Chamber and committees

The Young Person’s Guarantee last and final update report was published in March 2023 and outlines the outcomes and opportunities provided by the funding from the Young Person’s Guarantee.

No One Left Behind is the approach to devolved employability support between Scottish and Local Government, which empowers Local Employability Partnerships to lead the design and delivery of services in each Local Authority area. These services are influenced by local need, and guided by co-produced national products in areas that require consistency, such as the Employability Service Standards, the Customer Charter, and the Shared Measurement Framework. Local Authorities may supplement funding provided through No One Left Behind with resources from other sources.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes experimental statistics on outcomes linked to the No One Left Behind strategic approach. These include the cumulative number of participants supported into employment, and the number of individuals who have sustained employment for defined time periods. The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government does not currently publish estimates of costs per sustained employment outcome for No One Left Behind at either Scotland or Local Authority level.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach as a totality of all funding. Therefore, no breakdowns for Parental Employability Support, including a cost per person, are available.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support by all parents are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.

I have asked Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is:

The number of individuals in Scotland whose partner has died under the age of 50 is not held. Marital status of the deceased is collected through death registrations so the number of deaths by marital status is provided in the following table.

Table 1: Deaths of those aged under 50 by marital status, registered in Scotland, 2014 to 2023

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment. This includes a range of Scottish Government funding such as the Parental Employability Support Fund.

Since February 2022, statistics have been reported by totality of all funds and as such, no breakdowns for Parental Employability Support are available.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support by all parents are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.

The decision to mitigate the effect of the two-child cap was taken following discussions in Government in advance of the draft budget publication on 5 December 2024. This decision was subsequently recorded and stored in the Electronic Records and Data Management System in accordance with records management requirements.

The Scottish Government recognises the significant impact that bereavement can have on young people and is committed to ensuring that schools are equipped to provide appropriate support.

We published a professional learning resource and a Whole School Approach Framework to assist school staff in supporting children and young people’s mental health. This framework encourages all schools to help young people develop resilience and personal coping skills while ensuring that measures are in place to support those who experience bereavement.

Education Scotland provides a range of materials, including resources specifically focused on bereavement, to aid teachers in delivering sensitive and effective learning on this topic. These resources are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect best practice.

Schools may also refer to the Seasons for Growth programme which contains support around bereavement and trauma. This is in addition to local policies in place for bereavement.

Social Security Scotland is committed to tackling funeral poverty and increasing take-up of all Scottish benefits. Since its introduction in 2019, Funeral Support Payment has been promoted across a wide range of channels including advertising on radio, in print and online, as well as through articles in media outlets and content on our own social media channels.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-36670 on 6 May 2025. 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.