Chamber and committees

I have asked Colin McConnell, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. His response is as follows:

As part of its Digital Strategy, The Scottish Prison Service progressed a number of key projects during 2019 and work continues in 2020.

The SPS has approved capital funding for a number of digital projects including a replacement for the Prisoner Records System; VOIP (Voice over Internet Protocol) telephony; Wi-Fi development to support facilities management; a SharePoint Development review; and a WorkSmart programme which is providing flexible working options for staff to work remotely through smart laptop technology. Capital funding has also been provided to upgrade Windows desktops to Windows 10 across the estate.

The flexibility provided by the introduction of Act is there to create the opportunity for some individuals being released into the community to benefit from improved support for their reintegration, not to reduce the number of prisoners released on a Friday.

The Flexible Release regulations allow the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to release a prisoner up to two days early. SPS consider all applications they receive on a case by case basis, but require evidence of how the individual’s reintegration will be specifically improved if an early release is permitted. Not all individuals face the same problems upon release – so indiscriminate use of this provision would not be appropriate.

We are working with the Scottish Prison Service to examine the use of the Flexible Release process and will keep this under review. However, we note that it is as important to maximise the co-ordination and effectiveness of public services and throughcare services, in order to achieve good outcomes for prison leavers.

Following repeal of parts 4 and 5 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 on named person and child’s plan which had not been commenced, we will consider the implications of relevant parts of the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 which have also not been commenced in due course.

Police Scotland's arrest protocols are a matter for the Chief Constable. However, I have been advised that the general principles for making an arrest are covered in the Criminal Justice (Scotland) Act 2016 and in Police Scotland’s Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), which fall under the operational responsibilities of the Chief Constable. The Child Protection SOP is clear that all child protection concerns are a priority for Police Scotland and that the police will handle any matters relating to a child with professionalism and in consultation with partner agencies, where appropriate.

Following my announcement in September 2019 that we will seek to repeal Parts 4 and 5 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014, I have tasked officials with updating policy and practice guidance on Getting it right for every child as a priority. This refreshed guidance will provide clarity on policies, including the named person approach. The guidance aims to provide organisations and practitioners with confidence, clarity and practical support to deliver GIRFEC, underpinned by necessary, relevant and proportionate information sharing.

Scottish Government will seek to determine a suitable legislative vehicle to repeal parts 4 and 5 of the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 in due course. The named person and child’s plan provisions within the Children and Young People (Scotland) Act 2014 have not been commenced. As this law has never been in force, this does not affect the existing named person or child’s plan practice, only the legislation that would have made it law.

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. However, the Scottish Government has approached the universities that run these courses to get their non-validated data. It should be noted that currently universities, independently from the Scottish Government, decide the number of entrants in Radiography, and, as outlined below, they are unable to provide the number of vacancies unfilled each year.

1) This data is not national standard published information. The source of the data is from;

GCU = Glasgow Caledonian University

RGU = Robert Gordon University

QMU = Queen Margaret University

2) The numbers of unfilled places are not available because they cannot be accurately derived as the product of "places available minus entrants" for the following reasons:

a) The count of new entrants to any year of study includes both genuine new entrants and those repeating the year.

b) The quantification of "places available" is target-based and does not necessarily correlate with the eventual numbers of entrants.

The main reason for this is that the undergraduate numbers assigned by the Scottish Funding Council to HEIs are not set at specific programme level, but at the level of the HEI. Within this HEIs decide on target numbers for each programme, but these are subject to ongoing adjustment in line with demand and workforce policy imperatives. Furthermore, the UCAS system allows prospective students to change their minds up to the last minute.

Main Points

Level 1 places available :

• Overall places available at GCU have increased over the period.
• Overall places available at RGU have remained steady over the period.
• Overall places available at QMU fell in 2016-17, but have recovered slightly since then.

Level 1 Entrants :

• Overall entrants at GCU have increased over the period.
• Overall entrants at RGU have increased over the period.
• Overall entrants at QMU have fluctuated over the period, reaching a low of 39 in 2019-2020.

