- Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals were supported into employment through its No One Left Behind programme in each of the last three years, and what this figure was as a proportion of all individuals supported through the programme in each of those years.
Answer
The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment.
The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.
- Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any analysis on the cost per person to successfully transition an individual into employment through its Parental Employability Support Fund, and, if so, what that cost was.
Answer
The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach as a totality of all funding. Therefore, no breakdowns for Parental Employability Support, including a cost per person, are available.
The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support by all parents are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.
- Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Angus Robertson on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has made an estimate of the number of individuals in Scotland whose partner has died whilst under the age of 50.
Answer
I have asked Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is:
The number of individuals in Scotland whose partner has died under the age of 50 is not held. Marital status of the deceased is collected through death registrations so the number of deaths by marital status is provided in the following table.
Table 1: Deaths of those aged under 50 by marital status, registered in Scotland, 2014 to 2023
| Total | Single [note 1] | Married [note 2] | Widowed | Divorced [note 3] | Civil Partnership | Not stated |
2014 | 3,284 | 2,190 | 743 | 27 | 320 | 4 | 0 |
2015 | 3,366 | 2,220 | 767 | 33 | 341 | 5 | 0 |
2016 | 3,645 | 2,478 | 790 | 24 | 344 | 3 | 6 |
2017 | 3,463 | 2,456 | 687 | 28 | 283 | 2 | 7 |
2018 | 3,624 | 2,604 | 677 | 32 | 296 | 1 | 14 |
2019 | 3,723 | 2,697 | 719 | 29 | 261 | 2 | 15 |
2020 | 3,815 | 2,807 | 693 | 29 | 280 | 0 | 6 |
2021 | 3,748 | 2,747 | 708 | 20 | 265 | 2 | 6 |
2022 | 3,374 | 2,459 | 615 | 30 | 258 | 6 | 6 |
2023 | 3,508 | 2,619 | 633 | 19 | 227 | 3 | 7 |
Note 1: Includes marriage annulled
Note 2: Includes surviving civil partner
Note 3: Includes civil partnership dissolved
Source: National Records of Scotland
- Asked by: Paul O'Kane, MSP for West Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Tuesday, 29 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many individuals were supported into employment through its Parental Employability Support Fund in each of the last three years, and what this figure was as a proportion of all individuals supported through the programme in each of those years.
Answer
The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment. This includes a range of Scottish Government funding such as the Parental Employability Support Fund.
Since February 2022, statistics have been reported by totality of all funds and as such, no breakdowns for Parental Employability Support are available.
The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support by all parents are available at: Scotland's Devolved Employment Services statistics - gov.scot.
- Asked by: Miles Briggs, MSP for Lothian, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government, in light of the reported announcement that £3 million will be allocated to Adoption England to help deliver more multidisciplinary teams to support young adoptees up to 26 years of age and their families, whether it will consider providing funding to deliver similar action in Scotland.
Answer
The Scottish Government’s Adoption Vision Statement, published in November 2024, highlights the need for continued and lifelong support for all those affected by adoption.
Adoption support should include a range of multi-disciplinary universal and specialist services. Under the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, local authorities have a duty to assess someone’s needs for adoption support services and then provide that support.
In 2024-25, the Scottish Government provided £790,000 to organisations delivering support to those affected by adoption, including adopted children and young people and their families, adult adoptees and those working in the adoption sector. This funding has supported: a national helpline and support for adoptive families; national good practice guides on permanence; support for professionals and practitioners working in the adoption sector, as well as delivery of the Adoption Contact Register. The Adoption Vision Statement makes clear our commitment to work in collaboration with stakeholders to improve the availability and consistency of post-adoption support in Scotland.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it has taken to ensure that all pupils in Scotland are taught about the Holocaust.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-36833 on 9 May 2025 and S6W-36835 on 6 May 2025 and S6W-36840 on 6 May 2025. 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
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Kate Forbes on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what fiscal, economic or industrial measures it is currently undertaking to support Scottish industry, beyond any calls it may have made for the UK Government to take action.
Answer
Over the course of this Parliament, the Scottish Government has invested almost £1.7bn in our Enterprise Agencies. In 2023-24, the three agencies were able to help companies unlock over £2 billion of capital investment.
As part of our Green Industrial Strategy, the Scottish Government has committed to strategic investment of up to £500 million over five years in order to leverage £1.5 billion of private investment in the infrastructure and manufacturing facilities critical to growing the offshore wind sector.
We continue to ensure that Scotland is seen as an attractive investment opportunity, and also refer you to Parliamentary Question response S6W-36526 on 29 April 2025 which offers further information.
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
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether it will publish a full cost-benefit analysis of the four-day working week pilot carried out at (a) the South of Scotland Enterprise and (b) NHS Scotland through its Agenda for Change initiative.
Answer
The aim of the four-day working week public sector pilot is to assess the environmental, health and wellbeing benefits, and efficiency gains, that a four-day working week could bring.
The pilot will conclude with a report on findings from the pilots in South of Scotland Enterprise and Accountant in Bankruptcy and assessing the costs and benefits of a shorter working week in the wider public sector.
Whilst the Scottish Government is committed to reducing the full-time working week for Agenda for Change staff working in NHS Scotland to 36 hours on 1 April 2026, there is no pilot for a 4 day week.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Thursday, 17 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Tom Arthur on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what economic modelling was undertaken before it decided to promote a four-day working week pilot, as outlined in its Programme for Government.
Answer
The aim of the four-day working week (4DWW) public sector pilot is to enhance collective understanding of the benefits and costs of implementing a 4DWW in the public sector.
Prior to the beginning of the pilot, there was a review of economic literature related to shorter working weeks, and this informed modelling of different scenarios for reduced hours of work across the economy. The modelling demonstrated how the impact of reduced hours could be offset by productivity gains or increased investment, consistent with the economic literature. As such, the pilot has been carefully designed and implemented in order to capture a range of evaluation metrics to assess the environmental, health and wellbeing impacts and efficiency gains, that a four-day working week could bring.
The pilot will conclude with a report on findings, which will be published in due course.
- Asked by: Stephen Kerr, MSP for Central Scotland, Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party
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Date lodged: Friday, 11 April 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Jenny Gilruth on 9 May 2025
To ask the Scottish Government whether any guidance has been issued by (a) it, (b) Education Scotland and (c) the Scottish Qualifications Authority to teachers and schools on how to teach about the Holocaust.
Answer
There are a range of resources available to support teachers to teach about the Holocaust. For example, the Holocaust Educational Trust, which receives funding from Scottish Government, have a range of age-appropriate resources, a link can be found at https://www.het.org.uk/teaching-resources. In addition, Vision Schools Scotland, also funded by Scottish Government aims to promote excellence in Holocaust teaching with the key education resources available here. As part of this aim, Vision Schools Scotland provides in person and online Continued Professional Learning in Holocaust education to teachers, helping them develop confidence and proficiency in Holocaust teaching. In addition, Education Scotland has published a specific resource in relation to the Kindertransport. Educators can use across the broad general education and into senior phase and it can also be used in History National 4 Added Value Units.