Chamber and committees

Reporting will be considered as part of the grant award process.

The Scottish Government will provide a full response to the Committee’s report within two months of its publication as consistent with Parliamentary Guidance.

The Scottish Government remains committed to an all-age careers information and guidance offer that supports all people, including the specific needs of disabled and neurodiverse young people to progress rewarding careers.

In regards to training for teaching staff, we are working closely with local government partners to improve the experience of children and young people with additional support needs at school, implementing the recommendations of the 2020 review of additional support for learning Supporting documents - Additional support for learning: action plan - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). In November 2022, an updated action plan Additional Support for Learning review: action plan - November 2022 update - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) was published alongside a second progress report Additional Support for Learning review action plan: second progress report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot). A further update is due to be published in the coming weeks.

Furthermore, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) are developing a new Continuous Professional Development (CDP) framework for careers practitioners with dedicated elements supporting transition support for disabled individuals. SDS also have mandatory internal learning highlighting Equality Responsibilities for all staff.

All planning and support for disabled children and young people should be underpinned by ‘Getting it right for every child’ (GIRFEC) – Scotland’s holistic approach to upholding the rights and wellbeing of our children and young people.

Monitoring will be expected as part of the grant award process. Successful applicants will be informed in due course.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. We are currently analysing bids to the School Meal Debt Fund and following up with local authorities on the information provided.

The total cumulative spend incurred on Waking Watch services in apartment blocks in Glasgow is £2.2 million. Waking Watch costs for one building within the pilot programme were reimbursed by the responsible developer.

Latest published data shows a breakdown of the waking watch grant and contract costs for entries in the pilot in Glasgow to the end of quarter one 2024-25; spend is updated quarterly, the next update will be published in quarter three 2024-25. Single Building Assessment programme: spending information - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Consideration is still being given to the bids received by local authorities. We will publish how much funding each local authority received once this has been allocated to them.

Local authorities were asked to consider whether they wished financial support to cancel school meal debt while adhering to guidance produced by COSLA on the issue. Local authorities are expected to use any grant for the purpose of clearing school meal debt and that in accepting the offer of funding, local authorities will agree to adhere to the COSLA Good Practice Principles for School Meal Debt Management in their management of school meal debt going forward. The COSLA Good Practice Principles are available through the following web link: Good-Practice-Principles-for-School-Meal-Debt-Management.pdf (cosla.gov.uk)

Local authorities were asked that any bid included details of the amount of school meal debt accrued as of 31 March 2024, as well as the amount that they were seeking to write off. This could include any debt that the local authority has cleared prior to that point.

The Scottish Government is currently analysing bids to the School Meal Debt Fund and is following up with local authorities on the information provided. Therefore, no funding has been issued at this time. The funding will be issued as soon as all due diligence processes are complete.

The Student Mental Health and Wellbeing Working Group’s remit was to inform the development of a Student Mental Health Action Plan as set out in our 21-22 Programme for Government. The Action Plan was published in September 2024.

We are considering how best to support delivery of the Action Plan, including oversight and support.

We will shortly be engaging with the higher and further education sectors and health and other public and third sector organisations to update them on next steps and request their support and participation going forward.

The Scottish Government has not conducted any specific analysis of the college sector’s use of their arm's-length foundations (ALFs), however, the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) maintains an overview. Colleges are only permitted to donate commercially generated surpluses to ALFs, so donations will partly be dependent on colleges’ ability to raise commercial revenue.