Chamber and committees

A range of staff have been involved in supporting independent advisers. These staff have provided different kinds of support – from analytical advice to information on current policy direction. A small secretariat has on occasion been provided but these staff often have additional, other roles. Because of the variability of the support provided via teams or individuals, identifying robust costs for this support is therefore not possible.

The only local authority who has not made use of the Adoption Register is the Western Isles. This is due to the fact that the Western Isles have not had any adopters in the last three years and the number of children requiring adoption is minimal.

It is important to note that there are varying degrees of engagement with the different services the Adoption Register offers, i.e. exchange days, online service and activity days and this results in more contact with some local authorities than others.

The quarterly evaluation reports of Scotland's Adoption Register are not available to the public. The Scottish Adoption Register publishes their annual report which summarises their quarterly reports. The 2016-17 annual report can be found at www.scotlandsadoptionregister.org.uk. A hardcopy of the report is submitted to Scottish Government.

Independent advice is sought in areas where Scottish Ministers feel that they can benefit from external expertise, specialist knowledge and constructive challenge in areas of high priority, such as tackling poverty or race inequality. The Scottish Government has a strong record of appointing individuals with expertise and credibility to roles of this nature, for example the First Minister’s Independent Adviser on Poverty and Inequality, Naomi Eisenstadt and the Race Equality Framework Adviser, Kaliani Lyle.

The Scottish Government works closely with appointed advisers to develop support networks in line with the advisers’ requirements. This can include assisting them to fulfil their role, making links with relevant policy areas and providing basic administrative functions. Independent advisers are free to undertake media interviews as they see fit and to provide comment and critique.

Independent advisers are paid in line with the Public Sector Pay Policy for Senior Appointments Chairs and Members fee framework. The remuneration given is considered based on the role undertaken and the skills and experience of the candidate in question.

The only independent adviser appointed to report directly to the Cabinet Secretary for Communities, Social Security and Equalities has been the Race Equality Framework Adviser, Kaliani Lyle. Ms Lyle was appointed as a direct Ministerial appointment on 7 December 2016 for an initial period of two years.

Appointments of this nature are made based on the relevant experience of the candidate and their fit with the role. In the case of Ms Lyle, she had recently stepped down as Scotland’s Commissioner for the Equality and Human Rights Commission and as a former member of the Christie Commission was a natural choice.

The Race Equality Framework Adviser provides strategic independent expertise, insight and advice to the Scottish Government in taking forward the actions in the framework.

Additional independent advice comes from a range of sources with the recently established Poverty and Inequality Commission and the Advisory Council for Women and Girls set to be strong contributors.

The Scottish Government has committed to recruiting an additional 250 links workers in practices in deprived areas with 40 in place by September 2017. The rollout will be phased until 2021 with the first 40 Links Workers to be based in Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow.

The Scottish Government has committed to recruiting an additional 250 links workers in practices in deprived areas with 40 in place by September 2017. The rollout will be phased until 2021 with the first 40 Links Workers to be based in Inverclyde, North Ayrshire, Edinburgh, Dundee and Glasgow. Evaluations have now been completed on both the Glasgow and Dundee pilots and will be available at the end of July.

The local government settlement, including funding for the recruitment of foster families, is paid via block grant and the Scottish Government do not evaluate the effectiveness of individual strands of funding.

Local authorities are given flexibility to manage their own budgets to meet the full range of their responsibilities, including ensuring that they recruit sufficient foster families to meet the needs of the children and young people who come into their care.

The Scottish Government provides funding to NHS boards to provide health treatment and care that is person-centred, safe and effective to meet local needs. NHS boards retain statutory responsibility and accountability for the delivery of services, including specific services for people with alcohol related brain damage. We expect NHS board activities to support the actions in our Mental Health Strategy to realise our vision of a Scotland where people can get the right help at the right time, expect recovery, and fully enjoy their rights, free from discrimination and stigma. Actions 27 and 28 of the Strategy contain specific provisions for people with problems related to alcohol misuse, including the testing of new referral arrangements.

A wide range of activity to prevent homelessness amongst offenders upon liberation continues to progress across Scotland with the involvement of local authorities and the Housing Options Hubs.

The Scottish Government recognises that there is an on-going need to ensure that the housing needs of offenders are addressed consistently throughout Scotland and that these are addressed collaboratively between the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), local authorities and other community justice partners at the earliest opportunity.

The Scottish Government looks forward to the SPS’s publication of their Scottish minimum standards – Sustainable Housing on Release for Everyone (SHORE), which is currently undergoing a process of consultation. The Scottish Government’s engagement with the Housing Options Hubs will allow an overview of local authorities’ activities with regard to their use of the SHORE standards once they are published. The Scottish Government is also a member of the SHORE task group.