- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Graeme Dey on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has undertaken or commissioned any national reviews or audits of youth centre provision since 2019, and, if so, whether it will publish the findings.
Answer
An independent review of the Community Learning and Development (CLD) landscape was commissioned in December 2023.
Following the review, the Learning: For All. For Life. report was published in July 2024 which set out 20 recommendations varying in complexity and scope. The report can be accessed at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/learning-life-report-independent-review-community-learning-development-cld/.
In December 2024, the Scottish Government and CoSLA accepted the first recommendation of the report to set up a CLD Strategic Leadership Group (SLG). The SLG are collectively considering the remaining recommendations of the report, including those relating to youth work.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Wednesday, 04 June 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 17 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what data it holds on how many early learning and childcare settings have withdrawn from the funded provider scheme since 2022, and what analysis it has conducted of the reasons for any such withdrawals.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on how many providers have withdrawn from offering funded early learning and childcare (ELC), or their reasons for doing so.
Information on the number of private, and third sector childcare services delivering funded ELC in each local authority in September each year is captured through the ELC census. This information is published as part of the Summary Statistics for Schools and is available in Table 1 of the Additional early learning and childcare statistics spreadsheet. It is important to note that there may currently be additional services delivering funded ELC that were not doing so at the time of the Census. Table 1 also includes information on the share of ELC registrations that were in private and third sector services (Partnership Centres) in each year.
Table: Number of Partnership Centres (private and third sector services) providing funded ELC
| | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
Number of ELC Partnership Centres | 985 | 962 | 956 |
Share of registrations in Partnership Centres | 30.3% | 30.5% | 31.0% |
Source: Additional early learning and childcare statistics (as part of the Summary Statistics for Schools) for 2022, 2023 and 2024.
The Care Inspectorate collect data from childminding services regarding the provision of funded ELC places. Figure 23 of the 2023_Early_learning_and_Childcare_Statistics.pdf publication provides data on the number of childminding services approved to deliver funded ELC at the 31 December in each year over the period 2020 to 2023. This reports that 1,220 childminding services were approved to deliver funded ELC as at 31 December 2022. For 31 December 2023 this figure was 1,127.
Since 2021, the Care Inspectorate has given all services who are in the process of cancelling their registration the option to provide them with the reasons why they are cancelling. An analysis of the reasons given by day care of children and childminding services (regardless of whether they offer ELC or not) for cancelling their registration over the period 2021 to 31 December 2023 was included in the Care Inspectorate’s 2023_Early_learning_and_Childcare_Statistics.pdf publication. This information is summarised in Figure 9 of the report.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what baseline data was used to determine the scale of need for play park renewal prior to distributing the £60 million of funding.
Answer
I refer the member to S6W-38037.
The £60m Scottish Government funding for play park renewals was distributed among the 32 local authorities based on population of 0-14 year olds and rurality. In the first year, the formula was:
1.95% on population 0-14
2.5% on rurality
From 2022/23, the formula was:
1.93% on population 0-14
2.7% on rurality
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it is monitoring the delivery of its 2021 commitment to renew every play park in Scotland, and whether this includes a national dataset or dashboard.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer provided in S6W-38036 on 13 June 2025. The reporting information provided by Local Authorities is collated and held centrally and provided on request.
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
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what data it has on how the £60 million for play park renewal has been (a) allocated and (b) spent across all 32 local authorities.
