Chamber and committees

We committed in our Strategic Childcare Plan, published October 2022 Best Start - strategic early learning and school age childcare plan 2022 to 2026 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) to work with local authorities to maximise uptake of the existing two year old offer using new access to data on eligible families in their local area.

Since then we have finalised data sharing arrangements with the UK Government and established ‘datapipeline’ – a digital platform from which local authorities can access lists of households in their area that meet the majority of ‘qualifying benefits’ criteria and have a child of the relevant age.

From this data we have been able to produce local and national estimates of the eligible population of two-year-olds. This has allowed us to publish uptake rates for two-year-olds by local authority for the first time ( Summary statistics for schools in Scotland 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) , allowing more transparency on the national picture for uptake for two-year-olds as well as informing local authorities’ own understanding of their uptake rates.

With support from the Improvement Service, we have held a series of webinars with local authorities on making best use of the new data and on access to funded ELC for two-year-olds with a care experienced parent.

We are also offering one-to-one support, through the Improvement Service, to local authorities that would like to work on maximising uptake of funded ELC for two-year-olds.

The Scottish Government has been supporting innovative childminder recruitment pilots within 14 Local Authorities, in partnership with the Scottish Childminding Association. To date, 69 candidates have been supported through the programme to complete their registration as childminders with the Care Inspectorate. A further 116 are currently working towards their registration. We have also begun to explore ways of streamlining and reducing the administrative burden on childminders.

As announced in the 2023 Programme for Government, we will continue to build on this work and scale up these pilots to support and grow our childminding workforce. We will also implement a range of measures to address retention issues, including trialling a mentoring scheme and models of ‘funded time off the floor’ to support childminders to undertake professional development opportunities, planning or administration duties.

In the 2023-2024 Programme for Government the Scottish Government announced that we would develop and trial a digital service that will give parents and carers greater scope to manage their childcare.

We know that the current childcare system can be difficult for families to navigate, particularly for those on the lowest incomes, and are at an early stage of designing a digital service that will make it easier for parents and carers to manage their childcare.

My officials and I continue to engage with relevant parties to inform decisions on future college governance arrangements in the Lanarkshire and Glasgow regions.

I met last month with the chair of the Lanarkshire Regional College Board.

Next week I am seeking to meet with the Principals and Chairs of the three Glasgow colleges.

I would hope to make an announcement in both cases, shortly .

Following a comprehensive consultation process, the Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan will be published by Summer 2024. Following an extensive consultation process on the draft strategy, we are engaging with key stakeholders as we work towards publication.

All Scottish local authorities have a statutory duty under the Control of Dogs (Scotland) Act 2010 (“the 2010 Act”) to appoint at least one officer for the purposes of the 2010 Act.

Local authority appointed 'authorised officers' (i.e. dog wardens) are expected to be skilled in the control of dogs, and also have the capacity to instruct and advise others in dog control matters.

The number of such staff employed in each council area is entirely a matter for each council to consider.

Scottish Government officials engage regularly with local authorities on matters in relation to dog control, via both COSLA and also the National Dog Warden Association (NDWA).

My statement to Parliament on 18 January 2024 committed the Scottish Government to working with key stakeholders to look at any improvements that could be made to the 2010 Act to strengthen and enhance the approach to preventative measures in the medium term.

The Scottish Government, in its Scottish Connections Framework, committed to continue to engage with key heritage events around the world such as New York Tartan Week.

We work with key partners, led by VisitScotland, as part of the Brand Scotland strategic partnership, and through our international offices to position Scotland as an inclusive, year-round destination.

Key milestones in the cultural calendar, with St Andrew’s Day in November and Burns Night in January, along with Tartan Day in April in North America, provide the Scottish Government international network with invaluable opportunities to promote Scotland’s international interests, showcasing Scottish traditions, the best of Scottish produce, culture and values, and Scotland as a great destination for tourism. Teams in the Scottish Government international network also engage with local diaspora communities in country specific activities such as Highland Games and historical celebrations.

