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Throughout the 1140 hours expansion the Scottish Government has sought to improve conditions across the private, third and childminding workforce delivering funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC). This includes our investment to support local authorities to set sustainable rates at a level that enables payment of the real Living Wage to those workers delivering funded ELC. Payment of the real Living Wage is a key measure in tackling in work poverty, and Scotland is the only part of the UK to apply this to the ELC sector.

Overview of Local Authority Funding and Support for Early Learning and Childcare Providers: 2022-23 , highlights that average rates paid to providers in the private and third sector to deliver funded ELC to 3-5 year olds have increased by 57% between 2017 and 2022, from £3.68 per hour in 2017-18 to £5.77 per hour in 2022-23.

The investment for the payment of sustainable rates has supported real progress in pay. For example, in 2016, before the ELC expansion to 1140 hours, the Financial Review of Early Learning and Childcare in Scotland estimated that approximately 80% of practitioners delivering funded ELC in private and third sector providers were paid less than the real Living Wage.

The Financial Sustainability Health Check , published in August 2021, reported that 88% of private and third sector providers delivering funded ELC intended to pay the real Living Wage to all of their staff from August 2021.

However, public funding and Scottish Government policy can only effect a certain amount of change in pay. The childcare market is a mixed economy - the August 2021 Financial Sustainability Health Check reported that funding for the delivery of funded ELC accounted for, on average, around 33%-45% of overall income for private childcare services – and employers in the private and third sectors are responsible for making their own decisions about pay and conditions.

We are working with partners and sector representatives, including through our Real Living Wage and Fair Work Implementation Group, to understand any barriers to paying the real Living Wage and to ensuring all childcare staff perform their essential work under terms and conditions which meet Fair Work criteria.

Since August 2021 the Scottish Government has funded 1140 hours of high-quality early learning and childcare (ELC) for all eligible children. Scotland is the only part of the UK to offer 1140 hours a year of funded ELC to all three- and four-year-olds - and eligible two-year-olds regardless of whether their parents are in work or not, putting children first. If families paid for this offer themselves, it would cost them around £5,000 per eligible child per year.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14172 on‎ 31 January 2023. 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

The primary purpose of Cross Party Groups is to provide Members with a forum to consider matters of public interest, normally involving people from outwith the parliament to provide expert or stakeholder input to discussions. Cross Party Groups are welcome to request factual briefings on Scottish Government policy positions. It is expected that officials will meet with the Cross-Party Group on Chronic Pain in the coming weeks to provide an update on work to progress the actions set out in the Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery – Implementation Plan.

We are committed to ensuring that people living with respiratory conditions such as asthma receive the best possible care and treatment. Our Respiratory Care Action Plan sets out our vision for driving improvement in the prevention, diagnosis, care, treatment and support of respiratory conditions, including asthma. The Plan can be found by following the link: Respiratory care - action plan: 2021 to 2026 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

We know that factors such as cold homes, smoking and vaccination are key to managing respiratory conditions and as such, support NHS Boards with preventative strategies. The flu and COVID-19 vaccination programme was extended to offer free vaccines to over 3 million people in Scotland this year, including those with asthma.

We are also ensuring that the issue of warm homes is being tackled. We have pledged almost £3 billion in this financial year alone to support families and households facing the increased cost of living. We have doubled the Fuel Insecurity Fund to £20 million to ensure support continues to be available to people affected by the rising costs of energy.

All care homes in Scotland are required to be registered with the Care Inspectorate. The Care Inspectorate register can be searched by provider here: https://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/care-services.

Data regarding funding given to individual care homes is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. Neither is it held by the Care Inspectorate or Public Health Scotland.

Local authorities and integrated health & social care partnerships are responsible for commissioning services for people in their area. It is the responsibility of individual local authorities to manage their own budgets and to allocate the total financial resources available to them, including any public funding for care homes, on the basis of local needs and priorities, having first fulfilled their statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities.

The Social Care Staff Support Fund is available for social care staff who are absent from work due to having covid-19, or self-isolating in line with public health guidance, to support and encourage infection prevention and control in social care settings.

Scottish Ministers strongly encourage employers to access the Fund on behalf of any staff member who meets all of the eligibility criteria.

The guidance on the Fund includes routes of recourse for any social care worker who has not received support from the Fund that they believe they are entitled to.

Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnerships will have their own internal and governance processes in place and must adhere to their duties in relation to accounting for public funds. This includes ensuring that payments for additional costs are made in line with the Social Care Staff Support Fund Guidance.

Unlawful deduction of wages is completely unacceptable and any employees in this situation should seek advice.

Employment law is reserved to the UK Government, and HMRC are the enforcement body for non-payment of wages. The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (ACAS), provides information and advice on workplace rights and entitlements. Anyone can get free and impartial advice from calling the ACAS helpline number on 0300 123 1100. Alternatively there is help online at: https://www.acas.org.uk/

Scottish Ministers cannot intervene in disputes between employers and their staff, however I would be grateful if there is any information on this matter that you could share with my office.

We thank the Health Foundation for publishing the report detailing the findings of their independent review into health inequalities. Sadly, the report confirms what we already know: that excess mortality is significantly driven by deprivation, and this continues to have an impact on life expectancy.

Women in poverty will benefit from a range of actions we are taking. This includes delivery of our new Getting it Right Together approach across health and social care, improving access to mental health services, strengthening the Universal Health Visiting Pathway and expanding our Welfare Advice and Health Partnerships – placing money advisors in 180 GP practices in some of Scotland’s most deprived areas.

Women’s health is key priority for this government, which is why Scotland was the first country in the UK to publish an ambitious Women’s Health Plan in August 2021. The Plan sets out actions which aim to address women’s health inequalities by raising awareness around women’s health, improving access to health care for women across their lives, and reducing inequalities in health outcomes for women and girls, so that all women and girls enjoy the best possible health throughout their lives.

The Social Care Staff Support Fund is available for social care staff who are absent from work due to having covid-19, or self-isolating in line with public health guidance, to support and encourage infection prevention and control in social care settings.

Scottish Ministers strongly encourage employers to access the Fund on behalf of any staff member who meets all of the eligibility criteria.

The guidance on the Fund includes routes of recourse for any social care worker who has not received support from the Fund that they believe they are entitled to.

Local Authority and Health and Social Care Partnerships will have their own internal and governance processes in place and must adhere to their duties in relation to accounting for public funds. This includes ensuring that payments for additional costs are made in line with the Social Care Staff Support Fund Guidance.