Learn: funded projects - gov.scot.

In the 2 years of SEEP Test and learn Scottish colleges and universities planned to collaborate with over 100 international partners across 38 countries. Please see a list below of countries partnered with in year one and year two.

1.Argentina

2.Australia

3.Belgium

4.Brazil

5.Canada

6.China

7.Czech Republic

8.Denmark

9.Egypt

10.Estonia

11.Finland

12.Flanders

13.France

14.Germany

15.Ghana

16.Greece

17.Hong Kong

18.India

19.Indonesia

20.Ireland

21.Japan

22.Italy

23.Lithuania

24.Malaysia

25.Nepal

26.Netherlands

27.Pakistan

28.Singapore

29.Spain

30.South Africa

31.South Korea

32.Sweden

33.Taiwan

34.UAE

35.Uruguay

36.USA

37.Valencia

38.Vietnam

Scottish Government commissioned Consulting firm RSM UK Consulting LLP to undertake detailed modelling work to fully map the capacity requirements across the system to inform capacity building and implementation of the new model. The report was published on the 29 May 2024.

Each of the three Regional Planning Chief Executives has produced a plan outlining how they will move to the new model of care in their region. The plans are based on the capacity modelling work undertaken by RSM-UK and describe how the units will increase cot capacity to deliver the new model. Wishaw and Glasgow babies are included in the West Region, and are reflected in the capacity building in that plan.

Under the new model Neonatal Intensive Care will be delivered in three Units - the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Aberdeen Maternity Hospital. The change was recommended in the Best Start report published in 2017 and was supported by a review of evidence carried out by Dr Anna Gavine, Dr Steve MacGillivray and Prof Mary Renfrew of the University of Dundee and published alongside The Best Start.

The approach to high volume neonatal intensive care for the smallest and sickest babies is further supported by the publication in 2021 of the British Association for Perinatal Medicine (BAPM) Framework for Practice.

On the basis of this evidence, and data for Scotland, three units would be the best model for Scotland. The decision on the location of the final three units was based on advice from clinical experts who undertook an options appraisal to identify the units. The appraisal was published in July 2023.

The following table sets out the number of determined planning appeals in each of the last five years which have been recalled for a decision by Ministers, instead of being delegated to a reporter. These planning applications were appealed after having been refused or undetermined by the local planning authority. Information is provided on the number of recalled appeals allowed (granted) by Ministers and for comparison the number of recalled appeals dismissed (refused) by Ministers or withdrawn by the applicant.

There is no proposal to transfer neonatal care services to Aberdeen. In July 2023 I announced that three hospitals in Scotland, the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital in Glasgow, Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and Aberdeen Maternity Hospital would provide neonatal intensive care for the very smallest and sickest babies, based on evidence provided to The Best Start review by expert academics and professionals, that survival and outcomes for these babies is better when they are cared for in a smaller number of specialist units. All Neonatal Units in Scotland will continue to provide care for the vast majority of families locally and only a very small number of families will be affected by the change to the model of care.

The process of determining which units should provide Neonatal Intensive Care was undertaken by the Perinatal Sub Group of the Best Start, comprising NHS clinical leads, senior management and service user representatives.

The Scottish Government has consulted with families on implementation of the proposals so that their concerns and priorities are included when the pathways and processes for the new model of care are designed. A survey was launched on Citizen Space on 21 June 2024. The results of the survey and focus groups will now be shared with the Regional Planners to support implementation.

Our expectation with the new model is that care is delivered as close to home as possible. It would be highly unusual for babies to have to transfer to Aberdeen from the central belt and would only happen in exceptional circumstances when the central belt units reach capacity in intensive care. Currently NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde, NHS Lothian and NHS Grampian have plans in place to build additional capacity in their Neonatal Intensive Care units as part of the change process.

The Scottish Government is working hard to crack down on scammers and deliver better support for those targeted by scams.

We provided funding of £500,000 in 2021-22 to various members of Scotland’s Scams Prevention, Awareness & Enforcement Strategy Group to carry out targeted scams prevention and awareness work.

Our supported work includes the roll out by Trading Standards Scotland (TSS) of nearly 1,000 free call blocking devices to vulnerable individuals who were most at risk from scammers and rogue traders. The Scottish Government has also supported a project carried out by Advice Direct Scotland (ADS) to enhance the referral pathways available for connecting victims of scams to appropriate sources of support, and has provided separate funding to ADS to raise awareness of romance and companionship scams.

Since 2023, Consumer Scotland, which is funded by the Scottish Government, has been working with consumer organisations such as TSS to fund scams awareness campaigns, including the yearly Shut Out Scammers campaign. In April 2025, Consumer Scotland formally assumed responsibility for scams prevention and awareness work, supported by £175,000 of funding for this financial year.

The Scottish Government also funds the national consumer helpline, delivered by ADS and contactable at consumer advice or on 0808 164 6000. Suspicious activity can be reported to ADS or, where appropriate, to Police Scotland by calling 101.

A study by the Competition and Markets Authority on the housebuilding industry noted that small and medium housebuilders face higher costs, in per-plot terms, than larger competitors, due to the small-scale nature of their developments. The Scottish Government recognises that this could lead to smaller developers being disproportionately impacted by the introduction of the Scottish Building Safety Levy.

The Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment published alongside the Building Safety Levy (Scotland) Bill sets out Scottish Government’s assumptions on the likely impact of a Building Safety Levy in Scotland.

New build house sales make up just 9% of all Scottish residential sales in 2024-25. This, in addition to the existence of the secondary market for housing, means that residential housing developers do not have significant price setting power over the market as a whole. The Scottish Government’s assessment is, therefore, that the likelihood of the costs of the Levy leading to increased house prices is low.

With limited scope for developers to pass through the cost of the levy onto house buyers, the more likely scenario is that developers will seek to pass on the costs of the Levy on through paying a lower price for the land to be developed. This reflects evidence from the Competition and Markets Authority and the Scottish Land Commission, and was underlined in feedback provided by stakeholders as part of the consultation and engagement undertaken prior to the introduction of the Bill.

Scottish Government commissioned Consulting firm RSM-UK to undertake detailed modelling work to fully map the capacity requirements across the system to inform capacity building and implementation of the new model. The report looked at current establishment and expected additional workload and describes a required increase of 10 cots at the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, 4 cots at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and one cot at Aberdeen Maternity Hospital,

We are working with Regional Planning Chief Executives to plan and deliver this service change, informed by the testing that has been underway since 2018 in Ayrshire and Fife, and supported by SG funding of over £6m since 2019.