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An exam exceptional circumstances service will be available for learners who miss their exam due to, for example, illness which would include being ill with Covid-19.

This service is based on SQA’s established annual process. If a candidate is eligible for exceptional circumstances, their centre will provide appropriate assessment evidence gathered during the course of the year. The SQA will review this, along with any exam script and coursework, against the national standard to award appropriate grades.

Recruitment of invigilators is an operational matter for the SQA. SQA is working with centres to ensure sufficient numbers of invigilators are available, with contingencies in place to mitigate any unexpected absences due to Covid-19 during the exams.

In November 2021, 10 organisations were invited to submit a bid to tender through the Public Contract Scotland website, to undertake lived experience engagement relating to the current support service provision and needs of service users who are engaged with, or have lived experience of prostitution in Scotland, to better inform future service design. From those invites, one supplier responded with a tender for this work.

The evaluation criteria applied included the quality questions set out in the invitation to tender. These included an understanding of the current policy context regarding prostitution and the proposed approach to delivering a service mapping exercise and lived experience engagement. The invitation also asked for CVs of staff, setting out relevant experience, qualifications, and examples of recent relevant commissions in order to demonstrate the capability to deliver requirements. The criteria also assessed value for money, the price of the tender was evaluated against the value of the contract, this included a review of the costs submitted.

Following the review of the tender received, there was consensus from the evaluation panel (comprising of Scottish Government officials) that the criteria for awarding the contract had been met, and to award the contract.

Recognising the range of interests and experience related to the work of the short life working group (SLWG) considering fundamental principles which will underpin a model for Scotland to effectively tackle and challenge men’s demand for prostitution, a reference group was established. The reference group receives regular updates on this work and has the opportunity to input through e-mail. It does not hold meetings.

Following meetings of the SLWG which considered how support services should be reflected in the principles and how local and national approaches should be considered within the model, the reference group were contacted with questions related to these themes, seeking their views. The feedback from the reference group will be taken into account when developing the principles.

The final meeting of the SLWG will take place in April 2022, with further stakeholder engagement taking place on the draft principles, prior to their finalisation. This will include further opportunities for engagement with the reference group.

Across the whole UK, median annual pay for employees was £25,891 for the tax year ending 5 April 2021.

In the current tax year, someone earning that much would pay £2,662 in the rest of the UK, but £2,647 in Scotland.

The pandemic has seen the NHS under the most severe pressure in its 73-year existence. Pausing of non-urgent activity has taken place in health systems across Scotland, and the UK, which has inevitably led to a build-up of the numbers of people waiting for treatment.

Through the NHS Recovery Plan, the Scottish Government continues to work with Health Boards, including NHS Grampian to support and prioritise recovery for planned care.

While NHS Grampian is working locally to increase capacity and reduce waiting times for patients waiting for surgery, specifically prioritising Cardiac Surgery wherever possible, the Golden Jubilee National Hospital has been providing dedicated additional capacity for people waiting on cardiac surgery. This has paused briefly due to staffing pressures at the Golden Jubilee National Hospital as a result of the pandemic but will be reinstated as soon as possible.

Where a patients procedure is cancelled, NHS Grampian will try to reschedule this as soon as possible.

We are facilitating discussion with NHS Tayside and NHS Grampian to work towards opening additional capacity at Stracathro Regional Treatment Centre to further support both Boards. The National Treatment Centres will provide the single biggest increase in planned care capacity ever created in the NHS.

The Scottish Government published the framework for clinical prioritisation, which provides NHS Scotland with clear principles for prioritising planned care while ensuring appropriate COVID-19 safety and priority measures are in place. This guidance provides clear guidance on determining a patient’s clinical urgency and sets out review stages to ensure each individual patient’s case is assessed regularly to ensure the most appropriate care.

It remains our firm intention that exams take place this year. They would only be cancelled if public health guidance prevented gatherings during the exam timetable. The safety of children, young people, and all education staff remains the overriding priority.

For 2022-23, the average Band D Council Tax bill in Scotland is £1,347 compared to £1,966 in England and £1,777 in Wales.

The Scottish Government is committed to upholding and advancing the rights of those that choose to make their life here in Scotland, including former Hong Kong residents. Racism and discrimination are completely unacceptable and will not be tolerated.

The Scottish Government has worked closely with the UK Government, COSLA, Police Scotland and third sector partners to understand the needs and requirements of former Hong Kong residents to support their integration into our communities.

As well as publishing a dedicated British National (Overseas) welcome pack, in both English and Cantonese, we have also provided funding to COSLA, who have a dedicated online Hong Kong Welcome Hub intended for Hong Kong BN(O) migrants arriving in Scotland and Council Officers supporting their integration. Both resources include information on what to do if someone is the victim of racism or discriminatory practices.

We encourage anyone subjected to racism or discrimination to report it to the relevant authorities.

Non-disclosure agreements (NDA) are used for a variety of purposes and may be included in a number of different contractual and settlement arrangements. The Scottish Government has no plans to review the use of NDAs at this time. In an employment context, the UK Government consulted on measures to prevent the misuse of NDAs in situations of workplace harassment or discrimination in 2019 and further information can be found here . Responsibility for employment law is a reserved matter.