Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting all young people to achieve their potential through Developing the Young Workforce (DYW). Although no specific data is available on the number of disabled young people supported through DYW, the employer-led DYW Regional Groups and School Coordinators work with specialist partners and third sector organisations to support young people who are furthest from the labour market into positive destinations, including young disabled people.

A recent example of this is in DYW Edinburgh, Midlothian and East Lothian. Enable and Action For Children provided ASN training for their School Coordinators and management staff. As a result, the Regional Group now work closely with Pilrig Park School, who deliver education for secondary school pupils experiencing complex long-term additional support needs. Through this collaboration they ensure that every pupil has flexible, personalised pathways to develop knowledge, understanding and skills for learning, life and work. In addition, DYW Fife have dedicated School Coordinators to increase support and opportunities for ASN Schools, Pupil Support Service Students and care experienced young people. Through collaboration with key partners, a more inclusive approach is adopted for these young people.

a) Enable Works Stepping Up programme, to date, has been delivered in 75 schools across Scotland, achieving a 98% positive destination rate for young people with learning disabilities. In financial year 2022-23, 2,974 young people were supported through the Stepping Up programme.

b) Stepping Up is an innovative school transitions programme that supports young people who have a learning disability, autism or additional support needs. The programme is delivered in partnership with Education Providers, stakeholders and other third sector organisations. It works collaboratively with Careers, Information, Advice and Guidance (CIAG) and Developing the Young Workforce (DYW) to provide joined-up careers experience, advice and guidance, and aims to support young people into positive destinations.

Prior to the introduction of the Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 (“the 2019 Act”) all relevant impact assessments were conducted, and no significant issues were identified as part of this process. All the bus powers in the 2019 Act, including franchising, are designed to be flexible to ensure local transport authorities can improve bus services according to their local needs. In developing their franchising proposals, local authorities will need to take account of the individual circumstances of their area, including any potential impact of technological developments, and how the proposals will contribute to the implementation of their relevant general policies. We continue to engage with local transport authorities as we develop the further regulations and guidance required to give the franchising powers full effect.

The Scottish Government welcomes the report from the Independent Review of Audiology Services in Scotland, and knows that there is work to be done to support improvement of audiology services across the country.

We accept all of the recommendations in principle, and will now establish a National Implementation Group to examine how best to implement the recommendations.

This Implementation Group will be formed with partners from the third sector, as well as the health service, which will allow us to ensure the voices of those with lived experience are front and centre as changes are made.

We will ensure that Parliament is kept updated with progress.

I welcome the scoping study on historic forced adoption which has been published today and the important further contribution this research has made to helping us understand the needs of those affected.

It is clear that the historic practices that forced the separation of mothers from their babies has resulted in lifelong pain and suffering for many of those involved. I am grateful to those people who shared their stories with bravery and dignity.

The Scottish Government will now assess the feasibility, including the financial, legislative and operational implications of the key areas of consideration and publish a response by the end of March 2024. In doing so we will continue to work with partners and importantly those with lived experience to consider options for service delivery and how best to implement the necessary improvements.

The Scottish Government and COSLA have today published a progress report on the development of a Fiscal Framework between the Scottish Government and Local Government. The document can be accessed on the Scottish Government website at the following link : https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781835217856

The report shows that while negotiations continue, we have jointly made good progress on a number of aspects of the framework and have already put these into practice, including improved pre-budget engagement and meaningful discussion about new fiscal levers.

The Nursing and Midwifery Council’s mid-year registration data report covers a six-month period and reflects those with a Scottish address who have registered, it does not indicate actual employment in Scotland’s health sector. The report itself therefore cannot be used as a true reflection of recruitment in Scotland.

Whilst the report shows a 22% increase in registration in Scotland compared to a 27.7% increase in registration across the UK in the last six months relative to the same period last year, nursing and midwifery levels per head of population show that we have 8.4 qualified Nurses and Midwives per 1,000 population, compared to 6.3 in England, 8.2 in Wales and 9.1 in Northern Island. This means nursing and midwifery levels are 32% higher, per head of population in Scotland than in England. Overall Nursing and Midwifery staffing in Scotland is at a record high and remains the best paid across the UK.

The UK Government has not provided any consequential funding to the Scottish Government to enable additional resources to be provided to NHS boards where the Home Office has chosen to procure contingency asylum accommodation. The Scottish Government provides funding to GP practices upon registration of new patients (including asylum seekers) for ongoing costs.

The 2009 Flood Risk management Act allocates clear roles and responsibilities for managing flood risk in Scotland. In accordance with this the Scottish Government works in in partnership with local authorities. Local authorities are responsible for ensuring local accountability by leading on the preparation of local flood risk management plans, which supplement the national strategies prepared by SEPA and ensure actions are locally targeted and delivered.

The Grangemouth Flood Protection Scheme is exceptional in terms of scale and financial cost. As such it requires careful consideration and the Scottish Government will continue to work with Falkirk Council to ensure that the scheme brought forward delivers for the local community and economy.

Public Health Scotland records inpatient admissions to hospital as a result of a dog attack.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21589 on 5 October 2023, which contains data from Public Health Scotland on the number of inpatient and day case admissions to hospital where a diagnosis of dog attack (bite or strike) was recorded, from 2010 to 2022, in Scotland.

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