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The topic of Scottish independence was not discussed.

For the purposes of this response we are interpreting “publicly owned bodies” to mean devolved public bodies. The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The topic of Scottish independence was not discussed.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-29084 on 26 August 2024. 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.

Betting, gaming and lotteries are generally reserved matters and their regulation is primarily the responsibility of the UK Government. The UK Government regulates gambling through the operation of the Gambling Commission which has responsibility for regulating commercial gambling. The Gambling Commission works in partnership with local licensing authorities to regulate gambling in Scotland.

As such, this is a matter for the Gambling Commission and local licensing authorities (i.e. the 32 Scottish local authorities) and the information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

I confirmed with David McAllister the current position on holding another independence referendum following the supreme court ruling on the subject.

As set out in the Scottish Government’s second Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan, Best Start, Bright Futures, we remain fully committed to ensuring that all relevant action across government is focused on meeting the needs of the six priority families identified – including lone parent families. This will ensure that support is tailored and ultimately more effective in meeting the needs of families at risk of poverty.

Despite facing the most challenging budget settlement of devolution, we are committing over £3 billion this year to policies which tackle poverty and protect people, including single parents, as far as possible during the ongoing costs crisis. This includes investment in our game-changing Scottish Child Payment, funded early learning and childcare, providing free bus travel for over two million people, and offering free school meals to over 277,000 children.

This investment also includes making £7.8 million available to Local Authorities to mitigate the previous UK Government’s benefit cap as fully as possible through Discretionary Housing Payments. This supports around 2,300 families, of which it is estimated 74% are lone parent families.

Further to this wide ranging support for families, we continue to take action which is specifically targeted to lone parents. Since 2016 the Scottish Government has been providing core funding to One Parent Families Scotland (OPFS) through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund. OPFS will receive £371,700 for core funding in 2024-25, supporting their work with and for single parent families, providing support services that enable them to achieve their potential and help create lasting solutions to the poverty and barriers facing many single parents and their children.

We have also allocated £523,966 to One Parent Families Scotland in 2024-25 to support its specialist National Advice and Information Service and debt advice service, which aims to reduce child poverty, provide debt support to single parent households and increase their financial and family wellbeing.

In addition, we have continuously called upon the UK Government to abolish the two-child limit policy, which is estimated to impact almost 1 in 10 children in Scotland. Scottish Government analysis from February 2024 found that removing the two-child limit and reinstating the family element in Universal Credit would lift around 10,000 children in Scotland out of relative poverty in 2024-25.

The Scottish Government will continue to do all we can within our powers and will leave no stone unturned across government as we seek to eradicate child poverty. We remain committed to working with the UK Government to build on the action we have taken to date and to end child poverty once and for all.

The Scottish Government acknowledges the importance of transparent and comprehensive reporting on integration performance indicators as highlighted in the Accounts Commission’s report, Integration Joint Boards' Finance and performance 2024. The four national performance indicators that have not been finalised for reporting are:

• Indicator 10: Percentage of staff who say they would recommend their workplace as a good place to work.
• Indicator 21: Percentage of people admitted to hospital from home during the year, who are discharged to a care home.
• Indicator 22: Percentage of people who are discharged from hospital within 72 hours of being ready.
• Indicator 23: Expenditure on end of life care.

These indicators are not currently reported on because there is not yet a nationally agreed definition or the necessary national data is either unavailable or not sufficiently robust.

Robust data and digital infrastructure will be a key enabler of both our Data Strategy and the National Care Service. The Scottish Government continues to identify and invest in innovative digital and data solutions to support improvements in social care, and integrated care, such as the integrated social care and health record.

Work is ongoing to develop the integrated social care and health record, including extensive co-design as part of the wider NCS programme, with those who will use the record – such as individuals in receipt of care and frontline staff – at the centre of that design.

Our latest tackling child poverty progress report against our delivery plan ‘Best Start, Bright Futures’, highlighted £2.9 billion investment targeted at low income households. Actions include our unique Scottish Child Payment which we have increased to £26.70 per week and is now benefitting around 330,000 children, further investment through our No One Left Behind approach to strengthen our employability offer to parents and investment of Whole Family Wellbeing Funding which aims to deliver transformational change to improve holistic whole family support.

'Getting it right for every child' (GIRFEC) is the Scottish Government's commitment to provide all children, young people and their families with the right support at the right time. The GIRFEC approach recognises that children, young people and their families need to know who they can contact when they require support. The named person, or equivalent role, provides a clear point of contact within universal services for information, advice or help.

The Scottish Government is also investing £12 million this year in free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services, helping to ensure people are aware of their rights and entitlements, tackle problem debt and reduce poverty.

We are also proud that we have the Scottish Welfare Fund providing emergency support and a lifeline to people in need, through Crisis Grants to help meet immediate short-term needs arising from exceptional circumstances and Community Care Grants to help eligible people establish or maintain a home. We have protected investment in the fund of £41 million this year. Statistics show that in 2023-24, 96% of Crisis Grant applications were processed within the target of the end of the next working day.

Scotland is also the first nation in the UK to publish a Plan that works towards ending the need for food banks. The plan includes a £1.8m Cash-First Programme to strengthen urgent access to cash in a crisis and reduce the need for food parcels, delivered collaboratively with advice and support to strengthen people’s incomes and help prevent future hardship.

Support for parents in their children’s development is provided across a range of different resources and programmes covering social and emotional as well as early literacy and speech & language.

In 2021 Scottish Government launched the Wellbeing for Wee Ones Hub on the Parent Club website, supporting parents to gain an understanding of their infant’s emotional and mental wellbeing from an early stage. Solihull Online programmes have also been rolled out across Scotland providing evidence based information on relationships and child development all the way through to 18 years. Additionally, the Psychology of Parenting Programme (PoPP) supports local areas with the implementation of evidence based parenting programmes to support the development of positive relationships and attachment across childhood.

Since 2010 the Scottish Government has funded the Scottish Book Trust’s Bookbug Programme which as well as laying the foundations of early literacy, the programme aims to enhance attachment and promote emotional intelligence as well as good communication and listening skills. In 2024/25, the Scottish Government is providing £1.8 million, to deliver this Programme.

In 2024/25 the Scottish Government is also providing Smart Play Network with £645,000 to deliver the PlayTalkRead programme which promotes the importance of playing, talking and reading with children from birth to four years old to boost their development. The programme includes ‘Pathways Through Play’ which is an activity that supports early speech and language development through play.