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No additional funding has been confirmed as part of the Chancellor’s statement, with the consequential position, as per normal practice, confirmed as part of the Supplementary Estimates process in January/February 2025.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with the UK Government to seek clarity on changes that have an impact on funding.

Information on future year funding will be outlined as part of the UK Government Spending Review, the first two years of which will be published alongside the Autumn Statement on the 30th of October.

Edinburgh Rape Crisis Centre (ERCC) is an independent charitable organisation and its governance and operational management are matters for the ERCC Board to consider and act upon. The Scottish Government expects all recipients of public funding to comply with relevant laws.

This information is not currently held centrally. Students applying to the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) for the Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA) for the first time are referred for an assessment of their needs before a decision can be made. SAAS does not set the timing of this process, as it is undertaken by an external party. A new DSA Online system is currently in development.

As outlined on 18 June 2024 in response to question S6W-27934, the delivery costs to date of designating a new National Park, excluding staffing costs and expenses, are £331,409.05.

The Scottish Government estimates the final cost of designating a new National Park to be £478,500. This includes the delivery costs incurred to date as well as estimated costs for the next phase of work. It does not include the cost of a Reporter Investigation which will be undertaken by NatureScot.

The annual running cost of a new National Park will be determined by a range of factors which will be considered and consulted upon during the Reporter Investigation. This includes the size and boundary of any area proposed for designation and the powers, functions and governance of a new National Park.

Any new National Park would be expected to contribute to Scottish Government priorities including growing the economy, tackling the climate emergency and improving public services.

The Scottish Government believes that Citizens’ Assemblies are an important and effective method to involve the public in policy and decision making.

The Scottish Government is currently engaged in developing the prospectus for independence through the Building a New Scotland papers, in order that people have information about the opportunities of independence and what it would mean for them. At this stage there are no plans for Citizens’ Assemblies on Scotland’s route to independence.

The Building a New Scotland paper on Scotland’s constitution makes a commitment to a legally mandated Constitutional Convention that would create the permanent constitution of an independent Scotland.

Ensuring universities are on a sustainable trajectory is at the heart of our considerations to reform the post-school system, so that the significant investment we are making delivers the best outcomes for learners, the economy and society.

I met with officials from PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Universities Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council on 29 May 2024. At this meeting, PwC outlined the key findings from Scotland-specific modelling that Universities Scotland had commissioned them to undertake to assess the financial outlook for universities.

On the basis of this analysis, the potential risk of a sustained decline in numbers of international students leading to future financial challenges for some universities, was discussed.

As autonomous institutions, universities have the key role in mitigating financial pressures and external risks. On this basis, it was further discussed at the meeting that universities would consider a range of actions to mitigate the risks around declining international student recruitment, and that Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council would continue to engage with the university sector on financial sustainability risks and developing their own mitigation strategies.

The UK Government abolished EMA in 2011 and therefore there have been no discussions with them regarding EMA in recent years.

In January 2024, EMA officials met with the Welsh Government to provide an overview of the current EMA programme in Scotland. The purpose of this meeting was to support the review of EMA being conducted by the Welsh Government which is due to publish later this year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-27931 on 14 June 2024. 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 .

Education Maintenance Allowance already contributes to the raising attainment agenda. It seeks to remove financial inequality and give every young person the same opportunity to remain and progress in learning, no matter their financial circumstances.

EMA is one form of key support we have in place for children and young people in education. Additional support measures include Free School Meals, the school clothing grant and free bus travel for those under the age of 22. These measures also contribute to our wider ambition of raising attainment.

Further to our previous response Ministers and officials will engage with a range of stakeholders ahead of Stage 2.