Chamber and committees

This is an important appointment and it is right that we take the time necessary to identify the right candidate. The Commission on Widening Access recommended that an appointment be made by the end of the year and we are working to progress this as a matter of priority.

The information is not held centrally.

Since 2009 the overall CAMHS workforce has increased by 27.7%, to 976.1 Whole Time Equivalent (WTE).

Over the next five years we will be investing £150 million in mental health innovation, including £15 million to support better access to CAMHS.

Information on: a) the number of child and adolescent psychiatrists in post and: b) the number of vacant child and adolescent psychiatrist posts for each of the last five years is published by ISD Scotland and is shown in the following tables.

Table 1. Number (WTE) of child and adolescent psychiatrists in post by NHS Board each year from 30 September 2012 to 30 June 2016.

Source: Scottish Workforce Information Standard System (SWISS).

Table 2. Number (WTE) of child and adolescent consultant psychiatrists vacancies by NHS Board each year from 30 September 2012 to 30 June 2016.

Source: ISD(M)36c

Notes:

In March 2014 the definition of a vacancy changed to a post which has been cleared for advert after being through the redeployment process (internal or external advert) and remains a vacancy until an individual starts in the post. Prior to this, a vacancy stopped being classified as such at the point when the post was offered to someone and accepted. The impact of this change is a significant increase in the number of reported vacancies.

The Scottish Government has previously acknowledged that because there is a staggered intake of two year olds across all three school terms, the full level of uptake for each annual cohort is not known at the time when the official census is undertaken. Registration of children for early learning is also more flexible because it is not compulsory and children can therefore be registered at any time, e.g. between the date of the census and the date of publication of census data in 2015, Glasgow City Council advised the Scottish Government that an additional 861 two years olds were receiving early learning and childcare.

The statistics based on the 2015 census findings were included in the Financial Review and in the Progress Update because these are the current official statistics available.

In the longer term, we are undertaking a data transformation project to make sure the census fully reflects the early learning and childcare policy changes and user needs. As part of this process, a national consultation has been carried out with those who collate and/or use the data. Scottish Government officials are currently considering findings from this work with a view to making changes to the Early Learning and Childcare census, including on its timing.

We are currently making arrangements to work in close partnership with care experienced young people and all parts of the care sector to develop realistic parameters and timeframe for the review. Further details will be announced in due course.

The in-year redistribution process is underway for Academic Year 2016-17 and is an on-going feature of the current annual Further Education student support funding cycle.

The Scottish Government does not collect formal statistics on teacher vacancies. However, to strengthen the annual teacher workforce planning exercise with local intelligence, local authorities were asked to provide teacher vacancy numbers as at 21 September 2016. Head teacher vacancies are not shown separately in the information provided.

This local information was collected solely for the purpose of informing the annual teacher workforce planning exercise and we have no plans to publish it. Teacher and head teacher vacancy information is available from individual local authorities or at www.myjobscotland.gov.uk.

The Government expects to review the Water and Sewerage Exemption Scheme for Charities and Community Amateur Sports Clubs in mid-2017. The review will involve representatives from the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations and the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator and will take account of the representations made to date by the sector to the Government and representative bodies.

The Scottish Government has maintained close contact with the financial services sector in Scotland since the EU referendum. In our discussions we have heard repeatedly of the importance of EU membership, in terms of both a market for financial services and as a source of qualified, experienced staff.

While there has been press speculation on the potential for movement of headquarters from the UK we have not been notified of any confirmed intention to move headquarters or staff.

It is essential that the UK Government clarifies its position on membership of the single market and the needs of the financial sector. The Scottish Government will explore differential options for Scotland and is considering all possible steps to ensure Scotland's continuing relationship with the EU.

The £60 million of EU Funds announced on 24 October 2016 will support over 20,000 SME's to develop and grow. The funding will focus on key sectors in each of Scotland's regions, and on businesses with a demonstrable desire and potential to grow their markets and employment.

Support to the individual business may take the form of business planning, leadership development, help is making the most of digital technology and platforms, introductions to new markets and grants for investment. The partners involved in the funding, Business Gateway, Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, will also be able to cross-refer businesses to each other so that every business can access the most suitable type of support for the next stage in its growth.