Chamber and committees

As referenced in the Scottish Government Programme for Government 2025-26: Building the Best Future for Scotland, the purpose of the Taskforce is to strengthen our approach to keeping children safe online, providing oversight and direction across Scottish Government and identifying what more can be done to protect children and young people. In meeting this purpose it will bring together work from across government to better effect, maximising the funding available across government to keep children safe online and help promote wellbeing through positive behaviours.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41398 on 5 November 2025 . All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the proportion of kinship carers who have reported relying on food banks or emergency grants to support the child in their care since May 2021.

Information on the number of eligible children who are accessing their full 1140 hours of early learning and childcare entitlement is set out in the ELC Delivery Progress Reports | Improvement Service produced by the Improvement Service. The latest report highlights that local authorities reported that 88% of eligible children were accessing the full entitlement of 1140 hours in September 2024.

The Scottish Government is aware of the insurance implications associated with multi-residential buildings with potentially unsafe external wall cladding systems. As part of the development of the Cladding Remediation Programme and the associated Housing (Cladding Remediation) (Scotland) Act 2024 the Scottish Government has engaged with a range of sector stakeholders, including building safety groups, the housing sector and financial risk specialists.

In particular:

• During the parliamentary scrutiny of the Bill accompanying the Act, the Policy Memorandum records that the Association of British Insurers (ABI) were listed as one of the organisations engaged through the Ministerial Working Group on Mortgage Lending and Cladding and the Cladding Remediation Stakeholder Group.
• The Scottish Government continues to monitor insurance market developments and acknowledges industry initiatives such as the Fire Safety Reinsurance Facility, launched in April 2024 and backed by the ABI, which aims to expand insurance capacity for higher-risk buildings.
• While the Scottish Government’s core focus remains on physical assessment and remediation (through instruments such as the Single Building Assessment (SBA) specification and the Cladding Assurance Register), officials remain in dialogue with industry bodies on residual risks including how insurance terms, premiums and availability may reflect remediation progress and risk reduction.

The Scottish Government is engaged with the ABI and other insurance industry stakeholders as part of its cladding remediation policy formulation.

However, the primary mechanism by which the Government addresses the risk in question is through the mandatory assessment and remediation pathway, rather than through direct regulation of insurance. The Government will continue to maintain engagement with the insurance sector to ensure that remediation and risk reduction outcomes are reflected in market capacity and premiums, but the SBA specification itself does not explicitly impose insurance requirements.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41190 on 7 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/questions-and-answers.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41186 on 7 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government recognises the valuable support provided to young people through high quality youth work. This work contributes to the Scottish Government’s priority to eradicate child poverty and tackle inequality.

Each education authority is responsible for securing Community Learning and Development (CLD) in their area under the CLD (Scotland) Regulations 2013.

The 2013 Regulations require local authorities to plan and arrange the provision of CLD. In line with the Verity House Agreement, local authorities have the autonomy to deliver services that meet the needs of young people in their areas.

An independent review of CLD was commissioned in December 2023. The Scottish Government welcomed the Learning: For All. For Life. report published in July 2024, which made 20 recommendations varying in complexity and scope. The report can be accessed at: Supporting documents - Learning: For All. For Life. A report from the Independent Review of Community Learning and Development (CLD) - gov.scot.

Publication of the report places our focus firmly on removing barriers caused by inequality and poverty, and presents opportunities for meaningful collaboration between Scottish Government, CoSLA and organisations across the sector.

The report clearly articulated the lifechanging role that CLD, including youth work, can play in supporting individuals impacted by health issues, inequality, poverty or opportunity barriers, to reach their full potential. This was also highlighted in the detailed literature review published alongside the review report which can be found here: Community Learning and Development in Scotland and internationally: literature review - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government and COSLA accepted recommendation 1.1 to set up a joint CLD Strategic Leadership Group (SLG). The Group are considering the remaining recommendations of the report, including those relating to youth work.

The SLG have agreed immediate priorities for 2025-26 which includes establishing a Strategic Delivery Group to progress actions linked to the identified priorities of the SLG.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information specifically, but information on the amount spent and affordability of childcare by age of child was collected as part of the Parent Survey: Supporting documents - Early learning and childcare - parents' views and use: survey findings 2022 - gov.scot published by the Scottish Government on 20 December 2022.

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Decisions about where to locate an early learning and childcare (ELC) setting are the responsibility of the service provider. The Scottish Government does not routinely collect or hold information about the physical characteristics of buildings from which ELC services are provided. Statutory requirements for the fitness of premises to be used for the provision of ELC are set out in Section 10 of The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011. These requirements are enforced by the Care Inspectorate during inspections and registration processes.