In line with the Scottish Government home education guidance , choosing to home educate in itself should not be seen as a child protection concern, and local authorities should not treat it as such. The guidance encourages an annual meeting between home educating families and the local authority to discuss the ongoing education provision for the child, and recommends that the child should be given the opportunity to attend that meeting to express their views, but this is not compulsory.

If, from whatever source, an authority becomes aware of concerns about the home education of any child, outwith the normal contact time, they will need to gather the necessary information in order to form a view on whether those concerns are justified or whether the parents are providing an efficient education suitable to the age, ability and aptitude of the child.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of children and young people who are home educating in Scotland.

Clinical outcomes are reported monthly and any clinical mental health incidents reported to NHS 24, through any feedback channel, will receive a full investigation and clinical review.

The commitment to develop a new digital strategy for education was made in the 2023 Programme for Government and is expected to complete by Autumn 2024.

The National Bus Travel Concession Scheme for Young Persons provides free travel on local registered bus services and long distance bus services throughout Scotland. Dedicated school transport services do not fall within the definition of eligible services set out in the legislation as they are generally not registered as local bus services or available to members of the public. Local authorities receive funding via the local government block grant to enable them to meet their statutory obligations, including the provision of home to school transport.

Parents/guardians who make the choice to home educate take on full responsibility for providing a suitable and efficient education for their child(ren) in place of the local education authority.

Scottish Ministers encourage local authorities and parents to work together to develop a positive relationship that functions in the best educational interests of the child. As set out in the Scottish Government home education guidance , local authorities are encouraged to take a reasonable approach and make available any resources or support that they can offer. Responsibility for the provision of home education rests with the parent/guardian of the child, however a local authority may be able to provide support at their discretion.

The Scottish Government encourages parents/guardians to refer to the Scottish Government home education guidance and liaise with their local authority to find out what support may be available to them.

Schools in Scotland have the flexibility to decide on the content of their physical education lessons. The Scottish Government does not specifically evaluate the extent to which swimming lessons form a part of those decisions.

We know that some local authorities offer swimming lessons as part of their physical education classes. In other cases, schools may take into account a range of factors, including the time that is required to travel to a swimming pool, in deciding against offering swimming lessons as part of PE.

However, the Scottish Government has been working with Scottish Swimming, Education Scotland and other stakeholders to develop interventions and approaches to provide opportunities for children to become confident, competent and safer swimmers.

I can confirm that the Care Inspectorate made a pay award offer for financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 during week commencing 19 February 2024. There has been some variation in the timing of pay award offers due to differing governance processes and arrangements across Non-Departmental Public Bodies and Scottish Government departments.

There are currently 54 Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) inpatient beds across Scotland for children and adolescents.

Forty eight of these beds are commissioned on a regional basis. These are split across:

• North of Scotland Region - Dudhope Young People’s Inpatient Unit - 12 beds;
• South and East Region - Melville Young People’s Mental Health Unit - 12 beds;
• West Region Skye House Adolescent Inpatient Unit - 24 beds.

These units admit children and young people from Health Boards in that region, with the flexibility to admit from other regions if the unit closest to a child or young person is full.

Additionally, the National Child Psychiatry Inpatient Unit in the Glasgow Royal Hospital for Children has 6 beds for children under 12 years and admits children from across Scotland, based on clinical need. This includes one to two national beds for children with profound learning disabilities and mental health disorders.

The National Adolescent Secure Inpatient Unit, Foxgrove, is due to open later in 2024 and initially will provide 4 beds for young people who require care in an inpatient setting with medium levels of security.

Under powers contained in the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, it is for local authorities to consider byelaws as provided for in section 201 of that Act. The Act provides that local authorities ‘… may make byelaws for the good rule and government of the whole or any part of the their area, and for the prevention and suppression of nuisances therein.’ It is entirely a matter for local authorities to consider whether to make byelaws with confirmation of any byelaws a matter for Scottish Ministers.

The Scottish Government is happy to engage with any local authority who wished to consider making any byelaws under the section 201 powers including where such byelaws may relate to XL Bully dogs in public places.