Chamber and committees

No child should be going hungry and tackling poverty and inequality is a key priority for this government. The policy of extending the universal provision of free school meals, to cover all primary school children, would not provide families with new income although the provision of free school lunches currently saves all eligible families an average of £400 per child per year.

The additional policy of extending provision to cover school breakfast clubs, and during the school holidays, will assist low income families. Breakfast clubs form an important part of the school day for many children and families and regularly eating nutritious breakfasts supports both positive health and learning outcomes.

We also know holiday periods bring extra financial pressures for families on low incomes. Provision of breakfast and lunch to all primary school pupils during holiday periods will ensure children from low income families can access healthy food without stigma, and relieving pressure on household budgets. Holiday meals are often provided alongside activities for children, which bring wider health, wellbeing and social benefits.

There are currently no nutritional regulations which apply to food delivered to school age children in settings other than school.

The Nutritional Requirements for food and drink in schools (Scotland) Regulations 2008 sets strict nutritional standards that all food and drink served in schools must meet. This includes lunchtime, breakfast clubs, tuckshops, vending machines and at any other times of the day where food or drink is provided.

New regulations governing the nutritional requirements for food and drink in schools will come into effect in April 2021. The four key themes of the new regulations will be that they will increase access to fruit and vegetables, ensuring that our children and young people can access their ‘five-a-day’ at school; reduce the amount of sugar that can be accessed in school; bring provision of red and red processed meat in line with the Scottish Dietary Goals and; change the way food and drink is offered in secondary schools to better meet the needs of young people.

The Health and Social Care Standards set out what children should expect from their care and support included from their school age childcare service. This includes being able to choose healthy meals and snacks, including fresh fruit and vegetables and that meals and snacks meet cultural and dietary needs, beliefs and preferences.

In 2019-20 the Scottish Government invested £2 million in activity to tackle food insecurity during school holidays. While the regulations for food and drink in schools do not apply to meals provided by community organisations, Scottish Government funded third sector holiday meal and activity provision has promoted healthy meals, maximising choice and dignity for recipients.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, local authorities, community organisations and local businesses were involved in the provision of meals for primary school children. The Scottish Government recognised the need for flexibility in adhering to the regulations, and requested that local authorities take all reasonable steps to ensuring that nutritious options were made available wherever possible.

Food Standards Scotland provided further guidance on the nutritional quality of food provision during the pandemic. This was widely shared with local authority and community organisations who were encouraged to follow it. Feedback received from local authorities indicated that they worked proactively and in partnerships to meet need, actively applying the principles in the guidance.

The Scottish Government does not issue guidance to local authorities about using local suppliers and producers for the supply of ingredients for school meals, since they operate independently from Scottish Ministers for their procurement activities. They are therefore responsible for running their own tendering exercises and for the decisions taken as part of those exercises.

Where the value of a contract exceeds £50,000 local authorities, and other public bodies, are required to follow the terms of the Procurement (Scotland) Act 2014 and its associated regulations. The Scottish Government’s website contains a section on Public Sector Procurement Support, which provides a range of tools and guidance to help public bodies carry out transactions efficiently, and to improve and enhance their procurement capability. This information is available on the Scottish Government’s website through the following link: Public sector procurement - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

In addition we support the Soil Association’s Food for Life programme which is now held by 15 local authorities across Scotland. The programme aims to help school catering staff serve freshly prepared meals made from locally produced ingredients that are healthy and sustainable and brings benefits to local food producers by protecting jobs and supporting local farmers. Not only does it encourage local sourcing but it is making a great difference in ensuring that our school children have access to delicious, healthy, sustainable food that has been grown, sourced and produced in Scotland.

School food services across Scotland are designed to meet the local circumstances of all children and young people in attendance. Local authorities are responsible for staff resourcing requirements within school kitchens. In preparing for the extension of universal provision of free school meals local authorities will consider their current school meals service arrangements and what staffing will be required to accommodate an increase in uptake.

Schools and local authorities are responsible for supporting children's learning. We have taken a range of steps to support them in this role:

Guidance: Our “Coronavirus (COVID-19): support for continuity in learning guidance” (published July 2020, updated October 2020) provides advice on how to support vulnerable children and young people in relation to mental health, transitions, and blended/remote learning and reinforces the need for multi-agency working. Schools can access further national guidance on promoting and managing school attendance, as well as attainment adviser support on attendance.

