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The Scottish Government is committed to Keeping The Promise we have made to all care experienced children, young people and adults across Scotland. In March of 2022, we published the Scottish Government’s Promise Implementation Plan that sets a broad range of actions and commitments across portfolio that we will take by 2030.

The Implementation Plan works in harmony with the Best Start, Bright Futures: Tackling Child Poverty Delivery Plan 2022 to 2026 and is aligned with our strategic approach to education, health, justice, transport and communities. The cross portfolio approach to change is supported by a Cabinet Sub-Committee on The Promise that, Chaired by The First Minister, met for the first time in October.

Key actions underway include:

• A continued commitment to work in partnership with key stakeholders to ensure that the ambitions of the recommendations of both the Care Leavers Homelessness Prevention Pathway, and the Continuing Care reports are addressed. The pathway to prevent homelessness for care leavers sets out a number of recommendations designed to protect care leavers, including ensuring consistent implementation of both Continuing Care and Aftercare policy.
• Commitment to investing £500m in Whole Family Wellbeing Funding to improve holistic family support so families get the right support, in the right way and at the right time. This support is helping to reduce the need for crisis intervention and contribute to improving people’s lives across a wide range of different areas, including but not limited to, child and adolescent mental health, child poverty, alcohol and drugs misuse and educational attainment.
• Phoenix Future’s Harper House service was opened by the former First Minister in Saltcoats on 21 November 2022. It is a unique national family service which can support up to 20 families at one time, improving access for residential rehabilitation for drug or alcohol use for people with families.
  

Data on the outcomes and achievements of school pupils with additional support needs are published on the Scottish Government website.

Achievement of Curriculum for Excellence Levels data provides information on attainment of school pupils in literacy and attainment ( School education statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ). Information on pupils with additional support needs can be found in Section 4.3 of the publication. The latest data available is for 2021-22 with 2022-23 data due to be published on 12 December 2023.

Data on the attainment and initial destinations of school leavers can be found in the Summary Statistics for Attainment and Initial Leaver Destinations publication ( School education statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ). Information on pupils with additional support needs can be found in tables 3 and 6. The latest data available is for 2021-22 with 2022-23 data due to be published in February 2024.

Data on the follow-up destinations of school leavers can be found in the Summary Statistics for Follow-up Destinations publication ( School education statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) ). Information on pupils with additional support needs can be found in table 3. The latest data available is for 2021-22 with 2022-23 data due to be published in June 2024.

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) and the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) publish a range of information for colleges and universities for disabled students. Information can be accessed through their websites at ( Data and analysis | HESA ) and releases ( Report on Widening Access 2021-22 (sfc.ac.uk) ).

The Students Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS) publish data each year on the number of supported Higher Education students at college and university claiming Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA). Data is available through the Higher Education Student Support in Scotland publication ( https://www.saas.gov.uk/about-saas/statistics ).

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-23120 on 7 December 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 .

Four civil servants have worked part-time on its four-day working week four-day working week public sector pilot, since April 2023.

I have asked Janet Egdell, interim Chief Executive of the National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is as follows:

The Migration Statistics Quarterly Summary for Scotland (MSQS) provided Scottish-specific secondary analysis of the Migration Statistics Quarterly Report (MSQR) which used to be published by ONS. The MSQR - and therefore MSQS - have been paused while ONS are progressing a transformation programme of the population and migration statistics system. During this programme, there is limited migration data available at Scotland level, particularly for the headline measures of long-term international migration flows as well as migrant stocks. Once these releases are being updated regularly again, we will explore the options for reinstating the MSQS.

It is for the Church of Scotland to make decisions about its estate management based on the changing needs of its own membership.

The Scottish Government has been engaging with Historic Environment Scotland, Church of Scotland and other stakeholders on the closures of historic and listed churches. We will continue to work closely with the Church of Scotland and leaders of all faiths and denominations, to regularly discuss issues impacting on their communities.

Electricity regulation, generation, transmission and distribution are reserved to the UK Government. This means that mandating financial benefits for communities through the consents process is beyond the legislative competence of the Scottish Parliament. However we have pressed the UK Government to take action in this area on many occasions, in terms of transmission and generation infrastructure.

While we welcome the UK Government’s announcements on providing energy bill discounts and wider community benefit from upgrades to the electricity transmission network, Scottish Ministers will continue to press the UK Government to explore making such benefits for transmission and generation mandatory, subject to full consultation. I have written to the UK Secretary of State this week to urge the UK Government to ensure there is meaningful engagement with the Scottish Government as these proposals are developed.

Despite the powers to mandate being reserved, community benefits are well-established in Scotland with our national Community Benefits Register indicating that over £25 million worth of community benefits were committed from renewable energy projects in the last 12 months. We continue to explore different avenues within devolved powers that will build on the successes of our Good Practice Principles, the Onshore Wind Sector Deal, and work to develop a solar deployment ambition.

Throughout the pandemic, any changes to Scottish Government’s guidance on the extended use of face masks in healthcare and social care settings went through an extensive consultation process. Whilst direct engagement with NHS staff was not conducted, the Directorate for Health and Social Care's Professional Advisor Group were consulted - this group includes representatives from across Health and Social Care. The Professional Advisors engage with NHS staff through various forums and networks.

The consultation process also included the Chief Nursing Officer, Chief Medical Officer, National Clinical Director and Health and Social Care Directors. All were content with the advice to withdraw the extended use of face mask and face covering guidance, based on the Antimicrobial Resistance and Hospital Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland and Public Health Scotland reviews, the expert opinion of Professional Advisors, and consideration of the current pandemic context.

Direct engagement was conducted between the Scottish Government and social care representative bodies and providers of care homes and care at home services. These groups expressed that the extended use of face mask and face covering guidance was having a detrimental impact on the wellbeing of service users. Representatives were content for services to revert to assessing the need for personal protective equipment (such as a face mask) using the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual and Care Home National Infection Prevention and Control Manual.

The Scottish Government has a robust process in place for creating, updating and withdrawing COVID-19 guidance. The health and safety of health and social care workers continues to be at the forefront of our approach in developing policies and guidance. However, it is important to note that the extended use of facemask guidance was never mandatory, and NHS Boards have responsibility for Health and Safety assessments in the workplace in an operational context.

The Scottish Government has a robust process in place for creating, updating and withdrawing COVID-19 guidance. The extended use of face masks and face coverings guidance across health and social care settings was withdrawn on 16 May 2023. This followed advice from Antimicrobial Resistance and Healthcare Associated Infection (ARHAI) Scotland and Public Health Scotland (PHS) that health and social care settings should revert to the National Infection Prevention and Control Manual and the Care Home Infection Prevention and Control Manual. Both manuals hold personal protective equipment guidance based on clinical need and risk assessment.

ARHAI Scotland and PHS continue to monitor and analyse COVID-19 data, including variants, hospital clusters and deaths. This is considered alongside reviews of the current scientific literature. The Scottish Government regularly reviews this information together with any new emerging evidence. Any change to guidance would consider the epidemiological context and the latest scientific evidence and is continually under review.