Answer
Capital funding for the play park renewal programme is distributed to all 32 Local Authorities based on population of 0-14 year olds and rurality. In the first year, the formula was:
1.95% on population 0-14
2.5% on rurality
From 2022-23, the formula was:
1.93% on population 0-14
2.7% on rurality
The full table of allocations to each local authority by year is:
Local Authority | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 | 2024-25 | 2025-26 | Total |
Aberdeen City Council | £188,000 | £185,000 | £373,000 | £559,000 | £932,000 | £2,237,000 |
Aberdeenshire Council | £296,000 | £308,000 | £616,000 | £924,000 | £1,539,000 | £3,683,000 |
Angus Council | £108,000 | £111,000 | £220,000 | £330,000 | £550,000 | £1,319,000 |
Argyll and Bute | £76,000 | £79,000 | £157,000 | £235,000 | £391,000 | £938,000 |
City of Edinburgh Council | £414,000 | £406,000 | £811,000 | £1,216,000 | £2,027,000 | £4,874,000 |
Clackmannanshire Council | £47,000 | £46,000 | £93,000 | £139,000 | £231,000 | £556,000 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Council | £29,000 | £32,000 | £62,000 | £93,000 | £156,000 | £372,000 |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | £140,000 | £146,000 | £291,000 | £437,000 | £728,000 | £1,742,000 |
Dundee City Council | £125,000 | £122,000 | £243,000 | £365,000 | £609,000 | £1,464,000 |
East Ayrshire Council | £112,000 | £112,000 | £224,000 | £336,000 | £561,000 | £1,345,000 |
East Dunbartonshire Council | £102,000 | £100,000 | £202,000 | £303,000 | £505,000 | £1,212,000 |
East Lothian Council | £108,000 | £108,000 | £218,000 | £327,000 | £545,000 | £1,306,000 |
East Renfrewshire Council | £102,000 | £101,000 | £204,000 | £306,000 | £509,000 | £1,222,000 |
Falkirk Council | £147,000 | £145,000 | £289,000 | £434,000 | £723,000 | £1,738,000 |
Fife Council | £344,000 | £342,000 | £681,000 | £1,022,000 | £1,703,000 | £4,092,000 |
Glasgow City Council | £525,000 | £514,000 | £1,028,000 | £1,542,000 | £2,570,000 | £6,179,000 |
Highland Council | £234,000 | £245,000 | £488,000 | £732,000 | £1,219,000 | £2,918,000 |
Inverclyde Council | £65,000 | £63,000 | £126,000 | £189,000 | £314,000 | £757,000 |
Midlothian Council | £98,000 | £97,000 | £197,000 | £295,000 | £492,000 | £1,179,000 |
Moray Council | £92,000 | £94,000 | £188,000 | £282,000 | £469,000 | £1,125,000 |
North Ayrshire Council | £118,000 | £117,000 | £231,000 | £347,000 | £578,000 | £1,391,000 |
North Lanarkshire Council | £324,000 | £319,000 | £635,000 | £952,000 | £1,586,000 | £3,816,000 |
Orkney Islands Council | £24,000 | £26,000 | £51,000 | £77,000 | £128,000 | £306,000 |
Perth and Kinross Council | £140,000 | £144,000 | £291,000 | £437,000 | £728,000 | £1,740,000 |
Renfrewshire Council | £158,000 | £155,000 | £307,000 | £461,000 | £768,000 | £1,849,000 |
Scottish Borders Council | £113,000 | £117,000 | £234,000 | £352,000 | £586,000 | £1,402,000 |
Shetland Islands Council | £28,000 | £31,000 | £61,000 | £91,000 | £151,000 | £362,000 |
South Ayrshire Council | £94,000 | £94,000 | £189,000 | £283,000 | £472,000 | £1,132,000 |
South Lanarkshire Council | £298,000 | £296,000 | £597,000 | £896,000 | £1,493,000 | £3,580,000 |
Stirling Council | £84,000 | £85,000 | £168,000 | £253,000 | £421,000 | £1,011,000 |
West Dunbartonshire Council | £81,000 | £79,000 | £157,000 | £235,000 | £392,000 | £944,000 |
West Lothian Council | £186,000 | £184,000 | £369,000 | £553,000 | £922,000 | £2,214,000 |
Total | £5,000,000 | £5,000,000 | £10,000,000 | £15,000,000 | £25,000,000 | £60,000,000 |
The Scottish Government does not hold data on local authorities receipted spend on play park renewals. In accordance with the reporting template agreed with COSLA in 2021, local authorities are not required to provide a detailed breakdown of the play park renewal funding. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them based on local needs and priorities.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what specific data it has received from local authorities on the (a) number and (b) condition of play parks renewed using the £60 million national play park fund since 2021.
Answer
As noted in S6W-38035 on 11 June 2025, Local Authorities report annually every April on their play park renewals carried out as a result of the Scottish Government’s £60m play park renewal funding. The reports from Local Authorities detail the number of play parks in their estate, the number of play parks identified for renewal, the number of play parks they have renewed in that financial year and the number of play parks they have renewed to date since the funding started. Since September 2021, when funding for the renewal programme commenced, Local Authorities have reported that over 1,100 play parks have been renewed. Local Authorities are invited to share details of their play park renewals and the details of the engagement with the local community but are not required to list details of each renewal. The reporting format was developed and agreed in collaboration with COSLA in 2021.
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
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether any local authorities have reported any challenges or delays in delivering play park renewals, and whether it has collated and currently holds data on any such delays.
