Chamber and committees

The literature review 'The development of cognitive and emotional maturity in adolescents and its relevance in judicial contexts' was commissioned by the independent Scottish Sentencing Council to inform its work in developing a sentencing guideline on young people. Its conclusions specifically relate to those aspects of adolescents and young people's cognitive and emotional development and maturity which are relevant to judicial decision-making with a particular focus on its relevance to decisions about the sentencing of young people convicted of criminal offences.

As the report focuses specifically on how evidence about the development of cognitive and emotional maturity in adolescents and young adults is relevant to decision making in judicial contexts, the Scottish Government has not undertaken a formal assessment of its findings' relevance in other policy areas.

The planting is designed to deliver specific objectives such as landscape integration, screening/shelter, and ecological enhancement etc. However, this does not necessarily mean 100% of the stock planted needs to establish in order to achieve the objectives. A number of annual inspections are carried out by the landscape architect throughout each year of the 5 year establishment period. These inspections determine whether the planting is on course to deliver the intended design outcomes, and can result in remedial actions for the contractor to carry out.

Over 1,000 replacement trees have been planted so far in 2023. Inspections will continue over summer of 2023 to monitor the development of the planting design before deciding what future remedial works and/or replanting may be necessary.

Other remedial works may include applying fertiliser or improving drainage. Fertiliser has already been applied to around 140,000 square metres of tree beds in 2023 to date. Trial removal of tree guards is underway in selected plots and this will be carefully monitored to assess any impact from grazing deer.

The Scottish Social Services Council, as the regulator of social care services, publishes an annual report on the social services workforce which can be found on their website here: Scottish Social Service Sector: Report on 2021 Workforce Data (sssc.uk.com) .

Their latest report shows that, at the end of 2021, there were more than 208,000 people working in the social services workforce.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6O-02113 on 19 April 2023 The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliaments website, the Official report can be viewed at: Meeting of the Parliament: 19/04/2023 | Scottish Parliament Website

The Scottish Government is working with partners in local government, The Scottish Sensory Centre, Sense Scotland and the General Teaching Council for Scotland to update existing guidance on qualifications and teacher competencies for those who teach children and young people with sensory loss.

A public consultation on the updated guidance is planned for later this year.

The latest statistics show that despite the challenging economic conditions, the total number of businesses in Scotland rose to 360,910 in 2022, a 5.2 per cent increase on the previous year.

However we know businesses in Scotland are struggling because of Brexit and the UK government’s mismanagement of the economy. That is why the Scottish Government is doing all it can, through our limited levers, to provide immediate support to businesses including the lowest Non-Domestic Rates poundage in the UK.

At the same time, we are delivering our National Strategy for Economic Transformation to achieve our long-term ambitions for a stronger, fairer, and greener economy. The activities we are delivering are supporting businesses, encouraging and cultivating new businesses, and attracting more businesses to Scotland.

We are working closely with delivery partners, businesses, the third sector and trade unions to successfully implement the strategy and transform our economy.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering a Net Zero, Wellbeing economy and a highly skilled workforce is critical to this ambition. Our National Strategy for Economic Transformation is clear that we must adapt our education and skills system to become more responsive and agile so that it can deliver on our key priorities.

Published in 2020, the Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan (CESAP) provides a framework for green skills planning and investment across priority sectors directly affected in the transition to net zero: Energy, Construction, Transport, Manufacturing and Agriculture and land-use.

The plan is overseen by an Implementation Steering Group, comprised of senior representatives from a variety of sectors including local government, public agencies, skills providers, and industry.

Information on the number of people receiving social care support has been collected by Public Health Scotland (PHS) and published as part of their Insights In Social Care publication since 2018. Prior to this, data was collected by Scottish Government through the Social Care Survey from 2013 – 2017.

Therefore, the change between 2016/17 and 2017/18 should be interpreted with caution due to the differences between data sources. However, PHS do produce an adjusted figure based on the same definitions used in the Social Care Survey that allows a longer term trend to be produced which has been used in the table below.

Data is available from 2014 onwards, as the same age breakdown is not available for 2013. Prior to 2013, there were separate surveys for Home Care and Direct Payments but no collection covering all social care services. Figures may not sum to all ages exactly due to rounding.

Table 1: The estimated number of people in Scotland receiving social care support by age, 2013-14 – 2021-22

The introduction of biometric identification systems is a matter for local authorities and schools to decide upon at local level.

Our position is clear that the views of parents, pupils and school staff should be taken into account as part of any decision-making process to introduce and implement biometric identification systems. Furthermore, information collected through a biometric system must, like all personal data, be processed fairly and lawfully in line with data protection law.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the average pay rates for care assistants across the private, public and third sector.

From April 2023, adult social care workers delivering direct care in commissioned services will see their pay increase to a minimum of £10.90 per hour; in line with the Real Living Wage rate for the 2023-24 Financial Year.

These are the minimum rates of pay for these workers and many providers choose to pay more than these minimums.