Chamber and committees

We are engaging closely with our sector wide stakeholder group and taking an evidence-based approach to developing and delivering actions to support Scotland’s childcare profession that include consideration of gender, pay and wider working conditions. This builds on the important work the Scottish Government has led to make Fair Work central to the delivery of the expansion of funded early learning and childcare (ELC).

In 2016, before the ELC expansion to 1140 hours, approximately 80% of practitioners delivering funded ELC in private and third sector services were paid less than the real Living Wage. The investment to support sustainable rates, and the ELC real Living Wage commitment has led to increases in pay across private and third sector services. Our Financial Sustainability Health Check, published 31 July 2023, reports that 81% of funded ELC providers in the private and third sector are now paying the real Living Wage to either all staff or staff delivering funded ELC.

In 2024-25, the Scottish Government has provided local authorities with an additional £16 million to increase pay for staff in the private and voluntary (PVI) sector who are delivering funded ELC to at least £12 per hour from April 2024. This commitment could result in a £2,000 increase in the gross salary annual salary of a full-time childcare worker.

This demonstrates our commitment to the Fair Work agenda, as we remain the only part of the UK to provide funding to allow ELC staff in the PVI sector to be paid the real Living Wage.

Another key action we are taking forward is implementing a process for monitoring progress with providers paying the real Living Wage and re-establishing the ELC Fair Work and Real Living Wage Implementation Group.

These are critical steps towards addressing the recruitment and retention issues facing the sector today.

Following the announcement of major new childcare commitments in the 2023-24 Programme for Government, the Scottish Government is re-considering the approach to publication of the strategic framework for the early learning and school age childcare profession. In the mean time we are continuing to work with the Framework Steering Group and other partners to support delivery of the actions developed as part of the original plan.

We have already provided local authorities with an additional £16 million in 24-25 to increase pay for staff in the private and voluntary (PVI) sector who are delivering funded early learning and childcare (ELC) to at least £12 per hour from April 2024. This demonstrates our commitment to the Fair Work agenda, as we remain the only part of the UK to pay ELC staff in the PVI sector the real Living Wage.

In addition, we are progressing our commitment to growing the childminding profession by 1,000 and have funded the Scottish Childminding Association to develop a new national three-year programme of childminder recruitment and retention. We have also implemented a Protection of Vulnerable Groups (PVG) fee waiver scheme for everyone joining the sector in fiscal year 2023-24 and launched a new national portal for continuous professional learning, which includes mental health and wellbeing resources.

We will continue to work with representatives from across the sector to understand key priorities for the ELC profession and how we can best support retention and recruitment.

The Scottish Government funds the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to support local areas to improve their neurodevelopmental support and diagnosis for adults; this includes diagnosis for both autism and ADHD. Since we accepted the recommendations of the Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways report last year, we have provided £567k for implementation to the NAIT. Nine of the 14 NHS Health Boards in Scotland now have Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathway Strategic Groups and five have a current Local Action Plan. Progress in this area remains a priority.

NAIT also published guidance in April (2022) regarding the prescribing of ADHD medication to adults following a private sector diagnosis in Scotland which can be read here .

NAIT’s guidance was constructed in consultation with practising psychiatrists, the Royal Colleges of Psychiatry and General Practice, as well as individuals with ADHD.

This guidance helps clarify the roles and responsibilities of both NHS staff and non-NHS providers.

The location of critical policing facilities is an operational decision for the Chief Constable.

Police Scotland is currently in discussions with a number of partners around possible locations in Edinburgh, to ensure it can continue to provide a policing service that meets the needs of communities across the city, in the event that the Divisional headquarters at Fettes are closed.

It is for Police Scotland to assure itself on the condition of its estate, and to ensure it meets all health and safety statutory requirements, to support the wellbeing of officers, staff and the public.

It is estimated that around 12,500 female practitioners and support workers who are working in private and third sector ‘day care of children’ settings that deliver funded ELC will benefit from Scottish Government investment to allow staff to be paid at least £12 per hour. This could result in a £2,000 increase in the gross salary annual salary of a full-time childcare worker.

Education Scotland published the results of a deep dive on attendance in November 2023, which sought to understand the current barriers and challenges which influence school attendance and make recommendations on how local authorities can support increased attendance. All 32 local authorities were consulted as part of the work, with 14 local authorities and 18 schools taking part in case studies. The case studies indicated that pupil mental health is a key concern and is believed to be a significant driver behind absence.

