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I understand that there has been reported concerns regarding the pay deal offer from the Care Inspectorate. I can confirm that the Care Inspectorate made a pay award offer for financial years 2023-24 and 2024-25 during week commencing 19 February 2024. The Care Inspectorate’s recognised trade unions agreed to ballot their members on this offer.

The results of the trade union ballots are expected in the second week of March. Should the offer be accepted, the Care Inspectorate intends to pay their staff the first element of the 2023-24 award in their March 2024 salaries.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-25489 on 9 March 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 .

As indicated in the answer to S6W- 24966, we asked the local authorities that did not maintain teacher numbers in the 2023 teacher census to provide an explanation for these reductions and any mitigating circumstances they wished to put forward.

We do not routinely publish waiting times for neurodevelopmental assessments.

As many children and young people do not meet diagnostic criteria for a neurodevelopmental disorder and their needs will change over time, the Scottish Government believe that the focus should be on identifying needs and the support they require within the framework of Getting It Right for Every Child (GIRFEC).

As described in the National Neurodevelopmental Specification , we expect NHS Boards and Children's Services partners to work towards implementing the standards outlined. The Specification makes clear that support should be put in place to meet the child or young person’s requirements when they need it, rather than be dependent on a formal diagnosis. For many children and young people, such support is likely to be community based, and should be quickly and easily accessible.

We are working with NHS Health Boards and Local Authorities to enhance support for neurodivergent children and young people, including how quickly they can access support. We have also funded five tests of change focussing on various aspects of the Specification, including improving multi-agency working.

Local authorities hold responsibility for ensuring the safety and wellbeing of children being home educated, and that the education they are receiving is suitable for their age and ability. In line with the Scottish Government's home education guidance, it is recommended that local authorities should make contact on an annual basis with those families who are known to be home educating within that local authority area.

If, from whatever source, an authority becomes aware of concerns about the home education of any child, outwith the normal contact time, they will need to gather the necessary information in order to form a view on whether those concerns are justified or whether the parents are providing an efficient education suitable to the age, ability and aptitude of the child. Local authorities have their own individual and established processes to obtain this information.

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) are committed to modernising the prison estate to deliver a world leading custodial environment, which supports rehabilitation and a safer Scotland.

The decisions made by the UK Government to reduce capital funding in real terms year on year, alongside construction supply chain issues, labour shortages and recent high inflation means that the Scottish Government is having to make difficult decisions in terms of prioritisation of infrastructure projects. Replacing HMP Inverness and HMP Barlinnie remain the current prison infrastructure priorities and work on the replacement for HMP Greenock is unlikely to commence in 2025-26.

£648,000.

At the time of its announcement we indicated that the Mesh Fund would have an upper ceiling of £1 million, we have therefore ensured that the remainder of those funds have been invested in other mesh-related initiatives, including the Reimbursement Scheme, in line with calls made in the mesh campaigners’ Charter.

The Scottish Government utilises a Block Grant system, affording local authorities significant autonomy in allocating financial resources, including those designated for youth work. This approach empowers councils to prioritise local needs and tailor services accordingly, while fulfilling mandatory obligations and adhering to nationally-agreed priorities.

Examples of direct Scottish Government support include:

• £106m+ to 115 organisations, supporting children and families across Scotland from our Children, Young People, Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Third Sector Fund (CYPFEI & ALEC) since its launch in 2016. £6m in core funding to 22 new organisations supporting children, families, young people and adult learners from our Children, Young People, Families and Adult Learning Third Sector Fund in 2023-24.
• £19m to support 72,000 young people through youth work from the CashBack for Communities Fund over the last three years.
• A further commitment of up to £20m from our CashBack for Communities Fund for 2023-26 to provide support to 29 youth work organisations to deliver a wide range of trauma-informed and person-centred services and activities for young people.
• £1m+ to YouthLink Scotland and Youth Scotland in 2023-24 to support core funding and provide high quality training with a focus on equality and inclusion for youth work staff and volunteers.
• £1m of capital investment in digital inclusion between 2022-24 for community learning providers, including youth work organisations.

Furthermore, an independent review of Community Learning and Development (CLD), encompassing youth work, was launched in December 2023 and is expected to conclude in June 2024. This review aims to assess the impact of CLD on learners across Scotland, providing valuable insights for the future.

Due to the unprecedented pressures on the Scottish Government budget for 2024-25, the Flexible Workforce Development Fund will not be available.

Historic Environment Scotland (HES) continues to champion traditional skills and is working with stakeholders across the country to address traditional skills gaps to help ensure Scotland’s historic buildings can thrive as part of the country’s sustainable future.

Colleges are responsible for their own operational decisions, including course provision, as they are best placed to respond flexibly to emerging trends at local and regional level. Apprenticeships continue to be based on demand and Scottish Government work closely with Skills Development Scotland and the Scottish Funding Council to support those who are looking to take on apprentices.

Scottish Government has been exploring the workforce demand for skilled stonemasons through engagement with the stonemasonry short life working group led by HES. The working group was set up to look at stonemasonry and traditional skills provision in Scotland with a view to identifying sustainable models of stonemasonry training for future delivery, and they have since provided their report of findings and recommendations to Ministers for their consideration.

The former Minister for Culture, Europe and International Development and I met HES in recent months to discuss stonemasonry and we await their proposals to address the skills issues in the sector.