Answer
The Scottish Government works closely with Local Authorities on the delivery of the renewal programme and use of the funding through the annual reporting process and the quarterly network meetings referenced in S6W-38037. As agreed with COSLA at the start of the funding programme in 2021, Local Authorities are not required to report any such issues.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has assessed the (a) geographic and (b) socio-economic spread of play park renewals funded through its £60 million fund, and, if so, whether it will publish any such assessment.
Answer
The £60 million play park renewal funding is allocated to local authorities to use across their whole play estate. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them based on local needs and priorities. The Scottish Government recognise that the extent of renewal and refurbishment will be influenced by local plans and investment priorities and engagement with children and young people.
The Scottish Government does not hold data centrally on the geographic and socio-economic spread of play parks within local authority estates.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has received any data on the inclusion of accessible or inclusive equipment in play parks renewed using its renewal funding, and whether this data will be published.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not receive data from Local Authorities on the inclusion of accessible or inclusive equipment in play parks renewed using the renewal funding. As noted in the answer to S6W-38036 on
13 June 2025, Local Authorities report annually every April on their play park renewals carried out as a result of the Scottish Government’s £60m play park renewal funding.
As noted in the answer to S6W-38037 on 13 June 2025 the Scottish Government has chaired quarterly network meetings of Local Authority play park leads. The network allows Local Authorities to provide updates and how funding is being used and to share best practice and common issues.
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
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 30 May 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 13 June 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many play parks in each local authority area have been renewed using its £60 million national play park fund, and what metrics it is using to track the progress of play parks being renewed using the fund.
Answer
A scoping exercise undertaken by COSLA in 2022, identified that there were 969 parks in need of immediate refurbishment and that 2,542 were in need of refurbishment within 1-5 years. The £60 million capital investment would support the renewal of all play parks in need of immediate renewal and around 1,000 of the play parks identified needing renewal over the funding commitment period.
Since funding began in 2021, the Scottish Government has chaired quarterly network meetings of Local Authority play park leads. The network allows Local Authorities to provide updates on how funding is being used and to share best practice and common issues.
Figures for 2024-25 are still being finalised, but reports so far show the following number of renewals per year since funding began:
Local Authority | Play parks renewed in 2021-22 | Play parks renewed in 2022-23 | Play parks renewed in 2023-24 | Play parks renewed in 2024-25 | Total |
Aberdeen City | 11 | 46 | 28 | 43 | 128 |
Aberdeenshire Council | 15 | 13 | 20 | 27 | 75 |
Angus Council | 6 | 3 | 8 | 7 | 24 |
Argyll and Bute Council | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 8 |
City of Edinburgh Council | 14 | 16 | 22 | 53 | 105 |
Clackmannanshire Council | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 15 |
Comhairle nan Eilean Siar Council | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
Dumfries and Galloway Council | 0 | 28 | 18 | 3 | 49 |
Dundee City Council | 0 | 4 | 18 | 9 | 31 |
East Ayrshire Council | 12 | 40 | 57 | Numbers still to be confirmed | 109 |
East Dunbartonshire Council | 1 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 16 |
East Lothian Council | 1 | 1 | 24 | 28 | 54 |
East Renfrewshire Council | 3 | 4 | 4 | 12 | 23 |
Falkirk Council | 2 | 7 | 9 | 7 | 25 |
Fife Council | 12 | 9 | 10 | 24 | 55 |
Glasgow City Council | 1 | 5 | 8 | 3 | 17 |
Highland Council | 0 | 38 | 16 | 18 | 72 |
Inverclyde Council | 6 | 5 | 5 | 6 | 22 |
Midlothian Council | 2 | 18 | 14 | 0 | 34 |
Moray Council | 1 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 25 |
North Ayrshire Council | 0 | 29 | 19 | 15 | 63 |
North Lanarkshire Council | 7 | 4 | 12 | 12 | 35 |
Orkney Islands Council | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 4 |
Perth and Kinross Council | 3 | 10 | 11 | 20 | 44 |
Renfrewshire Council | 2 | 3 | 7 | 3 | 15 |
Scottish Borders Council | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
Shetland Islands | 0 | 1 | 4 | 8 | 13 |
South Ayrshire Council | 6 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 17 |
South Lanarkshire Council | 0 | 0 | 12 | 22 | 34 |
Stirling Council | 9 | 6 | 8 | 7 | 30 |
West Dunbartonshire Council | 5 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 25 |
West Lothian | 42 | 6 | 22 | 35 | 105 |
TOTAL | 164 | 318 | 395 | 410 | 1,287 |
