- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 07 August 2026
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 4 September 2026
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a timescale for the Scottish Land Court taking on jurisdiction for outdoor access cases under sections 14 and 28 of the Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2003, as provided for in the Crofting and Scottish Land Court Act 2026.
Answer
Answer expected on 4 September 2026
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 7 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of young people in receipt of Child Disability Payment transferred to Adult Disability Payment after they turned 16, in each of the last five years.
Answer
Social Security Scotland publishes information on applications to Adult Disability Payment from people in receipt of, or who have previously received, Child Disability Payment as part of its annual Adult Disability Payment June statistical publication.
The number of young people in receipt of Child Disability Payment who were awarded Adult Disability Payment in each of the last five years is set out in the published Child Disability Payment to Adult Disability Payment table A1.
Young people can apply for Adult Disability Payment between the ages of 16 and 18 and remain entitled to Child Disability Payment until a determination is made on their application. However, the published statistics do not provide a breakdown showing how many Child Disability Payment recipients transferred to Adult Disability Payment after turning 16.
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of disabled 16- to 24-year-olds in each year since 2010-11 were classified as not being in employment, education or training (NEET).
Answer
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS) is the main source for Labour Market Indicators for detailed characteristics. The ONS state there are concerns with the quality of the APS estimates for smaller groups of the population. Therefore, it is not possible to produce robust estimates of the number of people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training who also report having a disability from this source.
Scotland’s Census 2022 results show that, excluding full-time students, there were around 23,600 people aged 16 to 24 in Scotland who were unemployed or economically inactive and had a disability or health problem that limited their day-to-day activities a lot or a little. This was 28% of all disabled 16 to 24 year olds.
The Annual Participation Measure is published by Skills Development Scotland. This publication began in 2016 and covers those aged 16 to 19 years old. The proportion of disabled people aged 16 to 19 who were not participating in education, employment or training is included in Table 1.4a: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/appbneac/2025-annual-participation-measure-supplementary-tables.xlsx.
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) also report as having a work-limiting health condition.
Answer
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS) is the main source for Labour Market Indicators for more detailed characteristics. The ONS state there are concerns with the quality of the APS estimates for smaller groups of the population. Therefore, it is not possible to produce robust estimates of the number of people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training who also report having a work-limiting health condition from this source.
Scotland’s Census 2022 results show that, excluding full-time students, there were around 23,600 people aged 16 to 24 in Scotland who were unemployed or economically inactive and had a disability or health problem that limited their day-to-day activities a lot or a little.
The Annual Participation Measure published by Skills Development Scotland provides estimates for 16 to 19 year olds not participating in education, employment or training by disability status. In 2025, the SDS Annual Participation Measure estimates that 8,910 people aged 16 to 19 years old in Scotland were not participating in education, employment, or training (3.9% of 16 to 19 year olds). Of those who were not participating in education, employment or training, 11.1% (985 people) were identified as being disabled.
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what information it has regarding how many 18- to 24-year-olds who are not in education, employment or training (NEET) are not in receipt of out-of-work benefits, including what reasons they give for their NEET status.
Answer
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS) is the main source for Labour Market Indicators more detailed characteristics. The ONS state there are concerns with the quality of the APS estimates for smaller groups of the population. Therefore, it is not possible to produce robust estimates of the number of people aged 18 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training and not receiving out-of-work benefits from this source.
The Annual Participation Measure published by Skills Development Scotland provides estimates for 16 to 19 year olds not participating in education, employment or training by age and reason for not participating. In 2025, the SDS Annual Participation Measure estimates that 6,758 people aged 18 to 19 in Scotland were not participating in education, employment, or training. The status for those not participating in education, employment or training are included in Table 1.1b: https://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/appbneac/2025-annual-participation-measure-supplementary-tables.xlsx.
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 5 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) 16- to 17-,
(ii) 18- to 20-, (iii) 21- to 23- and (iv) 24-year-olds are classified as not
being in employment, education or training (NEET).
Answer
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) Annual Population Survey (APS) is the main source for Labour Market Indicators for detailed characteristics. The ONS state there are concerns with the quality of the APS estimates for smaller groups of the population. Therefore, it is not possible to produce robust estimates of the number of people aged 16 to 24 who are not in education, employment or training by age group from this source.
The Annual Participation Measure published by Skills Development Scotland provides estimates for 16 to 19 year olds not participating in education, employment or training by age.
In 2025, the SDS Annual Participation Measure estimates that:
- 2,152 people aged 16 to 17 in Scotland were not participating in education, employment, or training (1.8% of 16 to 17 year olds)
- 6,758 people aged 18 to 19 in Scotland were not participating in education, employment, or training (6.1% of 18 to 19 year olds)
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 3 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government (a) how many and (b) what proportion of (i) 16- to 24-year-olds and (ii) people aged 25 or more who are in receipt of Adult Disability Payment remain in receipt after (A) one, (B) two and (C) five years, also broken down by how many have undergone a review or reassessment, and what the outcome was.
Answer
Social Security Scotland regularly publishes statistics on its benefits, including Adult Disability Payment, which covers the current number of clients in receipt of the payment, their age breakdown, and the information on completed reviews and outcomes.
The latest Adult Disability Payment statistics are available at: Adult Disability Payment statistics to 30 April 2026.
The specific breakdown of information requested is not routinely produced and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost, in line with Scottish Government guidance on Parliamentary Questions.
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of 16- to 24-year-olds in receipt of Adult
Disability Payment are in employment (a) when they first receive the payment
and (b) (i) 12 to 23, (ii) after 24 to 35 and (iii) 36 or more months after
receiving their first payment.
Answer
Social Security Scotland does not collect employment information as part of the Adult Disability Payment application process because it is a non-means tested benefit intended to help people with a disability or long-term health condition that affects their everyday life. Eligibility is not linked to whether someone is in work.
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answered by Shirley-Anne Somerville on 28 July 2026
To ask the Scottish Government how much Social Security Scotland has spent in each of the last five years on welfare payments to 16- to 24-year-olds, broken down by benefit type,
Answer
Social Security Scotland publishes expenditure and caseload statistics for the benefits it administers. However, expenditure information is not routinely collected or published by age group and benefit type.
As a result, information on welfare payments made to 16 to 24-year-olds in each of the last five years, broken down by benefit type, is not available.
- Asked by: Jenny Young, MSP for Central Scot and Lothians West, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 21 July 2026
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Current Status:
Answer expected on 18 August 2026
To ask the Scottish Government what tools are used by schools to identify pupils at risk of having the status of not being in employment, education or training (NEET).
Answer
Answer expected on 18 August 2026