In response to point (a), NHS Boards draw funding for Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) from the overall health and social care funds allocated to them by the Scottish Government. Boards work with the Integration Joint Boards in their area and other partners to ensure funding decisions reflect local and national priorities for the delivery of person-centred, safe and effective mental health services.

In response to point (b), I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-26493 on 9 December 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) first published its Apprenticeship Equality Action Plan (EAP) in 2015, which sets out a range of actions to support disabled and care experienced individuals and those from different ethnic backgrounds into apprenticeships.

The most recent annual update of EAP is available on the SDS website.

The Scottish Government has consistently supported those with a self-identified disability to undertake a MA. The number of Modern Apprenticeship starts identifying as disabled has increased year on year in line with our ambitions. In 2018-19 Quarter 4 Modern Apprenticeship statistics published in June 2019 showed that 14.1 % of all starts self-identified an impairment, health condition or learning difficulty which was up from 3.7% in 2015-16. SDS will continue to support disabled people to access and achieve modern apprenticeships, with a focus on those with more complex needs.

To directly tackle inequality in employment, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) works to achieve change through local and national partnerships. Through this approach, SDS has a focus on improving service delivery to equality groups by combining strengths and expertise with those of others to achieve the best possible outcomes. As an example, SDS and the British Deaf Association Scotland have launched a partnership to raise awareness of apprenticeship opportunities available to Deaf young people in Scotland.

SDS collaborates with training providers to challenge the under-representation of individuals with a self-identified disability undertaking a Modern Apprenticeship. This includes training sessions to help training providers understand the needs of different customer groups and “Good Practice” events across Scotland, which link training providers with equality experts to share best practice in supporting underrepresented groups, including individuals with a self-identified disability.

As part of the contract monitoring process, all SDS contracted MA training providers are asked to identify actions they will take to address under-representation. MA training providers are required to complete a Quality Action Plan, which includes equality actions to show steps taken to address under-representation. In addition, training providers must evaluate their performance in supporting under-represented groups in relation to the SDS Quality Assurance and Improvement Framework. They are required to develop improvement actions for each contracting year relating to how they support recruitment and retention onto their programmes from under-represented groups, including those with a self-identified disability.

Access to additional funding can provide important support to learning providers and employers and encourage them to take action to improve equality outcomes. Enhanced funding for MAs is offered up to the age of 29 for disabled young people.

In the past year, SDS has continued to focus on equality and diversity in the promotion of apprenticeships. Their priority has been the mainstreaming of equality and diversity across communications channels and marketing materials, encompassing messaging, accessibility, imagery and representation such as individual case studies. The Scottish Apprenticeship Awards continued to promote inclusive recruitment, giving recognition and promotion to businesses who have demonstrated a commitment to diversifying their workforce.

In line with best practice, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) regularly conducts Equality Evidence Reviews to gather and understand available external research and to inform their equality activity, including Modern Apprenticeships (MA) The Equality Evidence Reviews are part of the Equality and Diversity Mainstreaming Report , which was last updated in June. In particular, the review provides information on labour market participation and progression, across the protected characteristics, including people with a self-identified disability.

SDS works directly with contracted training providers, who deliver Modern Apprenticeships in all the occupational groupings, to challenge the under representation of people who have self-identified disabilities. SDS supports training providers by running training sessions to help them better understand the needs of different customer groups and by hosting “Good Practice” events across Scotland, linking training providers with equality experts to share best practice in supporting underrepresented groups including disabled people. This includes the outputs and learning from Education Scotland thematic (occupational) reviews which also cover Training Provider actions to promote equality of participation and outcome.

All employers must make reasonable adjustments to make sure workers with disabilities, and or physical/mental health conditions, aren’t substantially disadvantaged when carrying out their line of work. This applies to all workers, including apprentices. SDS does not have a direct relationship with the employers with whom the training providers work with, but they do work with local and national partners to enhance and improve their service delivery to equality groups. As an example, SDS worked with the industry leadership group Scotland Food & Drink to support the development of a Recruitment and Retention Toolkit .