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a) The information requested on how many paediatric pathologists are based in Scotland is not centrally available. Information on paediatric pathologists, employed by NHS Scotland, can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence.

b) The information requested on any paediatric pathology services that have been acquired from elsewhere in the UK, over the past 24 months is not held centrally.

The Scottish Government has no functions in relation to the changes introduced by the UK Government's reform of public service pensions.

The Scottish Government will publish the findings from the second phase of the Local Governance Review’s community engagement process, Democracy Matters, in Summer 2024. Alongside this we will provide an update on our wider work with COSLA to conclude the review including the development of place specific, single authority, governance models. We will also set out the next steps in our work to deliver reforms that can further empower communities to take a greater role in local decision-making.

I refer the Member to the answer to question S6W-26002 on 18 March 2024, which provides an update on implementation of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 (the 2020 Act). 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/questions-and-answers .

This answer refers to a submission to the Citizen Participation and Public Petitions Committee in relation to Petition PE1968 outlining our position on implementation of the 2020 Act and the commencement status of provisions.

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice & Home Affairs also provided the Criminal Justice Committee with an update on implementation of previously passed legislation, including the 2020 Act, in the context of the Victims, Witnesses, and Justice Reform (Scotland) Bill: Letter from the Cabinet Secretary for Justice and Home Affairs .

The projected costs of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme are assessed and managed as part of the scheme actuarial valuation as directed by the UK Government. The latest quadrennial valuation of the scheme is based on data as at 31 March 2020 and was published on the SPPA website on 14 November 2023. It is available at the following address:

www.pensions.gov.scot/teachers/employers/pension-contribution-rates/valuations

The latest valuation led to an increase in the employer contribution rate from 23% to 26% for the implementation period 2024 to 2027. The rate will be reviewed again at the 2024 scheme valuation, ensuring the sustainability of the Scheme.

The Scottish Government welcomes the work of organisations like Coeliac UK who are already undertaking communications work to increase awareness and knowledge of coeliac disease and highlight the importance of knowing the symptoms and risk factors. We supported their messaging on Coeliac Awareness Month in May 2024 by sharing their twitter campaign highlighting awareness of coeliac disease and how the condition can be different for everyone.

NHSinform.scot provides clear and accessible information on coeliac disease, including symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment.

The Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme (STPS) continues to be an integral part of the remuneration package for teachers in Scotland. A Defined Benefit scheme, it offers the security of a guaranteed income in every year of retirement for all its members. Pensions in payment to retired members are inflation proofed and adjusted each April in line with the Consumer Prices Index. In April 2023, pensions increased by 10.1% and in April 2024 by a further 6.7%.

While Scottish Ministers have executively devolved responsibility for the STPS, they exercise those functions within a reserved framework. The Scottish Ministers must therefore implement policy which reflects UK government primary legislation and any secondary legislation introduced by Scottish Ministers requires HM Treasury approval.

The design of the STPS, including accrual rates and benefits payable from the scheme, are determined by reserved UK Government primary legislation. Scottish Ministers have no powers to vary the accrued benefits payable from the scheme to retired teachers without HM Treasury consent.

Attached is a list of suppliers with spend for Consultancy. The data has been sourced from The Procurement Information Hub and includes all suppliers that fall under the consultancy classification.

Due to the wide range of services captured under the term consultancy we are unable to predict the expenditure for financial year 2024-2025.

While there are differences across Scotland, the results following the latest update on progress towards implementation of PlGF-based testing indicate that capacity and infrastructure pose challenges for NHS Boards striving to effectively implement their plans.

The Scottish Government is initiating a new scoping exercise to better understand NHS Board’s current position in relation to using the PIGF test. Subsequently, officials will analyse the collected data to determine if further support is necessary to advance implementation plans.

The provisions of the Scottish Teachers’ Pension Scheme allow members to adjust their contribution rates and increase their pension benefits by purchasing Additional Pension or opting for Faster Accrual.

Additional Pension is an amount of extra pension which can be bought in multiples of £250 up to a maximum of £7,000 and can be paid for by additional monthly contributions over a period of 1 to 20 years. Faster Accrual allows members to earn pension at a faster rate than the standard accrual of 1/57 th by making extra monthly contributions. There are three faster accrual options: 1/45th, 1/50th and 1/55th.