Those activities include, but are not limited to the following examples and evolve depending on local opportunities.

The Scottish Government in the USA has long been a key supporter of the diaspora led activity that constitutes Tartan Day and Tartan Week. Ministerial attendance throughout the week is leveraged towards promoting trade, investment, tourism, culture and higher education. VisitScotland attend Tartan Week and hold events to promote tourism with the general public, and specific events working with tourism and hospitality companies. With the support of the Scottish Government, Tartan Week has grown to be bigger than ever, with multiple Scottish business, culture and heritage organisations present last year, and planning to attend again this year. The team also host and participate in events around local Highland Games throughout the year, as well as St Andrew’s Day and Burns Nights across the USA, host events for alumni of Scottish Universities, and partner with diaspora organisations to deliver the strongest possible suite of events across the country, all aimed at promoting Scotland as a place to live, work, study, visit and do business.

The Scottish Government in Canada works in partnership with major Scottish/St. Andrew’s societies across Canada to promote Scottish tourism and place VisitScotland marketing collateral at their events including Burns Suppers, St. Andrew’s Day as well as at Highland Games in the summer. Video content on their Instagram channel is mainly drawn from VisitScotland and Scotland is Now campaigns. The team has also supported VisitScotland and their work with Canadian airports that host direct flights to Scotland.

The Scottish Government in China works in partnership with stakeholders including Scottish and Alumni Societies to promote Scotland and tourism, building connections with diaspora who help to propagate our messaging. Recent examples include Burns Nights, either hosted or supported by the team, hosting a St Andrew’s Day reception, and supporting the National Gallery of Scotland’s opening of a major exhibition of surrealist art from its collection at Museum of Art Pudong in Shanghai.

The team in China works closely with VisitScotland to maximise the opportunities that events and activities offer to promote tourism and Scotland more generally; and in building links with key stakeholders to support tourism. One example is the direct flight route between China and Scotland (Hainan Airlines announced in late December it would run its direct Edinburgh-Beijing route in 2024 with extra flights compared to the first run in 2023). The team uses its social media platforms to maximise impact and reach a wider audience across China, currently with 275k followers.

The Scottish Government in France works closely with Scottish diaspora organisations across France, regularly attending and participating in their events. This year they attended and supported several Burns Suppers organised by diaspora organisations, in Paris and beyond, such as Aubigny-sur-Nère: a town with a rich historical connection with Scotland.

The Scottish Government in Germany promote tourism to Scotland and showcase VisitScotland content through a number of channels, including regular online newsletters, social media posts, and events such as concerts and literature showcases, as well as Burns Night and St Andrews Day events. They regularly work with VisitScotland and Showcase Scotland to promote festival and cultural tourism especially. A 2023 St Andrew’s Day reception, in partnership with VisitScotland focused on promoting cultural and music tourism to Scotland.

The Scottish Government in Ireland are speaking to St Patrick’s Festival in Dublin regarding their ‘Abair - Bothy/Bothn’ which will bring together artists from Scotland and Ireland to explore shared traditions and folk customs

The hosting of annual Burns Night and St Andrews Day events, in which the promotion of Scottish arts, culture, food and landscapes to a Nordic audience are a key objective for the Nordics team in Copenhagen, alongside engagement with Scotland’s locally based diaspora communities.

Scotland House London are organising a week-long Scottish literature festival with Scottish diaspora organisations, with whom they have a group but also a range of events, such as a Ceilidh and annual gala with Princess Anne as the royal patron, throughout the year.

As we learn more about our diaspora and increase our Scottish Connections we will continue to explore new opportunities for engagement.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to Angus Independent Advocacy since 2020, as one of the providers of the statutory children's advocacy scheme for children's hearings. The objectives of the funding are to develop, deliver and promote children's advocacy services to ensure those services are accessible to all children and young people who may have a Children’s Hearing. These objectives have been adjusted over the years since 2020.

