Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has published analysis relating to the overall Disability Employment Gap in Scotland in Fairer Scotland for disabled people - employment action plan: progress report - year 2 . The most recent data on the Disability Employment Gap for Scotland were published in Scotland's Labour Market: People, Places and Regions – Protected Characteristics . In 2021, the disability employment gap was 31.2 percentages points, down from 37.4 percentage points in 2016.

In 2021, the Scottish Government published key statistics relating to the economic status of disabled people in the labour market in Scotland . This publication contains information from the Annual Population Survey (APS) January to December 2019 on employment rates for disabled people by main condition including those whose main condition was a mental health condition (Table 16).

A similar analysis will be updated and published by the Scottish Government in 2023 showing employment rate gaps by health problem or disability for January to December 2022.

Scottish Government’s recently published Fair Work Action Plan takes forward the next phase of actions to drive forward Fair Work. The plan includes actions aimed at reducing the Disability Employment Gap.

The Fair Work Action Plan will be supported by an evidence plan to be published in late 2023, along with an accompanying measurement framework. It will monitor the fair work context and progress we are making over time to ensure our actions respond to change and measure the impact of our current actions, including drawing lessons from actions we will deliver as part of this plan.

Estimates for the employment rate for people 16-64 years who reported a severe or specific learning difficulty (lasting 12 months or more) are shown in the following table for each of the last 4 financial years.

Dog owners must take responsibility for their pet and responsible behaviour is central to the concept of exercising access rights. Increasing awareness is a key factor in the prevention of livestock worrying incidents and the associated unnecessary suffering. The Scottish Outdoor Access Code is clear on the rights and responsibilities of land managers and those exercising access rights, and is widely publicised.

Further to this the Scottish Government previously undertook an awareness raising digital campaign, in partnership with the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals to promote responsible dog ownership. The campaign was re-run on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram in September and December 2021, to further emphasise the importance of training pet dogs correctly. Reportedly NFU Mutual have estimated the cost of dog attacks on Scotland’s livestock fell by almost a third in 2022, indicating greater awareness on this matter.

The Scottish Government routinely publishes the latest data and information on the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland, including the number of people temporarily housed on the MS Ambition. As published on 23 February, there were around 995 guests onboard the MS Ambition as at 14 February 2023, occupying 475 cabins. The next update is expected to be published in late March.

The data are provisional management information from live operational systems and are subject to change. The number of displaced people from Ukraine in welcome accommodation on M/S Ambition is reported directly by operational teams.

The published tables and accompanying methodology notes for the February publication can be found here: Supporting documents - Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - February 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government routinely publishes the latest data and information on the Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland, including the number of people temporarily housed on the MS Ambition. As published on 23 February, there were around 995 guests onboard the MS Ambition as at 14 February 2023, occupying 475 cabins. The next update is expected to be published in late March.

The data are provisional management information from live operational systems and are subject to change. The number of displaced people from Ukraine in welcome accommodation on M/S Ambition is reported directly by operational teams.

The published tables and accompanying methodology notes for the February publication can be found here: Supporting documents - Ukraine Sponsorship Scheme in Scotland: statistics - February 2023 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government has not conducted any analysis of the impact of the Dogs (Protection of Livestock) (Amendment) (Scotland) Act 2021.

The main piece of legislation that controls the sale of alcohol in Scotland is the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005. The administration of the alcohol licensing regime is devolved to independent local Licensing Boards – in effect the 32 Scottish Local Authorities.

Licensing Boards can grant general extensions of licensed hours if they consider it appropriate to do so in connection with a special event of local or national significance.

The Scottish Ministers do not have a power to grant a general extension of licensed hours, unlike the Home Secretary under the England and Wales alcohol licensing regime.

Employability hubs are generally a local arrangement between The Department for Work and Pensions and local authorities. The Scottish Government does not hold the data you have requested however, local authorities and the Department for Work and Pensions may be able to provide you with this information.

Since the devolution of employability services to the Scottish Government, support is being delivered through a combination of locally designed services, No One Left Behind, and our national employment support service, Fair Start Scotland.

No One Left Behind, which commenced in 2019, is the Scottish Governments approach to transforming employment support in Scotland. It aims to deliver a system that is more tailored and responsive to the needs of people of all ages who want help and support on their journey towards and into work, particularly people with health conditions, disabled people and others who are disadvantaged in the labour market.

The No One Left Behind approach moves away from funding and delivering several separate and distinct employability programmes, to a more flexible approach. Scottish and Local Government are working with third and private sector to deliver support which aims to be more joined-up and responsive to the needs of individuals of all ages and tailored to local labour market conditions.

Fair Start Scotland, our devolved employability support service, launched in April 2018 and offers 12 to 18 months of tailored, flexible and person-centred pre-employment support to people who want help to find and remain in work. Up to 12 months in-work support is also available for the participant as well as the employer, helping to ensure fair and sustainable employment.

Fair Start Scotland is delivered by a mixed economy of public, private and third sector providers across nine geographical areas throughout Scotland. A breakdown of the providers in each local authority area can be found at the following website.

https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/employability-services/fair-start-scotland/individual/

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring everyone has access to person centred employability support that meets the needs of individuals, helping them towards, and into sustainable employment.

Maintenance of its estate and the allocation of its capital budget is a matter for the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service. The safety of its staff is paramount and SFRS are continuing to monitor the measures put in place to rectify the defects and support staff to deliver its service safely.

In 2019 an urgent issue was identified in relation to an obsolete method of roof construction (Reinforced Aerated Autoclaved Concrete (RAAC). As soon as the defects were discovered (from May 2019 to 2020) action was immediately taken with temporary support (acrow props) to reinforce identified weak points and scaffolded out crash decks to catch roof collapses and minimise the risk of injury to occupants. All roofs are subject to quarterly inspections by building surveyors to monitor the condition/identify any deterioration. There has been no negative impact on SFRS operations from these sites.

Skills Development Scotland published quarterly statistics on the Employability Fund. The information you have requested can be found at the following website. Employability Fund | Skills Development Scotland