Chamber and committees

The COVID-19 pandemic has presented and continues to present unprecedented challenges for businesses across Scotland. Uncertainty in the labour market has led to many employers delaying and pausing recruitment decisions, which is impacting on apprenticeship starts.

Prior to the pandemic, we consistently exceeded annual Apprenticeship targets and were on track to meet our target of 30,000 Modern and Graduate Apprenticeships starts by 2020-21.

The Scottish Government will continue to work collaboratively with Skills Development Scotland to maximise apprentice uptake. As set out in our manifesto, we will build back up to 30,000 starts and assess demand to see how much further we can go, supporting the long-term future of work-based learning and our economy.

Official statistics published by Skills Development Scotland on 10 August 2021 show a positive increase in Modern Apprenticeship (MA) starts compared to the same time last year. There were 3,402 Modern Apprenticeship starts from 01 April to end of June this year – 3.7 times the number of MA starts at the same time last year. MA starts this quarter are still 21.5% lower than pre-pandemic levels in Q1 2019-20, reflecting continuing challenges from COVID-19 as many employers make difficult business decisions.

The Scottish Government received a total of £9.7 billion in Barnett consequentials from the UK Government for 2020-21, with £8.6 billion allocated throughout 2020-21 and £1.1 billion deferred into 2021-22. The Scottish Government set out details of the allocation of the £8.6 billion in the Summer, Autumn and Spring Budget Revisions for that year.

A total of £4.7 billion of Covid-19 consequentials are available for 2021-22, including the £1.1 billion deferred from 2020-21. The allocation of £3.7 billion of this is set out in the Budget Act for 2021-22, as amended and approved by Parliament. Details of the allocation of the remaining £1 billion of further Barnett consequentials, allocated to the Scottish Government at the UK Main Estimates in May, will be included in the Autumn Budget Revision in September, in line with the information on allocations provided by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Economy in her letter to the Finance and Public Administration Committee in June.

I provided details of the provisional outturn position for 2020-21 to the Parliament on 17 June. Final outturn on all Scottish Government spending for 2020-21 is still being finalised and will be set out in the Scottish Government Accounts, to be published in December.

Tracking of actual spending during the year is managed in different ways depending on the nature of the funding. For areas such as Business Support, where grant funding is clearly identified as Covid-19, expenditure to date has been tracked and details are regularly published externally;

See Scottish Government statistics publication site: Coronavirus (COVID-19): business support funding statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

For other areas were funding has been provided to a sector, the additional payments relating to Covid allocations are included in the standard monthly payments out to individual bodies. For example payments to Health Boards are often paid as one monthly amount with subsequent reporting from Boards on how that funding has been allocated across different priorities. In some instances its is not always possible to distinguish the application of Covid funding from the wider day to day activities of the organisation as they work through the recovery.

The Scottish COVID-19 Mental Health Tracker study provides data on the prevalence of mild to moderate mental health problems. Wave 4 of the Tracker Study is due to be published in the coming weeks.

Alongside other sources, we use the Tracker Study to monitor the mental health and wellbeing of the Scottish population. This provides insight into the potential impact of COVID-19 pandemic, and accompanying restrictions, on the mental health of the Scottish population, and has allowed us to tailor our mental health policy response as needs continue to evolve.

The proposals contained in the National Care Service consultation paper are based on the findings of the Independent Review of Adult Social Care (IRASC), which engaged extensively with people and organisations who have lived experience of using social care, including unpaid carers as well as trade unions, providers in the third sector and charitable organisations, and staff from local authorities. The IRASC met with over 1,000 people in total.

Prior to the election, Scottish Government and COSLA published a Joint Statement of Intent outlining how we would work together to deliver a number of areas in the IRASC. This covered topics including fair work, non-residential charging, overhaul of eligibility criteria and support for unpaid carers. There has been ongoing engagement with COSLA to take forward the Joint Statement.

We regularly meet and engage with stakeholders and partners, including trade unions, carers organisations, third sector organisations and professional bodies as part of our work to improve social care. A programme of formal engagement with relevant stakeholders is taking place during the consultation period, and engagement will continue after the consultation has closed.

Trading Standards Officers are employed by Scotland’s local authorities. Local authorities are independent corporate bodies, responsible for the management of their workforce. The outcome and response to the findings of the SCOTSS survey is therefore a matter for councils and their national body, COSLA. However, in recognition of the sustainability challenges facing the service, we understand that SCOTSS and COSLA continue to engage on developing a workforce strategy for the future.

The Scottish Government has not and does not plan to hold any discussions with the Scottish Funding Council on this matter unless approached or asked for support by our partners in local government. Scottish Ministers routinely engage with COSLA which provides an opportunity for areas of concern for local government to be raised.

Trading Standards Officers are employed by Scotland’s local authorities and it is therefore a matter for them, as independent corporate bodies with responsibility for the management of their workforce, to ensure that there is sufficient capacity to meet their future needs and requirements.

I last met with Water Safety Scotland representatives on 11 August 2021 during a meeting that I chaired with a range of key stakeholders on water safety. My officials are regularly in discussion with Water Safety Scotland representatives and their partners as part of our Building Safer Communities work.

The Scottish Government takes the issue of water safety very seriously. We work closely with Water Safety Scotland (WSS) and other partners, including local councils, police and SFRS to implement and support initiatives that can help raise awareness of the hazards around water and reduce deaths from accidental drowning.

The Scottish Government also provides annual grant funding to the Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents to deliver its annual home and water safety programme, which includes providing a secretariat to Water Safety Scotland.

The following table contains details of instances over the last five financial years where the Scottish Government has waived the Right to Recover Housing Association Grant on previously grant funded projects and where the grant was not recycled within the Affordable Housing Supply Programme.

The Scottish Government Covid-19 Advisory Group met on
‎ 5 August 2021 and is due to meet again on 9 September. Papers and minutes are published following meetings, providing time for appropriate permissions to be sought.

All of the services highlighted in the question, apart from social care in prisons, must or can currently be delegated to integration authorities. The Independent Review of Adult Social Care recommended the formation of a National Care Service, and the reform of Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) to take full responsibility for commissioning and procurement of adult social care. Despite the Independent Review’s focus on adult services, it also highlighted integrated arrangements worked especially well where all social care, social work, and community based healthcare were delegated to the greatest extent, and highlighted potential dangers of fragmentation of services if a National Care Service was only developed for adult social care services.

The Review’s recommendations were based on extensive evidence gathering and engagement, as summarised in the evidence paper published alongside the main report. We have carefully analysed the Independent Review, including its evidence and recommendations, in order to develop proposals for the National Care Service.

The Scottish Government is currently consulting on the scope of the National Care Service. All responses to the consultation and engagement events will be carefully analysed to inform the Government’s position on what services will be included in the remit of the National Care Service.