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While the recruitment and deployment of teachers is the responsibility of local authorities, the Scottish government takes concerns about the recruitment and retention of teachers very seriously.

The Scottish Government conducts an annual teacher workforce planning exercise, at a national level, to forecast the need for newly registered teachers, consulting key stakeholders through the Teacher Workforce Planning Advisory Group (TWPAG). TWPAG, which includes representatives from local authorities, universities, GTCS, teacher unions, COSLA and SFC, recommends intake targets to Ministers.

This process is informed by a statistical model incorporating factors such as pupil projections, teacher turnover, post-probation employment rates, and ITE retention, supplemented by stakeholder input.

Local authorities have the statutory responsibility to manage their school estate, and determining appropriate Pupil Product Ratios (PPR). The Scottish Government does not hold national data comparing pupil yields with PPR assumptions, however, the Determining Primary School Capacity guidance supports local authorities in using locally derived evidence within their planning models. Any review of PPRs in light of future census data remains a matter for each authority.

The following table sets out how many licence applications were made to NatureScot for the purposes of controlling ravens in each year since 2021. The information also sets out how many licences were subsequently issued, amended before being issued, refused and cancelled by the applicant.

The Scottish Government published updated statutory RSHP teaching guidance in February 2026. The revised teaching guidance reflects the issues currently facing children and young people, especially around inclusivity, consent and healthy relationships as well as online influences.

Regarding content of the Scottish curriculum, I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-30034 on 3 October 2024, and S6W-32189 on 23 December 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.

Under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 local authorities are responsible for the delivery of education in their area, and to ensure that school environments are safe for pupils. In that context, decisions about introducing one-to-one digital device programmes sit with local authorities as part of their wider responsibilities for the planning and delivery of education.

Councils have a duty under the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 to manage and maintain local roads and footways in their area; and duties under the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 to secure expeditious, convenient and safe movement of traffic and people using their roads and footways.

Councils are entirely separate entities from the Scottish Government. Their powers are set out in statute and, it is up to each local authority to manage its own day to day business, including the maintenance of pavements. If pavements are of an unacceptable condition, complaints should be made directly to the council in question. Thereafter, if the matter remains unresolved, the complaint may be able to be referred to the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman.

The Scottish Government does not hold data on the cost to each NHS board of treating injuries, such as hip fractures, resulting from falls on poorly maintained or untreated public footways. Individual health boards/ambulance services may hold this data but, likely only in relation to the types of injuries treated and not the reasons for them.

The impact of deprivation on attainment is well understood and addressed through the Strategic Attainment Challenge Programme. The Scottish Government implements a range of policies, including Free School Meals, to mitigate the impact of poverty on pupils, support readiness to learn and contribute to the aims of the Scottish Attainment Challenge to close the poverty-related attainment gap. Taken together, these measures form part of our wider approach to equity in education and support our ongoing work to close the poverty-related- attainment gap. A summative evaluation report on the Scottish Attainment Challenge was published on 17 March, highlighting significant system-wide progress in embedding a culture of equity in Scotland’s education system and can be accessed on gov.scot.

While the Scottish Government does not evaluate the impact of Free School Meals on attainment, it does collect annual data on the number of registrations and uptake of meals, which are published on gov.scot. This helps inform decisions on future expansion of the programme.

Local authorities are responsible for managing their school estate in line with statutory duties and ensure that capacity assessments reflect modern educational design requirements. The Determining Primary School Capacity guidance recognises evolving approaches to school design and supports authorities in assessing planning and working capacity accordingly.

It is for individual planning authorities to determine whether to seek developer contributions towards infrastructure delivery to enable development, whilst also considering the level of contributions and the potential impact on the viability of development. Developer contributions sought via Section 75 planning obligations should comply with the tests set out in National Planning Framework 4 and Circular 4/2025.

The information requested is included in the National Improvement Framework Interactive Evidence Report (NIFIER). This can be accessed via the following link: National Improvement Framework Interactive Evidence Report

To download the data go to the Data tab. Under Select Outcome choose "NIF Key Measures" and under Select Measure choose "Percentage of secondary school leavers in a positive initial destination".

Currently there is only LA level data published for this indicator for 2023-24. There is a planned update to the NIFIER on 14 April 2026 and at this point data will be added for 2024-25 and earlier years.

Transport Scotland will set a time limit which is proportionate and appropriate for this competition. This will be applied consistently to all invited bidders and will exceed the minimum time limit of 30 days set out by Regulation 29(6).