Im proving attendance: Understanding the issues (education.gov.scot)

The Behaviour in Scottish Schools Research (BISSR), published in November 2023, included insights into behaviours that were related to attendance and engagement in school. Attendance and school avoidance was identified as a significant issue post-COVID 19 by school staff and local authority representatives. Across local authority areas, representatives spoke about a small but persistent cohort of students who had experienced difficulties in returning to school post-COVID-19 and were continuing to learn online and in the community. The research found that some school staff felt that the disruption had made pupils feel that in-school attendance wasn’t important, while others felt that low attendance was related to mental health issues as a result of the pandemic.

Behaviour in Scottish Schools 2023 (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Breast Screening Programme Statistics 2022-23 show that more women than ever are attending breast screening appointments, and that uptake is increasing for most groups. It is important to note that uptake for women receiving their first breast screening invitation in 2022-23 was higher than any pre-COVID year since 2013-14, and was above the 10 year average of 70.8%. It is also above the standard uptake rate of 70%. Therefore, overall the picture for breast screening uptake is encouraging.

However, the Scottish Government recognises that there is still work to be done to improve uptake, including among those receiving their first invitation, and to meet the 80% achievable standard. We continue to work with the organisations responsible for breast screening to fully understand barriers to uptake, and to encourage all women to attend breast screening when invited. As part of this, we continue to ensure work is carried out to address inequalities in uptake and access to screening, having committed £3 million since 2021 to tackle inequalities in the programmes, which remains a priority. We will also provide £1 million funding for 2024-25.

The Breast Screening Review that was published in 2022 noted recommendations that seek to increase breast screening uptake. The Breast Screening Modernisation Board, chaired by Dr Marzi Davies, is currently taking forward these recommendations.

We will focus on policies and activities that have the greatest environmental and economic impact while continuing to encourage best practice by all businesses and consumers, with the aim to produce, consume and manage resources as effectively as possible. The Product Stewardship Strategy will set out a clear, cohesive approach to tackling the environmental and social impacts of products placed on the Scottish market, making the most of opportunities within the competence of the Scottish Government to reduce the environmental impacts of products and goods, and being clear where this requires further action from the UK Government.

The Scottish Government has ongoing dialogue with the National Records of Scotland regarding access to adoption records. We are exploring collaboratively what more we can do to ensure people affected by adoption are able to easily access the right information and support when they need it.

Both the National Records of Scotland and the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service have updated the information that they provide online in order to assist people with the practical aspects of accessing records, as well as signposting to further support. Both organisations will continue to provide access and assistance to adoption records in line with current legislation.

The Scottish Government is committed to maintaining alignment with the EU where such alignment would be possible and meaningful in protecting and advancing the standards we share.

On waste management sources of energy, where waste is unavoidable and unrecyclable, the Scottish Government’s aim is to recover the highest value, while minimising as far as possible the environmental impacts of managing this waste, including through energy recovery. The second report of the Review of the Role Incineration in Scotland’s Waste Hierarchy made recommendations on the decarbonisation of residual waste, and the Scottish Government accepted these recommendations in full or in principle, including on the expansion of the UK Emissions Trading Scheme, ending the unnecessary incineration of plastic, incentivising heat networks and supporting the development of Carbon Capture Utilisation Storage (CCUS).

On heat networks, the Heat Network Support Unit, sponsored by the Scottish Government, supports heat network projects through the pre-capital stages of development through advice and funding. This support includes offering advice and grant funding for developing feasibility studies, Outline Business Cases (OBCs) and project commercialisation. The HNSU has supported several projects that seek to utilise excess heat from Energy from Waste facilities. This includes a recent feasibility study with Glasgow City Council, exploring the opportunity to utilise heat from the Glasgow Recycling and Renewable Energy Centre (GRREC). Through Scotland’s Heat Network Fund and its predecessor the Low Carbon Infrastructure Transition Programme, the Scottish Government has provided approximately £32.8 million combined funding for heat networks which utilise recovered heat, including two projects using recovered heat from waste facilities in both Aberdeen and Midlothian and a project recovering Heat from a Waste water treatment facility in Stirling. In addition, the Scottish Government, in collaboration with Scottish
‎ Enterprise, will shortly publish a guidance document which provides information about how we can improve the capture and utilisation of heat from industrial and commercial processes.

In taking these things forward we will of course be mindful of existing and new EU legislation, like the EU Waste Framework Directive, Industrial Emissions Directive and Renewable Energy Directive.

The second report of the Review of the Role Incineration in Scotland’s Waste Hierarchy can be found here: 1 Introduction - Decarbonisation of residual waste infrastructure: report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

The Government Response to the second report of the Review of the Role Incineration in Scotland’s Waste Hierarchy: Supporting documents - Decarbonisation of residual waste infrastructure: Scottish Government response - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).