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Under the terms of our Agency Agreement with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) Carer’s Allowance must be delivered in Scotland under the same procedures and rules as in England and Wales. As the COVID restrictions are lifted, DWP’s firm position is that there is no longer a need for these easements. We have encouraged DWP to consider closely the impact of this change. Regulations remain in place that continue to ensure that breaks in care for the period from March 2020 up to 31 August 2021 are disregarded as part of Carer’s Allowance calculations. Moreover, if Parliament passes the Carers Allowance Supplement (Scotland) Bill then an increased payment of Carer’s Allowance Supplement will be made in December, which will total £462.80 for those in receipt of Carer’s Allowance in Scotland.

Carers Allowance sits alongside a wide range of carer support, including the Carers Act which enhances and extends the rights of all carers in Scotland. This year we have invested an additional £28.5m for local carer support, bringing total investment in the Carers (Scotland) Act to £68m per year. We are currently consulting on how best to amend the Carers (Scotland) Act to create a new right to breaks from caring. Alongside the statutory support, we fund Shared Care Scotland and Family Fund to deliver the £3 million per year Short Breaks Fund. Last year we put an extra £1.1m into the Short Breaks Fund and £300,000 in our Young Scot young carer package, to support carers of all ages to enjoy some time away from their caring role and look after themselves. This year we have already committed an extra £570,000 for the Short Breaks Fund and in October will be opening the ScotSpirit Holiday Voucher Scheme for carers and families on low incomes. Although not specifically for carers, the Scottish Welfare Fund can also provide a vital safety net for those on a low income experiencing a short term financial crisis.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Addictions Prevalence Testing has been reviewed and renamed Drug Trend Testing. Along with the testing of individuals being admitted and liberated from SPS custody in a given month, results from Rapiscan machines will also be analysed as part of Drug Trend Testing (DTT) in the SPS. DTT will take place in January 2022.

The Scottish Government will continue to take forward our No One Left Behind approach to employability, which is based on partnership and collaboration to deliver joined-up person-centred services through transformational change.

No One Left Behind sees a departure from nationally commissioned programmes to a more localised commissioning approach, which supports local service delivery and a holistic package of support tailored to individual needs, aligning more closely with other services such as health, housing and justice, to drive better outcomes for individuals who want help to find work.

The first stage of implementation commenced in April 2019 when ‘Activity Agreements’ and ‘Scotland’s Employer Recruitment Incentive’ ceased and were replaced by a local allocation of No One Left Behind investment across the 32 local authority areas.

As outlined in the No One Left Behind Delivery Plan (24 Nov 2020), we will proceed with further implementation of No One Left Behind from April 2022 after a delay to take into account the circumstances of the pandemic. This means the employability programmes Community Jobs Scotland and Employability Fund will cease with funding transferring to No One Left Behind local governance arrangements.

This local governance approach allows Local Employability Partnerships (LEP’s), which involves a range of partners including Skills Development Scotland, Department for Work and Pensions, Colleges, NHS, the third sector and business representatives to work together with local communities to design and deliver services that best meet both individual and labour market needs in each local area.

We remain committed to working with partners in the public, private and third sector as we prepare for this change to ensure continuity of support and access to employability services for individuals.

In August we confirmed that the central planning assumption is that an examination diet will be held in 2022 for National 5, Higher and Advanced Higher courses. We have been clear that fairness for all learners sitting those exams is an absolute priority. At the same time we remain focused on closing the attainment gap and ensuring every young person has the chance to fulfil their potential.

Pupils living in Scotland’s most deprived communities are among those to benefit from £215 million of funding in 2021-22, targeted via the Scottish Attainment Challenge, to support education recovery, and help close the poverty-related attainment gap.

This funding is made available to head teachers to support pupils experiencing poverty, and to local authorities and schools with the highest levels of deprivation. It includes is our ‘COVID-premium’ payment of £20m, which recognises the new challenges schools face as a result of the pandemic.

Our approach empowers head teachers to decide how best to invest their allocation to best support their disadvantaged pupils, including those that will be preparing for SQA examinations in Spring 2022 . Teachers know their pupils best and will take cognisance of best practice to put in place supports that will allow learners to maximise their senior phase attainment in session 2021-22. I am grateful to them for their efforts in this respect.

Over and above these measures, we are committed to boosting in-person Easter study support provision in 2022. To this end, we will work with local government colleagues to increase this further where appropriate, ensuring that resources for targeted Easter study support provision are available. I will also soon announce our plans for the next phase of the Scottish Attainment Challenge programme.

Furthermore, to complement and enhance further school-based supports, Education Scotland is putting in place the following package of supports, some of which are already underway:

i) e-sgoil Easter Support

Learners will have an opportunity to attend online Easter Revision Classes in a range of SCQF Level 4 to Level 7 courses. Information regarding Easter Study Support will be available in early 2022 with promotion of the support through direct correspondence to schools via Directors of Education, and Social Media.

ii) Study support e-sgoil sessions

Throughout the term learners will be able to attend online evening revision classes in a range of SCQF Level 4 to Level 7 Courses. A comprehensive on-line study support programme for 2021/2022 launched in the week beginning 6 September. All 32 local authorities have engaged with this study support. Measures are being taken to target and engage with groups of learners for this support. Additionally, from early 2022,
‎ e-sgoil can offer specialised targeted study support (via referral from their Headteacher) for those young people considered to have been most impacted by COVID.

iii) Attainment Advisor support

Working as part of regional teams at Education Scotland, Attainment Advisors will continue to provide bespoke support to each local authority, and in partnership with local authority officers to individual schools and/or clusters of school. The support provided is focussed on helping practitioners make effective use of data and evidence to identify where young people require support and identify the actions which will have most impact. This support could take a variety of forms and may include professional challenge, advice and guidance to maximise the investment of Scottish Attainment Challenge funding to increase educational outcomes for young people most impacted by poverty.

iv) On-line webinars for teachers/lecturers

Secondary schools in Scotland have recently been given three opportunities to attend a ‘Routes to Success’ webinar where they will learn about alternative pathways to achievement that have been implemented with success in a number of Scottish Schools. These sessions will consider best practise on raising attainment and/or supporting disadvantaged learners. Other sessions may be planned based on feedback and the needs identified from the first three on-line webinars.

v) Learner support e-sgoil sessions

Learners will have an opportunity to access specific advice to support assessment preparation and their own health and wellbeing. Building on work carried out in 2021, 2022 e-sgoil will intensify its offer for learner support. Sessions consist of a range of generic advice to help prepare young people for both naturally occurring assessment, prelims and final examinations. This input includes advice on exam technique and revision strategies as well as health & wellbeing advice, including managing stress and where learners can access additional services. The first specific on-line support session will be available after the October break.