Funding and programmes of support: We are investing £182 million via the Attainment Scotland Fund in 2020-21, supporting the attainment and achievement of learners from disadvantaged backgrounds. We are undertaking an Equity Audit to deepen our understanding of the impact of COVID-19 on children from disadvantaged backgrounds, and to set clear areas of focus for accelerating recovery. The national e-learning offer is ensuring that remote learning is supported for those who need it, expanding access to live lessons, recorded lessons and online digital learning. We are tackling digital exclusion amongst disadvantaged children and young people through our £25m investment in devices and connectivity.

Health and Wellbeing: Education Scotland has produced a range of professional learning opportunities as well as a series of wakelets (online resources) focusing on health and wellbeing. Data on the availability of school counselling services are being analysed. We expect a summary analysis to be published early next year. School staff also have access to a wide range of mental health training such as Scottish Mental Health First Aid and LIAM ('Let's Introduce Anxiety Management') for mild anxiety interventions.

Local Authorities have a responsibility in law under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to make the arrangements they consider necessary for the transport of school pupils between home and school. They have discretion about how such services are provided and will balance the needs of their local communities alongside efficient use of public funds.

I believe it is important to ensure children are given a nutritious breakfast at the start of the day, and breakfast clubs can form an important part of the school day for many children and families. I know that regularly eating nutritious breakfasts supports both positive health and learning outcomes in children.

Education authorities already have a statutory duty under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to take reasonable steps to ensure that every pupil who is entitled, by virtue of their families’ circumstances, to receive school lunches free of charge.

The Scottish Government, along with public, private and third sector partners and the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC) issued a joint statement outlining fair work expectations in July to support the transition out of lockdown and a principle of no detriment. The statement still applies now and we remain committed to the principle of no detriment.

It is important that employers are as supportive as possible and that mitigation measures are put in place. We would not expect teachers to be financially penalised, however pay and conditions for teachers are matters for the Scottish Negotiating Committee (SNCT) to determine and discussions on this issue are underway as a matter of urgency. The Scottish government will play our part in those discussions.

The Scottish Government takes seriously the need to ensure there are effective school transport arrangements in place during the Covid-19 pandemic. Scottish Ministers issued guidance to local authorities to support the reopening of schools in August. A £50 million education recovery fund has also been established which can be used to supplement existing funding for school transport services. The Covid-19 School Transport Retrofit Fund is providing £1.5m of capital funding to assist local authorities and bus operators to fit infection control and mitigation measures on school transport vehicles.

Local Authorities have a responsibility in law under the Education (Scotland) Act 1980 to make the arrangements they consider necessary for the transport of school pupils between home and school. The Scottish Government does not hold information regarding the levels of school transport services being provided by individual local authorities.

Breakfast clubs in Scotland are currently delivered by a wide variety of providers, including by local authorities in schools, but also by private and third sector organisations and in a range of community settings. In developing and implementing the universal provision of breakfast clubs for all primary school pupils it will be important to consider how and where this is provided to ensure it offers the best experience for children and families, as well as value for money.

The Modern Apprenticeship Quarter 2 statistics, published on 10 November 2020 provided more evidence of the continued impact of COVID-19 restrictions on all parts of the Scottish economy. The latest statistics, covering July-September, showed a slight increase in starts compared to the previous period, but are still lower than in previous years. Many sectors that are active employers of apprentices were necessarily placed into lockdown by COVID-19 and are experiencing the consequences of these restrictions.

The Scottish Government remains committed to our apprenticeship programme and will continue to do all we can to support apprentices and their employers during this time. Apprenticeships are at the heart of our skills system in Scotland and are an important part of Scotland’s Young Person’s Guarantee. They will play a key role in our economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic, supporting high-quality jobs and enabling employers to gain skilled workers.

The Scottish Government has created a new Apprenticeship Employer Grant to encourage employers to take on Modern and Graduate apprenticeships. Recognising the challenging circumstances for employers as a result of coronavirus (COVID-19), and the impact on opportunities for young people, more businesses will now be able to access financial support to help them take on young people through the new £15 million Apprenticeship Employer Grant.

Supporting the Scottish Government’s aim of maximising apprenticeship opportunities in the coming months, the grant will help increase the number of employers able to take on an apprentice or upskill an existing staff member.

The grant makes available £5,000 for employers taking on a 16 to 24 year old apprentice, and for those aged up to 29 years old who are disabled, care leavers and Minority Ethnic. Any employers who take on an apprentice aged 25 or older will receive a financial incentive of £3,500.

Funding will be available for eligible employers where the apprenticeship start date was on or after 1 December 2020 and funding will be available for apprenticeship starts until 25 March 2021.