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The Scottish Government does not hold this information. The administrative processes relating to any form or relief is entirely the responsibility of local authorities.

Scottish Government spending data are primarily held by directorate and by UN Function of Government category (COFOG). There are a number of public bodies that contribute to labour market training in Scotland, including Skills Development Scotland; the Scottish Funding Council, Scottish Enterprise, and Highlands and Islands Enterprise; however, these bodies also deliver a range of other services, and do not have specific budgets for labour market training. As labour market training does not correspond directly to a UN spending category, and there are no directorates or agencies tasked solely with delivering these services, information is not collected on this topic.

Official sources of data on income for Scotland come from the HMRC Survey of Personal Incomes dataset and the DWP Family Resources Survey dataset.

HMRC data provides information on individual incomes that are liable to income tax, including self-employment income, employment income, pension income, and property, interest dividend and other income. The data is available on the HMRC website: https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/personal-incomes-statistics

The DWP Family Resources Survey has additional information on income, including income from benefits. The UK Data Archive has FRS data available to download from 1993-4 onwards and is available via the UK Data Service website: https://www.ukdataservice.ac.uk/

Additionally, the Scottish Household Survey collects some information on income. This data is also available through the UK Data Archive.

The Scottish Government does not routinely publish figures on the output gap. In the Draft Budget 2017-2018 Devolved Taxes Methodology Report, the Scottish Government published the following estimate and forecast of the output gap in Scotland.

The Scottish Government is currently considering external research around automation and its impact on Scotland’s labour market and economy. However, we continue to monitor the emerging evidence base.

Technological change, and issues such as automation, will have a significant impact over the next few decades, creating both challenges and opportunities for businesses and employees across Scotland. As highlighted in Scotland’s Labour Market Strategy, we will take forward analysis of issues like this in the future in order to help employers and employees respond to them positively, with the support of the Strategic Labour Market Group.

We are working closely with the Scottish Chambers of Commerce to deliver up to six local/regional export partnerships. Together with the Scottish Chambers of Commerce and Scottish Development International we are currently considering proposals from a number of Chambers across a wide range of geographical areas. Further details will be announced as soon as possible.

The Care Inspectorate has been the repository for significant case reviews for children and young people, since 2015. Significant case reviews were not collated before this, although the effectiveness of the response to significant case reviews findings within local authority areas will have been used by the Care Inspectorate during their inspections of children and young people’s services. It is the role of the Child Protection Committees and Chief Officers’ Groups to oversee actions and changes recommended by significant case reviews.

As outlined above, it is not possible to provide the requested detail [question 2. (a), (b), (i) & (ii)] on significant case review recommendations and their implementation because centralised records were not held before 2015, however, the following chronology and numbers provide some of the requested information for initial case reviews and significant case reviews carried out for children and young people:

(a) In 2012 Scottish Government published an analysis of findings from audit and analysis of 56 significant case reviews and 43 initial case reviews carried out in Scotland between 2007 and 2012 in which over 500 recommendations for improvement were made. http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0040/00404517.pdf

As noted above, in 2016, the Care Inspectorate published an analysis of findings from audit and analysis of 20 significant case reviews carried out in Scotland between 2012 and 2015, in which 177 recommendations for improvement were made.

The Care Inspectorate received 10 significant case reviews between 1 April 2015 and 31 March 2017, in which a total of 190 recommendations were made. The Care Inspectorate do not hold information on significant case reviews carried out in Scotland before 31 March 2007.

(b) Focus of recommendations:

• In the period 2007-2012, over half of the recommendations related to improvements required in key operational processes and a further quarter related to policies and procedures. Just over 70 recommendations were categorised as directly relating to the need for staff training, development and support. These findings related to staff across all key agencies.

• 2012-2015: out of the 177 recommendations, 13 were categorised as directly relating to staff training, development, support and supervision.

Information on significant case reviews for adults at risk of harm is not collated centrally. The new national Framework for Adult Protection Committees on conducting Significant Case Reviews which is under development will include a means to make this information available in future.

A significant case review is a multi-agency process for establishing the facts of, and learning lessons from, a situation where an individual has died or been significantly harmed. It is not restricted to the delivery of social work services but rather considers the responsibility of all relevant agencies, including health, police and education services in keeping vulnerable individuals safe.

It is the Child Protection and Adult Protection Committees, on behalf of the Chief Officers' Group or equivalent, who determine whether a significant case review should be undertaken when either a child or an adult at risk of harm dies or has found to be exposed to, or suffered, significant harm.

Since 2015, the Care Inspectorate has collated and reviewed significant case reviews for children and young people to facilitate best practice and multi-agency change across Scotland to prevent future harm. The Care Inspectorate published a report on learning from significant case reviews in 2016 (http://www.careinspectorate.com/images/documents/3352/Learning%20from%20Significant%20Case%20Reviews%20in%20Scotland%202012%20-%202015.pdf).

The 2016 Child Protection Systems Review (http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0051/00514758.pdf) also considered significant case reviews. The findings of both these reports show that practice and learning around significant case reviews could be improved and the recommendations from the 2016 Child Protection Systems Review on significant case reviews (http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0051/00514758.pdf), are being taken forward through the Child Protection Improvement Programme (http://www.gov.scot/Resource/0051/00514761.pdf). Specifically, action is being taken around improving the consistency and quality of significant case reviews and greater sharing of learning.

The Scottish Government is developing national guidance for Adult Protection Committees on conducting significant case reviews. This will include a means of disseminating national learning from significant case reviews to support improvements in inter-agency practice and prevent harm to adults at risk. We are considering the option of this role being undertaken by an independent body.