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The Scottish Government is absolutely committed to embedding anti-racism in education. As part of the Anti-Racism in Education Programme for financial year 2023-24 the Scottish Government provided the following funding aimed at providing anti-racist education. Funding streams for 24-25 will be published in due course.

The Scottish Governments set out what people should expect when using health, social care or social work services in Scotland including care homes. They seek to provide better outcomes for everyone; to ensure that individuals are treated with respect and dignity, and that the basic human rights are upheld. Standard 2.12 states that if residents are unable to make their own decisions, the views of those who know their wishes, such as carers, independent advocates, formal or informal representatives must be sought and taken into account.

The Care Inspectorate is the regulator of care services in Scotland and is a non- departmental body and independent of the Scottish Government. Using the Health and Social Care Standards, they inspect services to ensure the safety, protection and wellbeing of residents. Through their inspection process, they review personal plans to determine the capacity status of individuals in receipt of care and support. If a valid s47 certificate of incapacity is in place they will review that the legal proxy advocate is involved in pro-active decision making about the care and support in accordance with the individual.

The Scottish Government carries out Equality Impact Assessments on all new policies as required under the Equality Act 2010 and the associated Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED). PSED requires public authorities to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations across all the protected characteristics, including age. These assessments draw upon existing research and data on equality issues, as well as the lived experience of those impacted. Specifically for older people, the assessments analyse and identify any potential impacts using evidence from relevant sources and direct feedback from older people's organisations.

Where relevant impacts on older people are identified through this evidence-based process, mitigating actions are carefully considered. The Scottish Government also directly engages with stakeholder groups representing older people, such as our trusted partners in the Older People’s Strategic Action Forum (OPSAF), to ensure their real-world views and experiences inform policymaking from the outset.

The movement and management of fire crews at an operational incident is entirely a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

The Scottish Government response to the recommendations made by the Independent Review of Inspection, Scrutiny and Regulation of Social Care was published on 6 March 2024, accepting all 38 recommendations.

The response set out that significant work already underway will in part or fully address many of the recommendations. Priority work has already commenced on new workstreams that focus on implementing recommendations 15 and 33: a review of the care service types, and corresponding definitions as set out in Schedule 12 of the Public Services Reform (Scotland) Act 2010 and a review of the Health and Social Care Standards, to help ensure the Standards are based on human rights, ethical commissioning and are outcome focused.

The implementation of the recommendations will be phased to ensure they do not place undue pressure on regulators, providers and those working in services. The Scottish Government will provide periodical updates on progress on the Scottish Government website at

The Scottish Government will continue to work closely and collaboratively with regulators, providers, partners and with those who have lived and living experience of social care support and linked services in all aspects of this work.

The number of firefighters attending any incident, and the manner in which they operate, is an entirely operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

Assessment of risk at the attendance of any incident is entirely an operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

Decontamination both during and after any incident is an entirely operational matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

The provision of infrastructure and equipment at any incident to ensure decontamination is entirely a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.

The safety and wellbeing of firefighters is a priority for both the Scottish Government and for the fire service.

The Scottish Government has provided a total of £755,626 to epilepsy charities between March 2017 and March 2024.