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The Scottish Government is committed to driving key efficiency programmes such as Scottish Single Estates, Commercial Value for Money (CVfM), Collaborative Procurement frameworks, the Intelligence Automation Centre of Excellence, and Digital programme. There has been strong progress across these programmes which are expected to reach up to £280 million of cost avoidance and cash releasing savings over a two-year period by the end of 2024-25. This figure is not related to pay costs for board members of public sector or other non-departmental bodies.

Decisions in relation to Exceptional Circumstances and Appeals services for the National Qualifications are an operational matter for the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA).

Figures quoted in a recent media article related to SQA’s Exam Exceptional Circumstances Consideration Service (EECCS). SQA is the only awarding body in the UK that offers an exceptional circumstances service which specifically reviews alternative evidence. It has been designed to offer young people the best opportunity to demonstrate evidence of attainment if their examination experience is impacted by, for example, bereavement, illness or other personal circumstances. This is a pre-certification process, with requests being submitted within 10 working days after the relevant exam. This means that if a young person experiences bereavement or other personal circumstance ahead of an exam, they can ask for alternative evidence to be taken into account when their grade is being determined – whether or not they are able to attend the exam.

The SQA Appeals service is a separate process that takes place following certification for learners who consider they have not achieved their expected results, and involves a marking review of SQA-marked assessments. Candidates who have undergone exceptional circumstances consideration are excluded from the Appeals Service for the same qualification. This is because the EECCS includes a marking review of any/all submitted external assessments that are related to the request.

SQA provided figures in response to a Freedom of Information (FOI) request from The Herald newspaper on the number of EECCS requests made and cancelled. SQA do not categorise EECCS requests as successful or rejected. It is incorrect to interpret the data as showing that the SQA did not approve over 90% of exam appeals made on the grounds of bereavement.

While SQA may cancel an EECCS request in some circumstances (where, for example, estimates had not been provided, coursework not completed, or a lack of supporting evidence), a larger number of requests are cancelled by the candidate’s centre (school, college or training provider).

For personal circumstances, such as bereavement, the type of EECCS request submitted is determined by the Head of Centre. SQA do not assess the reason for the request or require access to further details regarding the submission. A centre may cancel an EECCS request if they later determine that either there is not a justification for the request, or the alternative evidence available is not sufficient.

To maintain impartiality and fairness, examiners are not provided with any information about the nature of an EECCS request. This is an important safeguard that has been built into the EECCS to ensure that all candidates are treated equally and receive grades based on evidence-based demonstrated attainment against the national standard.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-37627 on 27 May 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

There are a range of approaches in place which support the prevention of harm to vulnerable young people by those who work with them.

If an organisation has employees or volunteers doing a regulated role, it has a legal duty to report harmful behaviour to Disclosure Scotland. This duty applies whether the person is a member of the PVG scheme or not.

There are also a range or regulatory organisations whose function are to maintain professional standards. For example, the General Teaching Council for Scotland.

We are committed to tackling the underlying issues which influence ideologies and seek to protect the rights of all young people. For example, in schools we have undertaken work, aligned to the implementation of the Equality Act to prevent discrimination; through challenging racism, misogyny, and bullying and through approaches such as LGBT Inclusive Education and Supporting Transgender Young people in Schools Guidance which makes clear the responsibility of schools to support young people who are considering or who have changed their gender identity in order to ensure that they do not experience discrimination within schools and can reach their full potential.

Local authorities are responsible for the management of their own digital assets and will have processes and financing in place to deal with the repair or replacement of devices as required. We do not hold this information centrally.

In December 2022, local authorities reported that around 280,000 devices had been distributed to learners. This figure contains the 72,000 Scottish Government funded device from the pandemic alongside those purchased through local investment. We do not hold an updated figure but would expect this to be significantly higher, given the ongoing investment from local authorities since this time.

The Ireland Scotland Joint Bilateral Review 2021-25, co-produced by both Scottish and Irish governments, recognises the strong cultural and people-to-people links between the two countries and commits to strengthening these.

The funding from the Scottish Government to Belong To in Ireland is a contribution to the Empowering Voices project, which is also supported by the Welsh Government and British Council. The project is coordinated by Belong To (Ireland), and involves LGBT Youth Scotland (Scotland), Education Authority (Northern Ireland), The Proud Trust (England), and Viva LGBT+ (Wales). The project provides a platform for young LGBT+ people from each of the five nations to share their lived experiences.

The Scottish Government has no current plans for any future growth deals. We encourage all local authorities responsible for the design and delivery of growth deals to consult the communities they serve in shaping the Growth Deal programmes. This includes the business community.

Each Deal is required to produce a Benefits Realisation Plan setting both quantitative and qualitative objectives and measures for the programme. Each Deal produces an annual report detailing progress made on the delivery of agreed projects and programmes and on their intended outputs and outcomes. We monitor progress on outcomes on a regular basis via Annual Conversations which involve senior staff from both governments and local authority partners to review the past year’s activity and look ahead to future milestones. Annual reports for all deals are made publicly available on each deal’s website enabling visibility of what is being achieved.

In financial year 2025-26, City and Regional Growth Deals have a combined budget of £215 million. We are working with individual deals to finalise allocations for the year ahead, aligned with the anticipated profile for programme delivery. We expect to conclude discussions and confirm allocations by the end of May.