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The Scottish Government recognises the valuable support provided to young people through high quality youth work. This work contributes to the Scottish Government’s priority of eradicating child poverty and tackling inequality.

The Requirements for Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations 2013, in effect, requires local authorities to identify need and plan provision in their areas. These regulations require that a Community Learning and Development (CLD) plan is produced every three years by each education authority. The most recent plans were published in September 2024 and can be accessed at: Local Authority CLD Plans.

The Scottish Government respects the autonomy of local authorities to allocate resources to meet the needs of learners, including for youth work. However, the Scottish Government published strategic Guidance to Local authorities to support them to develop their CLD plans in 2024 which can be accessed at: CLD: guidance for 2024 to 2027.

Recognising the important role local authorities play in delivering local services, including youth work, the Scottish Government has increased the total resources available to local government by over £1.1 billion in 2025-26, a real terms increase of 5.5%.

Additionally, by investing national funding in youth work through programmes such as Cashback for Communities, this opens up further valuable opportunities for young people and communities at a grassroots level. This helps empower young people to grow, thrive, and shape their own futures through improved mental health, physical activity, and gain the skills they need for learning, life, and work.

Regarding quality of local authority provision, between September 2023 and June 2024, HM Inspectors carried out a programme of visits to all 32 local authorities as part of the 2023/24 annual programme of inspection. These inspections were designed to support improvement and provide external assurance of the quality of CLD provision across Scotland, specifically evaluating quality and improvement in leadership and governance. Individual reports can be found here: CLD Inspection Reports.

The Care Inspectorate has provided the following information:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41191 on 7 November 2025. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41194 on 7 November 2025. 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.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41190 on 7 November 2025. 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.

It is the responsibility of building owners and managers to check their buildings for Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC) and, if identified, to determine whether there is a risk.

From information provided by local authorities and Scottish Futures Trust, the Scottish Government is aware of only one operational local authority early learning and childcare (ELC) setting currently containing RAAC. This has been inspected and assessed as serviceable, and is being monitored by the local authority through an enhanced inspection regime. The Scottish Government does not collect or hold any information on RAAC in non-local authority ELC settings.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41190 on 7 November 2025. 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/questions-and-answers.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the proportion of kinship carers who have reported relying on food banks or emergency grants to support the child in their care since May 2021.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This is a matter for local authorities. The member may wish to contact local authorities directly for this information.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41190 on 7 November 2025. 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.