Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is working to respond to the health and wellbeing needs of children and young people who are looked after, in light of recovery from the pandemic; and as part of our commitment to Keep the Promise, our continuing response to the recommendations of the Independent Care Review. Our policy framework is subject to continuous improvement and will be updated, if required, as part of this work.

The Scottish Government will undertake a comprehensive awareness raising campaign which will run across a range of channels including TV, Radio and digital to ensure people are aware of the new legislation and encourage compliance. This will include material to support third sector stakeholders and messaging on the importance of using reputable tradespeople including signposting to local government Trading Standards.

The Strategic Framework within Scotland’s Scams Prevention, Awareness and Enforcement Strategy, published in 19 March 2021, focusses on prevention, disruption, awareness, education and enforcement. This is intended to help all consumers with practical steps they can take to recognise common scam tactics and avoid the risk posed by this criminal activity.

Further advice can be obtained from consumeradvice.scot which is a free consumer helpline funded by the Scottish Government.

The most recent statistics indicate that there has been an increase in the use of cocaine and crack cocaine over recent years and we are seeing this reflected in the drug-related death statistics. It is believed this increased use may be related to decreases in price and increases in purity. We also know that availability of cocaine across Europe has been at record levels in recent years.

This increase is part of a growing pattern of poly drug use. Of the 458 deaths where cocaine was implicated, there were 16 where cocaine was the only substance involved. Poly drug use continues to present new and complex challenges for treatment services and we continue our efforts in surveillance to understand and respond to emerging drug trends.

We continue to work closely with Police Scotland, drug treatment services and key stakeholders to closely monitor the situation and ensure the appropriate services are in place for those most at risk.

People should be provided with high quality person centred treatment regardless of the type of drugs they are using. Alcohol and Drug Partnerships use both national and local data and intelligence to commission appropriate services that respond to the immediate and changing needs of their population.

It is also vital that we continue to closely monitor drug trends, as well as the harms associated with drug use. One of the key pieces of work being taken forward by the Drug Deaths Task Force is work to improve our public health surveillance of drugs.

The Drug Deaths Taskforce are in regular contact with colleagues at Public Health Scotland around receiving data relating to drugs and receive this quarterly, which is then fed back to the Taskforce.

There are also a range of projects funded by the Taskforce, which have identified key issues around drug trends and harms in a wide range of areas across Scotland, and this information is being collated and will be shared and used to help make important decisions around highlighting trends and harms along with tackling these efficiently and quickly.

Skills Development Scotland publish Modern Apprenticeship statistics quarterly under official statistics protocols, by financial year rather than calendar year.

Apprenticeships have been impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic as employers have reviewed, delayed and paused recruitment plans. Official statistics published by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) on 25 May 2021 reported 18,655 Modern Apprenticeship starts by the end of Quarter 4 2020-21. Prior to Covid-19 we consistently exceeded annual Apprenticeship targets and we were on track to meet our target of 30,000 Modern Apprenticeships starts by 2020-21. As part of the recovery, we will build back up to 30,000 starts.

For 2021-22, official statistics published by Skills Development Scotland on 10 August 2021 report 3,402 Modern Apprenticeship starts by the end of Quarter 1. This is 3.7 times the number of MA starts at the same time last year in Quarter 1 2020-21 (910 starts). In line with official statistics protocols Skills Development Scotland will publish further Modern Apprenticeship statistics at the end of each quarter.

The information requested is not held centrally. However, the Scottish Government is committed to developing and implementing a national specification for neurodevelopmental services which outlines service standards that all Boards should follow, to ensure access to this support is effective and consistent across Scotland. The national specification for neurodevelopmental services will be published shortly and will provide a basis to enhance evidence and data collection in relation to neurodevelopmental assessments and pathways for children and young people.

The Scottish Government recognises the importance of enhancing mental health awareness and provision within the public sector and wider workplace.

Our Clear Your Head campaign has been in place since April 2020 to help people look after their mental health during the pandemic. Given the particular pressures on Health & Social Care over this period, we have provided a range of additional wellbeing support to the Health and Social Care workforce including the National Wellbeing Hub, the National Wellbeing Helpline, Coaching for Wellbeing, the Workforce Specialist Service and additional funding for psychological interventions and therapies to support the mental health of Health and Social Care staff.

More generally, we continue to support See Me, Scotland’s national campaign to end mental health stigma and discrimination, improving the culture, policies and practices for workplaces. Our ambition is for a trauma informed workforce across Scotland, supported by our National Trauma Training Programme. We also have a short life working group in place to take forward key actions relating to employment and mental health from our ‘Covid 19 Mental Health Transition and Recovery’ plan.

We have invested significantly in additional mental health and wellbeing support for since the beginning of the pandemic, including £11.25 million of dedicated funding for local authorities to address the wellbeing impacts of the pandemic on children and young people.

We have also allocated £15 million this year to fund local authorities to deliver locally based mental health and wellbeing support for children and young people in their communities.

I am sure the member will join me in welcoming this substantial investment, which equates to an additional £3.7 Million for Mid Scotland and Fife, and has resulted in over 200 new and enhanced supports and services for children and young people across Scotland so far.

£15m was also provided to local authorities and up to £5m to national organisations across Scotland to deliver the Summer Offer for children and young people, “ Get into Summer ” providing opportunities for children and young people to socialise, play and reconnect.

More generally, the wellbeing of young people is central to our work with schools, colleges, universities and employers; both in terms of access to support and facilitating positive pathways through the Young Person’s Guarantee.

We have committed to significantly increasing the level of the Scottish Child Payment, following the rollout to under 16s, and doubling it to £20 in the lifetime of this Parliament. In addition, as set out in our cooperation agreement with the Scottish Green Party we have a shared aspiration to actively seek ways to accelerate that commitment, including looking at options for staged increases. Final decisions about timing and increases will factor in to the spending review and be taken in the relevant budget.

Scottish Child Payment is unparalleled across the UK and we have already helped over 108,000 children, however our anti-poverty efforts are being seriously undermined by UK Government welfare cuts. So if Mr Balfour is serious about tackling poverty, can I suggest he take this opportunity to call on his own colleagues in Westminster to reverse its plans to cut the £20 increase to Universal Credit.

I have enormous sympathy for everyone who has been harmed by sodium valproate and am committed to making sure the experiences suffered are much less likely to happen again. It is for the UK Government to consider redress through a compensation scheme. This is because the regulation, licensing and safety of medicines is currently reserved to the UK Government. I note that they have elected not to implement this. I will continue to exert positive influence over the UK Government on responding to establishing a compensation scheme for individuals who have been harmed by sodium valproate.

Closing the poverty-related attainment gap, and ensuring every young person has the chance to fulfil their potential, remains central to this Government’s work.

While the 2021 results show a slight change from 2020, the results saw a narrower poverty-related attainment gap compared with 2019, and the number of university acceptances from the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland reached a record high for SQA Results Day.

However, our ambition is a long-term one and we know that the challenges presented by the pandemic mean our efforts to deliver equity in education are more vital than ever. That’s why we’re investing a further £1 billion over the course of this Parliament to help to close the poverty related attainment gap and support education recovery.