The key objectives, as set out in the current grant letter 2023-24 are:

• Children's advocacy will be offered and, where accepted, provided at the earliest possible point.
• The rights and views of children and young people who come into contact with the Children’s Hearings System, or who are placed in residential children's care from another part of the UK under a Court authorised Deprivation of Liberty Order (DOL) in Scotland, will be taken into account in decision making by supporting children and young people to participate in decisions that affect their lives.
• High quality independent advocacy services will be promoted and provided to children and young people, to support them to exercise their rights to be heard and participate within their Hearings. Children and young people affected by DOL placements will be supported to understand their rights and engage in discussions to provide their views to the residential provider.
• Children and young people will be supported by children's advocacy workers who will be appropriately skilled and qualified, and supported through training and Continuous Professional Development.
• Continually informed developments and improvements of the provision to meet children and young people's advocacy needs and empowering children who need a stronger voice by enabling them to express their own needs and make their own decisions.
• Take steps to promote, respect, protect and fulfil the rights of children and young people and increase awareness of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) amongst staff and stakeholders.
• Will be expected to give regard to the Fair Work Framework.

Objectives in 2019-20 and 2020-21:

• To complete preparation work and activities to allow the organisation to deliver Children’s Advocacy services as part of the Scottish Government’s implementation of section 122 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011, in a manner which gives cognisance to the: Scottish Government’s Advocacy Guidance; and National Practice Model for Advocacy in the Children’s Hearings System.

Objectives in 2021-22:

• The organisation will support the Scottish Government with the development, delivery and promotion of the national children’s advocacy in children’s hearings scheme as part of the implementation of section 122 of the Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 and The Children’s Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011 (Children’s Advocacy Services) Regulations 2020, in a manner which gives cognisance to the: Scottish Government’s Children’s Advocacy Guidance (published in 2014), and National Practice Model for Advocacy in the Children’s Hearings System (published in March 2020).
• The organisation will promote high quality independent advocacy services to children and young people, to support them to exercise their rights to be heard within their Hearings and contributing to the recovery of children’s hearings from Covid-19 impacts towards stable service.
• The organisation will promote high quality independent advocacy services to brothers and sisters, to support them to exercise their rights to participate in the Hearings of their siblings on staying together/contact arrangements as introduced by section 25 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2020 and related changes in Regulations made under section 177 of the Children (Scotland) Act 2011.
• The organisation will take steps to promote, respect, protect and fulfil the rights of children and young people and increase awareness of the UNCRC amongst staff and stakeholders. You will promote the UNCRC throughout the creation and development of the project, and related policies and procedures in relation to this funding.
• The organisation will support planning and future implementation of The Promise by improving experiences and outcomes for care experienced children and young people.

In 2022-23, the objectives repeated those applicable in 2021-22, with this addition:

• The organisation will promote high quality independent advocacy services to children and young people in cross-border DOL order placements. The advocacy offer, as detailed in the National Practice Model for Advocacy in the Children’s Hearings System, will be intended to support affected children to understand their rights (within Scotland’s laws) and provide their views to the residential provider - as to how their in-placement experience aligns with their child’s plan and how their welfare is being protected. This will be done in liaison with the child’s appointed guardian/advocacy organisation in the placing/implementing authority, in line with the welfare analysis submitted to the High Court when the placing authority first applied for the DOL order.
• In 2020-21, Angus Independent Advocacy also received expedited grant funding allocated under the Winter Plan for Social Protection Children's Hearings Recovery Project. This was to support greater safety in participation, and digital capacity for advocacy - to manage the impact of coronavirus on children referred to the Children's Hearings System. This was to support system recovery and meet the changing needs for children and young people to be able to participate in their children's hearings. It extended to, for example, personal digital devices that would both allow them to engage with advocacy but also assist with home schooling as required.

There is no record of any Scottish Government funding being provided to the Multi-Cultural Elderly Care Centre since 2019.

There is no record of any Scottish Government funding being provided to Milngavie Old People's Welfare Committee since 2019.