Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government recognises the impact which the Covid-19 pandemic had on children and young people in Scotland, particularly the closing of schools and learning lost as a result. This is in common with children and young people across the world.

School staff and pupils should be commended for the way in which they adapted to online learning during the pandemic. We are determined to do everything we can to support children, young people and that every child and young person in Scotland will have the opportunity to fulfil their potential as they progress through the education system and on to positive destinations.

We have worked with partners to support learners recovery, including a National e-Learning Offer, the procurement of more than 70,000 digital devices and 14,000 connectivity packages as well as significant investment in education recovery including Pupil Equity Funding and funding for education authorities to recruit additional staff.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16208 on 27 March 2023, which provided an update on Winter Heating Payment. 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 .

As part of our pledge towards decarbonisation, the Scottish Government is working towards our commitment to phase out the need for all petrol or diesel cars in the public sector fleet by 2025 and for all other new petrol and diesel vehicles by 2030.

In line with this commitment, all internal combustion vehicles (ICE) procured since 2018 are light commercial vehicles and at time of purchase, there were no suitable fully electric (EV) or plug in hybrid (PHEV) alternatives available. These vehicles will be replaced at end of life with either EV or PHEV replacements.

No ICE cars have been procured since 2017.

The Ukraine Longer-term Resettlement Fund remains open for applications where Scottish Government funded works can be completed by 31 March 2024, and we continue to actively encourage Councils and RSLs to apply to the Fund to boost the supply of additional homes with support available for a range of housing options.

The Scottish Government is aware that drug treatment and testing order (DTTO) services in Edinburgh were temporarily suspended in 2022 and has worked with the local authority and other partners over recent months to understand the issues behind this and offer support where appropriate. DTTO services were reinstated in late February on a limited basis and we will continue to support efforts to ensure that those in need can access drug treatment across Scotland.

As recently announced in our Drug Deaths Taskforce Response, the Scottish Government is currently carrying out a review of DTTOs and other relevant orders to assess how they have been used, their outcomes, and whether they are the most effective mechanism to support recovery and reduce recidivism rates.

The SPCB, as the employer of its staff, is committed to reviewing its policy arrangements to ensure that it supports staff who experience baby loss, including pregnancy-related leave. Officials have been looking at developing the SPCB’s current approach, in line with the guidance within the Pledge, to support those colleagues who may experience loss through their pregnancy.   The SPCB is currently able to offer support in the form of paid special leave, through the Positive about Mental Health and Wellbeing policy, the Employee Assistance Programme and Occupational Health.  Any arrangements that are adopted for Scottish Parliament staff will also form part of the minimum terms and conditions for MSPs’ staff.  Finally, we’re currently working with an external provider to review the Parliament’s Diversity and Inclusion progress and priorities, and this will include our approach to partnerships and accreditations. 

Scottish Government Ministers took the decision to extend all current funding for the 115 organisations funded under the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention & Adult Learning & Empowering Communities (CYPFEI & ALEC) third sector fund for three months and consider options for the existing fund together with fully considering bids under the new Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning (CYPFAL) third sector fund. Following this consideration, Ministers took the decision to extend all existing funding under CYPFEI and ALEC for two financial years, providing £29m to 115 organisations to end March 2025. Officials wrote to all affected organisations on 20 March 2023 to communicate this decision. In addition, Ministers have decided to award an additional £6m to 22 further organisations under the CYPFAL third sector fund over the next two financial years to end March 2025.

The Scottish Government does not operate any TikTok accounts.

The Scottish Government held a public consultation on the draft of the new physical intervention in schools guidance in 2022 Physical intervention in schools: draft guidance - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The consultation closed at the end of October. We are carefully considering all responses received and recognise that there are calls for further legislation in this area. A consultation analysis report is currently being prepared for my consideration by education officials.

Alongside the publication of the guidance, and in line with our original commitments, we are exploring options to strengthen the legal framework in this area during the course of this parliamentary term. This includes the option of placing the guidance on a statutory basis.

Keeping children safe from abuse and exploitation is a key priority for the Scottish Government. We are committed to ensuring that robust child protection measures are in place across Scotland.

That is why we are taking forward a range of work with our partners, including Stop It Now! Scotland and the NSPCC, to both prevent abuse and intervene early to ensure that risk and harm to children and young people is recognised and acted on quickly and effectively. For example, in February of this year, we delivered a public awareness campaign across a range of radio, TV and digital channels to inform parents about the risks of online harm and how to protect their children online.

Cross-directorate Government-supported work-streams collectively take action to prevent and protect children in Scotland from child sexual abuse and provide appropriate support to victims and survivors of such abuse. This includes funding to support a range of activity and programmes with a particular focus on early intervention and prevention and the revision of the National Child Protection Guidance that defines and clarifies roles and responsibilities for everyone working with children and young people, setting out the foundation for protective action to keep children safe from harm.

The most recent statistics show the number of children on the Child Protection Register in Scotland has decreased and is the lowest rate of any nation in the UK. The number of looked after children is also at its lowest level since 2006.

The breadth of work happening across Government and our commitment to a continuing focus on prevention and early intervention is such that we do not think that a national strategy to tackle child sexual abuse is required at this time. The Scottish Government will keep under review whether a dedicated strategy is needed in this sensitive and important area.