Chamber and committees

Table 1 - Number of admissions to each prison in each year since 2011-12:

Pastoral care/guidance teachers monitor attendance closely and identify patterns and reasons for absence on an individual basis. They will meet with children and young people in order to identify underlying reasons for absence and try to provide support where appropriate.

The Mental Health Strategy is all-inclusive and applies to all individuals and groups. Our aim is that mental health services and professionals are welcoming to all, and respond to the mental health needs of individuals in a person-centred, safe, effective and respectful way. We expect that mental health care and treatment will be delivered in a person-centred manner to meet each individual’s needs. That includes cases where the individual has ME, MS or chronic pain conditions.

The Cabinet Secretary for Health and Sport formally launched the Scottish Access Collaborative (SAC) at the end of last year. During 2018, the Digital Health Institute (DHI) is working with stakeholders in Scotland, including NHS Boards, Health and Social Care Partnerships and patients, to review pathways in identified specialities to explore opportunities to improve access to services that better meet the needs of patients - both in their physical and mental well-being. Neurology and Chronic Pain have been identified as specialities included in the SAC work.

Further to my answer to S5W-16859 on 7 June 2018.

a) Skills Development Scotland do not record information for Female apprenticeship achievements for parliamentary regions.

b) Female apprenticeship achievements each year from 2011-12 in each local authority area are as follows:

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From 2014-15 to 2016-17, there have been 448 Female starts in STEM related Modern Apprenticeships in the Skills Development Scotland, West of Scotland, Career Information and Guidance area.

The following table provides a breakdown of West of Scotland, Modern Apprenticeship Female starts in STEM each year since 2014-15:

Female apprenticeship achievements each year from 2011-12 in the Skills Development Scotland, West of Scotland Career Information and Guidance area are as follows:

2011-12: 1543

2012-13: 1914

2013-14: 2039

2014-15: 1874

2015-16: 1741

2016-17: 1724

Police reform has maintained policing services in the face of unprecedented public spending pressures. While recognising the complexity and challenges associated with reform, the Evaluation of Police and Fire Reform demonstrates there is credible evidence of progress being made towards achieving the three long-term aims of police reform.

As the evaluation recognises, Police Scotland is now entering a new phase of transformation which is necessary if it is to meet the changing demands on policing. We are supporting transformation, including through real terms protection of the police resource budget in every year of this Parliament – a boost of £100 million by 2020-21 as well as a further £31 million of dedicated reform funding this year.

In addition we have ensured that the Scottish Police Authority can retain the £25 million previously paid to the UK Treasury in VAT each year, and we will continue to press the UK Government on the £125 million already paid in Police VAT over the last 5 years.

Between 2014-15 and 2016-17, there has been an 18% increase in the number of Female starts in STEM related Modern Apprenticeships in the Skills Development Scotland West of Scotland Career Information and Guidance area.

Through implementation of Developing the Young Workforce, Skills Development Scotland continues to prioritise STEM as part of Apprenticeship contracting arrangements. Our STEM strategy also prioritises the expansion of the apprenticeship family to reflect labour market demand.

Our “Blueprint for 2020 Action Plan 2017-18”, published in March 2017, sets out our policy vision and framework for delivering the expansion of funded early learning and childcare entitlement to 1140 hours by 2020.

The Action Plan committed us to introducing a new provider neutral Funding Follows the Child approach in 2020, which will prioritise and safeguard high quality provision, enable more choice for parents and carers and ensure financially sustainable provision across the sector.

On 29 March 2018, the “Early Learning and Childcare Service Model for 2020: Consultation Paper” was published. This joint consultation with COSLA sets out the Funding Follows the Child approach and seeks views on the proposed National Standard that will underpin it. The proposed National Standard sets out the clear and consistent criteria that all providers who wish to deliver the funded entitlement will have to meet from 2020. Alongside this there is also a commitment to simplifying the process for providers who wish to deliver the funded entitlement.

The Early Learning and Childcare Service Model for 2020 is the output of the intensive work that the joint Scottish Government and local government Service Models Working Group has taken forward since its first meeting in June 2017. This has included extensive engagement with providers and key stakeholders to ensure that this new model works for everyone in the sector and helps to improve the early learning and childcare experience for our young children.

The Scottish Government's Financial Review of Early Learning and Childcare published in September estimated the unit cost of ELC provision (cost per child per hour) in local authority settings as £7.74 per hour for two year olds and £5.45 per hours for three and four year olds. These unit costs imply a cost per 600 hour place as £4,644 for two year olds and £3,270 for three and four year olds. The average unit cost in partner provider settings was estimated at £3.70 per hour for children age 0-5, implying a cost to the provider of £2,220 per 600 hour place. The report of the Financial Review can be found here: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/09/8729

Scottish Government is working closely with local authorities to establish the cost of delivering the expansion of the funded entitlement to 1,140 hours of ELC.