Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not yet have complete YPFF data for the whole period of 2022-23. We expect Health Boards to have provided this data by the end of May 2023.

The Independent Review is continuing to seek views from stakeholders from across the education landscape on how a system of qualifications and assessment can uphold the rights of all learners, including those with additional support needs.

I am aware that Professor Hayward has met Angela Morgan, Chair of the Review of Additional Support for Learning Implementation, and has visited a range of schools where additional support needs have been specifically discussed. In addition, Professor Hayward has also spoken directly to young people with additional support needs.

The Review is scheduled to report to the Scottish Government by the end of May 2023.

The Scottish Government is working with local government partners on the Additional Support for Learning Project Board to deliver the recommendations of the 2020 additional support for learning review by March 2026. As outlined in our updated action plan published in November 2022, we are committed to enhancing implementation of additional support for learning including co-ordinated support plans. This work will be considered as part of the review of the statutory guidance on additional support for learning, which is already underway.

Progress can be followed through the published minutes of the Project Board.

The final report by the Short Life Working Group on Co-ordinated Support Plans sets out the key issues and barriers to CSP implementation.

Information on Social Care Eligibility and Waiting times is collected and published by the Scottish Government. This is publicly available via the following link: Social Care Eligibility Criteria And Waiting Times, Scotland, 2020-21 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Many Local Authorities have reported difficulty in providing the information asked for in this data collection, which has had a significant impact on the robustness of the information available for analysis. We have been working with Public Health Scotland (PHS) to consider the future of this data and are developing plans to capture waiting times data within existing Social Care collections returned to PHS, aiming to make it more straightforward for partnerships to provide data, and in turn resulting in more complete and consistent data in the future.

The introduction of biometric identification systems is a matter for local authorities and schools to decide upon at local level.

Our position is clear that the views of parents, pupils and school staff should be taken into account as part of any decision-making process to introduce and implement biometric identification systems. Furthermore, information collected through a biometric system must, like all personal data, be processed fairly and lawfully in line with data protection law.

The Scottish Social Services Council, as the regulator of social care services, publishes an annual report on the social services workforce which can be found on their website here: Scottish Social Service Sector: Report on 2021 Workforce Data (sssc.uk.com) .

Their latest report shows that, at the end of 2021, there were more than 208,000 people working in the social services workforce.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02113 on 19 April 2023 The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official report can be viewed at: Meeting of the Parliament: 19/04/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering Anne’s Law which will support the rights of people living in adult care homes to connect with their loved ones.

At Stage 1 of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill, evidence was heard from seven committees and many individuals and representatives on a wide range of topics. An extension will allow the Scottish Parliament and the Scottish Government the necessary time to consider all of the evidence to best inform the development of Anne’s Law and the Bill.

Meantime, the Scottish Government has already utilised existing powers to adopt the core foundations of Anne’s Law through the development of two new Heath and Social Care Standards introduced in April 2022.

The new Standards established that people living in care homes should have the right to see someone who is important to them, even during an outbreak and be able to name a person or persons who can directly participate in meeting their care needs. The Care Inspectorate now refer to these Standards when registering, inspecting and supporting care homes.

In addition Public Health Scotland COVID guidance now reflects that three named visitors can visit a resident, one per day, in the event of an outbreak, and essential visiting for end-of-life care and distress should always be supported, regardless of the circumstances.

The strengthened Public Health guidance and the new Standards have helped to minimise disruption to visiting, with 99% of adult care homes reporting that they are supporting indoor visiting.

During the extension to Stage 1 of the National Care Service (Scotland) Bill the Scottish Government will continue to work with care home providers, relatives and organisations to develop the detail of Anne’s Law and prepare for its implementation.

Trade and Investment Envoys are a voluntarily network of senior business people who offer their time to share their business insights, connections, and expertise to help guide our collective trade and investment effort. They provide a valuable contribution that complements the knowledge and reach of our, and UKG international networks. The principal function of our Envoy network is to provide Scotland with a network of influential and business-experienced advocates in locations of particular interest to our priority sectors and opportunity areas. Each Envoy agrees an annual work programme that is aligned with our trade & investment plans which sets objectives to guide their efforts. We review progress with our Envoys on a quarterly basis. As our Envoys primarily operate at a more strategic, rather than operational level we do not attribute specific KPIs to them.

I refer the member to the NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy 2022-2026 which sets out the Scottish Government’s plans to help reduce carbon emissions from clinical waste in NHS Scotland. This publication is available at: NHS Scotland climate emergency and sustainability strategy: 2022-2026 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Specifically, the strategy sets out that each Health Board should set appropriate targets for reducing the volume of clinical waste it produces through measures including; greater use of reusable items, improvements to waste segregation and increased recycling of recyclable materials. The Scottish Government will review the need for a national target for clinical waste reduction.