Chamber and committees

At the end of Period 11 (February 2013), 82 young people have been supported through the targeted Employer Recruitment Incentive. Skill Development Scotland are unable to share a disaggregated figure as the overall number of individuals supported is small.

The Scottish Government has committed to supporting 1000 young people over three years within disadvantaged groups; 80 young people in 2012-13; 460 in
2013-14; and 460 in 2014-15.

The Scottish Government has committed £1.5 million over three financial years in support of the Employer Recruitment Incentive for 1000 young people within disadvantaged groups. The incentive amounts to £1500 per young person with up to £500 available for additional employability support.

80 young people will be supported in 2012-13; 460 in 2013-14; and 460 in 2014-15.

As at the end of February 2013, 82 individuals had been supported through the incentive.

The Employer Recruitment Incentive for targeted young people is currently available to all young people 16-24 years who meet the eligibility criteria. The Community Jobs Scotland programme has recently been refined to help vulnerable young people who face additional barriers to entering into employment by increasing the age criteria for these young people from 16-19 to 16-24 years.

This information is not held centrally.

With regards to the deaths of care leavers, we are in the early stages of exploring ways to improve data collection for recording and investigating incidences so that findings can be used to make further improvements to support services.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that vulnerable groups of people are given the support they need to overcome barriers, enabling them to reach their full potential.

To support young people into work, we have:

made a specific commitment to all 16 to 19 year olds seeking a place in education or training through Opportunities for All, supported by £30 million new investment;

updated our Post 16 Transitions Policy and Practice Framework which includes specific guidance on how to support the transitions of young people with additional support needs from school into post-school education and employment;

provided £1.5 million over three financial years in support of an Employer Recruitment Incentive for 1,000 young people within disadvantaged groups;

extended the Community Jobs Scotland programme to help vulnerable young people by increasing the age criteria from 16-19 to 16-24.

published our Supported Employment Framework In 2010, “A Working Life for All Disabled People” to support a disabled person’s transition to employment;

arranged an action forum hosted by the Minister for Youth Employment in April focusing on young people with additional support needs;

allocated £2.7 million to develop a new strategy document to help to close the inequality gap that people with learning disabilities continue to face on a daily basis; and introduced the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2009 which places education authorities under a duty to identify, plan and review the support they provide for pupils in their area.

In relation to health and wellbeing, work taken forward since 2007 includes:

publishing “Equally Well” in June 2008, which made recommendations to improve health and life outcomes for particularly vulnerable groups. The Ministerial Task Force on Health Inequalities has been reconvened to review new evidence, look at lessons learned and highlight new areas for attention;

hosting a learning disability health inequalities network where all NHS boards come together to work together on addressing the health inequalities that people with learning disabilities face. £500,000 of Scottish Government funding was allocated to assist NHS boards to tackle this;

issuing a letter to health board chief executives setting out their responsibilities in relation to looked after children and asking them to appoint a director who will have responsibility for the health needs of all looked after children, young people and care leavers in their area (CEL 16 (2009)); and

convening a short life working group to develop a set of national recommendations for the health assessment of looked after children, young people and care leavers. This group will report in autumn 2013.

In the Procurement Reform Bill we propose to introduce a requirement that public sector bodies consider community benefits clauses in all new major public contracts. It will be for individual public bodies to decide what those clauses will contain and who they will target based upon the particular circumstances of each contract. Where appropriate it will be open to public bodies to consider targeting young people with learning difficulties and care leavers.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting all young people with additional support needs who want to work, and it is our ambition that with the right support, they are able to find work in mainstream employment, taking account of their specific needs, and in line with their skills.

Further information on support offered by Scottish Government was provided in the answer to question S4W-12832 on 27 February 2013. 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.

No data is held centrally regarding the employment status of all care leavers.

The Annual Population Survey (APS) provides estimates of employment across Scotland; however the only data available for those with learning difficulties covers those who have any learning difficulties or disabilities. The latest APS data covers the period from January to December 2012.

Number of people aged 16+ with learning difficulties or disabilities in employment, Scotland

Source: Annual Population Survey, Office for National Statistics

Notes:

1. Level rounded to nearest thousand.

2. The sub-group of interest here is relatively small therefore this estimate is not as reliable as those for the total population aged 16+.

3. Learning difficulties and disabilities includes conditions such as dyslexia or dyscalculia; mental impairments or mental handicap.

The Scottish Government is actively working jointly with COSLA and local government to review the Business Rates Incentivisation Scheme (BRIS) targets for 2012-13 taking into account the latest business rates returns, which show that appeals losses are likely to be lower than expected.

Appeals losses are likely to have been delayed due to a significant court action that was concluded during 2012-13 and are therefore likely to be higher than expected in 2013-14. This change in estimated business rates income has not been as a consequence of local authority efforts to increase economic activity and therefore should not trigger any retention of additional income. Agreed revisions to the BRIS targets will be published in due course.