Chamber and committees

For children whose long-term wellbeing is best served by living with kinship carers and who do not need compulsory supervision by a local authority, a kinship carer can be granted a section 11, Residence Order, of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995.

Whether the local authority continues to pay an allowance after a residency order is granted is a matter for them to decide. Under section 22 of the Children (Scotland) Act 1995 local authorities have a duty to safeguard and promote the welfare of children in need by providing a range and level of services appropriate to the children’s needs; and under section 50 of the Children Act 1975 local authorities have the power to make payments for or towards maintenance of a child being cared for by a person other than a parent.

Youth Employment Strategy funding allocated to date aims to support:

1,000 of the most disadvantaged young people into work;

1,100 young people into job opportunities in social enterprises and third sector organisations through Community Jobs Scotland;

2,019 young people to progress towards and into jobs through projects funded by the Social Enterprise and Third Sector Challenge Fund, and

3,371 young people through a range of employment and skills opportunities in six local authorities with particular youth unemployment challenges.

The UK Government’s introduction of Universal Credit in October 2013 will have fundamental implications for how future Council Tax support might be provided. However, more detail on the operation of Universal Credit is required from the UK Department for Work and Pensions before a robust means of delivering council tax support beyond 2014 can be determined and consequently no decisions have been made.

The £20 million contingency budget dealing with welfare reform has been allocated to local government in 2013-14.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-06790 on 27 April 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

NHS Scotland pays 13.5% of an employee’s pensionable pay into the NHS pension scheme. The total amount paid in the financial year 2010-11 was £595 million. The Scottish Government does not hold detailed information on the NHS England and Wales pension scheme.

Tri-partite negotiations involving trades unions, employers and the Scottish Government are being taken forward at individual scheme level. Negotiations for reform of public service pensions began in March 2012 and these are ongoing. Regrettably, these negotiations have been hampered by a number of emerging constraints from the UK Government. I continue to seek clarification from the Chief Secretary to the Treasury of the scope available to the Scottish Government to negotiate pensions arrangements in line with Scottish circumstances.

Currently the annual scheme income from contributions exceeds annual expenditure on pension benefits in payment, which generates an in-year cash flow surplus. In 2010-11 that figure was £161 million. That in-year cash flow surplus is forecast to begin to reverse for the NHS scheme from 2013-14.

It is important to recognise that in-year cash-flow is not considered to be an appropriate measure of scheme sustainability because contributions made today effectively ‘buy’ future pension benefits, which must be honoured when those benefits fall due in the future.

<>All NHSScotland health boards are expected to comply with the Safer Pre and Post Employment Checks Partnership Information Network (PIN) policy and take appropriate action based on any information received. This covers appointment checks that are either required by law or should be considered mandatory for all NHSScotland posts. The Safer Pre and Post Employment Checks PIN can be found at http://www.show.scot.nhs.uk/publications/j9227.pdf. It is the duty of the General Medical Council to regulate whether doctors are fit to practice.

Prescribing costs are funded from NHS board baseline budget allocations provided by the Scottish Government.

Territorial NHS boards received a 2.9% increase in baseline funding in 2012-13. Subject to Scottish Parliament approval, territorial NHS boards will receive increases in baseline funding of 3.3% and 3.1% in 2013-14 and 2014-15 respectively. It is for NHS boards to determine how best to utilise baseline funding to meet the healthcare needs of their resident population.

<>I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-09788 on 25 October 2012. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.