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Each school should have a relationships and behaviour policy setting out clear expectations of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour, and the responses which staff can utilise. Staff should respond to behaviour in line with this policy. The existing Scottish Government policy framework, including the national policy on exclusion, allows the use of consequences.

This government is committed to doing what it can to provide support and direction at a national level, informed by our national evidence base. Ultimately, it is the responsibility local authorities to decide how to promote positive relationships and behaviour in their schools. We expect local authorities to consider how best to implement our national guidance to meet particular needs and experiences at a local level, identifying areas of local challenge or concern.

As part of the relationships and behaviour action plan, we will be providing clarity on the range of approaches and consequences that are available, including exclusion where there is no appropriate alternative. This guidance is being developed by a sub-group of the Scottish Advisory Group on Relationships and Behaviour in Schools, together with the Head Teacher Taskforce and will be published later this year.

Individual Local Authorities, as employers, are responsible for managing teaching vacancies and providing job opportunities across Scotland.

Teaching vacancies are advertised across Scotland, throughout the year, through a process of fair and open recruitment. Local authorities must balance the teaching jobs they advertise with their local needs and contexts.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes annual data on the number of teachers employed across Scotland’s 32 Local Authorities through the Annual Teacher Census. This data can be accessed at: School education statistics - gov.scot.

The Establishment of an Education Assurance Board, which was part of Scottish Government and local government’s joint agreement published in December 2024, will provide a forum by which we can carry out joint monitoring of employment practices, share best practice and ensure that teacher numbers return to 2023 levels; while understanding and considering local needs and geographical and subject recruitment challenges.

We recognise that online platforms, including social media, can have both positive and negative impacts on children and young people’s mental health and wellbeing and that support must be in place to help children use social media in a healthy and balanced way. It is important to note that regulation of the internet is a reserved matter to the UK Government, however we have previously successfully engaged on its Online Safety Act to strengthen protections for young people.

The budget for 2025-26 proposes planned investment of £768 million in the Affordable Housing Supply Programme, an increase of more than £200m compared to the 2024-25 published budget. This will help tackle the housing emergency while contributing towards our target of delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032 of which at least 70% will be social rented homes.

The 2025-2026 budget will help fund the completion of existing new build and rehabilitation project commitments as well as new project approvals, including our targeted £40m voids and acquisitions commitment, and new build site starts.

We have also committed £100 million over the longer term to grow institutional investment to at least £500 million and support the construction of around 2,800 mid-market rent homes.

The Housing Investment Taskforce is progressing its identified priority workstreams so that we can make sure that Scotland has the right conditions to enable investment to flow and deliver the homes that people need. The Taskforce is due to report by the end of March 2025.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) has introduced a more positive, plan-led and all-tenure approach to deliver quality homes, where they are needed and strengthens planning policy for affordable homes, requiring ‘at least 25%’ of the total number of homes on a site to be affordable. This can be varied where either there is greater need or where it may affect the viability of sites coming forward.

As the statutory housing authority for their area, local authorities are responsible for assessing housing need and demand, and for setting out how this will be met through their Local Housing Strategies and Strategic Housing Investment Plans (SHIPs). SHIPs set out local authority strategic investment priorities over a five year period and inform Scottish Government investment decisions.

We continue to work closely with partners to deliver the right homes in the right places across Scotland and since 2007, we have supported the delivery of more than 135,000 affordable homes, over 95,000 of which were for social rent, including over 26,000 council homes. Within this, between 23 March 2022 and end of September 2024, we have delivered 24,382 affordable homes towards the 110,000 target, of which over 18,000 have been homes for social rent.

The Scottish Government regularly publishes figures on homes delivered, which can be found online at:

Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scot

The Scottish Government's ambition is for everyone to have a safe, good quality and affordable home that meets their needs in the place where they want to be. Housing to 2040 remains our key overarching long-term strategy that sets out a vision and roadmap to ensuring everyone in Scotland has a safe, good quality and affordable home by 2040, and as part of that we remain focused on delivering 110,000 affordable homes by 2032, with at least 70% of these for social rent and 10% in rural and island areas.

Between 23 March 2022 and end of September 2024, we have delivered 24,382 affordable homes towards the 110,000 target, of which over 18,000 (76%) have been homes for social rent. Based on management figures, we have delivered over 12,000 affordable homes in rural and island communities, between April 2016 and March 2024.

The Scottish Government regularly publishes figures on homes delivered, which can be found online at:

Housing statistics quarterly update: new housebuilding and affordable housing supply - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Statistics to end December 2024 are due to be published on Tuesday 25 March 2025.

Scottish Government recognises the financial pressures that many households are experiencing, including debts to public sector bodies. However, it is important to be clear on the role and responsibilities of all partners in relation to public sector debt and to recognise that local authorities have independence to make decisions particularly regarding their approach to collection of council tax arrears and school meal debt.

Scottish Ministers have consistently encouraged public bodies to share good practice on debt assistance and collection and to show empathy and dignity when working with people struggling with debts. This includes using the Good practice principles for managing school meal debt[1] published by COSLA in February 2023 following engagement with local government partners.

The Scottish Government and COSLA recognise that there are opportunities to improve collection practices in Council Tax. The ‘Joint Working Group on Council Tax Reform’, which is co-chaired by COSLA, is undertaking work to encourage better practices in debt collection. This includes ensuring that councils are furnished with the information they need to improve practices, and identify those in need of support.

In addition, Social Security Scotland is committed to delivering a debt management service that is responsive to clients’ needs while protecting the public purse. This includes an approach for vulnerable clients that includes training debt officers to identify and sensitively handle potential hardship and vulnerable clients, as well as signposting them to support and advocacy groups.

The Scottish Social Housing Charter sets outcomes that social landlords need to meet. An outcome on tenancy sustainment states; that tenants get the information they need on how to obtain support to remain in their home; and landlords ensure suitable support is available, including services provided directly by the landlord and by other organisations. This includes tenants who may be at risk of falling into arrears with their rent. Where a tenant is struggling to pay their rent they should seek support immediately from their landlord.

[1]Good-Practice-Principles-for-School-Meal-Debt-Management.pdf (cosla.gov.uk)

We are taking decisive action to reduce the number of households with children in temporary accommodation. Increasing affordable and social housing supply is the best way to do this and the reinstated budget of £768 million for
2025-26 will enable the delivery of over 8,000 homes.

Additional investment of £42 million this year has been targeted to five local authorities with sustained temporary accommodation pressures. That funding is to increase the supply of social and affordable homes, including larger properties that are suitable for families, through acquisitions and bringing empty social homes back into use.

The homelessness prevention duties in the Housing (Scotland) Bill will mean people get help to avoid housing crisis and an additional £4 million will be available in 2025-26 to support services to prevent homelessness before it occurs.