Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26467 on 16 April 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 .

Full budget allocations for 2024-25 are still to be confirmed.

In 2023-24, Alcohol and Drugs Partnerships (ADPs) received funding exceeding £112 million.

The development of a new support pathway for those with experience of prostitution is a key component of “Scotland’s strategic approach to challenging and deterring men’s demand for prostitution and supporting the recovery and sustainable exit of those involved in prostitution”, published on 6 February 2024.

As part of this a hub will be established to strengthen the links between mainstream and specialist support services, in order to improve access to support for those affected, from crisis support through to support to sustainably exit from prostitution.

A pilot of the hub will begin in summer and subject to evaluation a phased national roll out will follow.

The Scottish Government values the important work that childminders undertake in communities and is committed to supporting and growing the sector. We commissioned research on the reasons for the reduction in childminder numbers (a trend that is mirrored elsewhere in the UK) which was published in April 2022 and can be found here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/childminding-workforce-trends-qualitative-research-report/

Informed by that research, we are working with the Scottish Childminding Association to address the decline in the childminding workforce via a programme of recruitment and retention work. This work has been informed by recent pilot activity and will ensure that more families have access to the unique and flexible experience of childcare that childminders can offer. This programme is expected to launch in the Spring.

We will implement a range of measures to address retention issues, ensuring that our childminders are supported with their workloads and professional development, including trialling a mentoring scheme and models of funded time off the floor to allow childminders to undertake activity such as planning and continuous professional learning.

Based on £9 million of funding available in 2024-25, Scottish Government and ILF Scotland worked together to develop indicative options based on varying threshold sums and maximum award levels for consideration by the Co-Production Working Group. The group provided recommendations to Ministers on reopening the fund, which were accepted. The recommendations report is available at: https://ilf.scot/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Recommendations-for-Scottish-Ministers-v01.0.pdf

The group recommend that the Fund should re-open using a ‘threshold sum’ as a key access principle. The threshold sum is the value of the local authority / Self Directed Support care package and has been used by ILF since 1993 as a proxy for level of need. Following deliberations on the group on the number of people that may be eligible at different threshold levels, the group recommend that the Fund should open with a threshold sum of £800.

The group considered that 10 hours of additional independent living focused support and assistance was meaningful in relation to the realisation of Article 19 of the UN Convention on the rights of persons with disabilities (UNCRPD) and would enable a typical award to contribute to making a meaningful difference. Using the current ILF average hourly rates awarded of £22 per hour, taking 10 hours as the average, and 15 hours as the maximum, this equates to a maximum award of £330 per week.

To ensure that the Fund is affordable within the £9m allocation committed to by Ministers in the first year, each local authority area was allocated a share of 1,000 places in the Fund, with places allocated proportionately based on the size of the population and the percentage of disabled people in that area. The places allocated to each local authority is available on the ILF Scotland website: https://ilf.scot/re-opening-ilf/re-opening-frequently-asked-questions/#allocation

According to plans submitted by local authorities, the number of Community Mental Health and Wellbeing Supports and Services for children, young people and their families to have received funding in each local authority area is as follows:

The Scottish Government is working with local government and other stakeholders to support justice social workers and to enhance the delivery of services. This includes increasing funding and providing updated operational guidance.

In 2024-25, a total of £148 million will be invested in community justice. This includes an additional £14 million to encourage wider use of robust community-based interventions where appropriate. This additional investment reflects the evidence that such interventions can be more effective than short-term imprisonment at reducing reoffending, assisting with rehabilitation and ultimately ensuring there are fewer victims of crime.

Up to 1,000 new applicants will be offered awards in 2024-25. The actual number of applications received will be monitored by ILF Scotland and Scottish Government.

A budget of £9m has been committed to reopening the Independent Living Fund in 2024-25. Funding for 2025-26 will be agreed through the annual budget process.

Individuals who are not healthcare professionals and provide such procedures are not currently regulated and therefore this information is not held by the Scottish Government.