Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-04485 on 29 November 2021 2021. 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

The expansion programme has been governed through the Joint Delivery Board (‘the Board’). More information on the role of the Board can be found here: Early Learning and Childcare Joint Delivery Board - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Information on roll-out is covered in the data collection produced and published by the Improvement Service as ‘ELC Delivery Progress Reports’. These include the number of eligible two-year-olds accessing funded ELC as reported by local authorities. Links to each Delivery Progress Report can be found at the link above. Overall, our assessment is that we have made significant progress in delivering a major expansion of funded early learning and childcare.

As the member is aware, mainland Health Boards have postponed some of their non-urgent elective activity to ensure they can continue to protect urgent activity, including vital cancer treatments, and to cope with staffing and other pressures they are currently experiencing. As such, decisions are taken on an individual Health Board basis dependent on the particular circumstances and pressures they are facing each week. It is not possible to indicate how long such postponements will last.

However, the Scottish Government are monitoring Health Boards’ elective activity through daily and weekly Health Board returns and are providing support where it is required.

The North East Economic Recovery and Skills Fund (NEERSF) launched in August 2021. The first performance reporting from the delivery partnership is due to be received in mid to late December.

The Scottish Government takes a different approach to the UK Government in implementing a public health approach to drug use. This is in line with recommendations of the Scottish Affairs Committee [1] , the Westminster Health and Social Care Committee [2] as well as a significant number of other experts and academics. The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh [3] and the Drug Deaths Taskforce [4] have both released reports in Scotland this year alone calling for a strengthened public health approach to drug use.

In contrast, the priority of Project Adder remains enforcement led. A review of international evidence [5] shows that major policing crackdowns and enforcement operations tend to increase harms to people who use drugs. For example, research from a number of countries has shown that crackdowns are more likely to move drug dealing and usage geographically than to reduce them, increasing crime and discouraging people from carrying clean injecting equipment.

I do welcome those elements of Project ADDER that focus on diversion and recovery, but these are areas that Scotland is already prioritising through our National Mission, having allocated £250 million to improving and saving lives over the course of this Parliament. Work on diversion and recovery is well underway in Scotland and will align with the Project ADDER activity in England and Wales.

Where Adder can add value to the work already underway in Scotland is in the sharing of evidence, helping us to understand what activity can be effective in addressing drug related harms and deaths. To this end our Drug Deaths Taskforce have been engaging as active members of the Project ADDER Partnership Learning Network, sharing lessons learned between Scotland and the targeted ADDER areas.

[1] Scottish Affairs Committee: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201919/cmselect/cmscotaf/44/44.pdf

[2] Health and Social Care Committee: https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201919/cmselect/cmhealth/143/143.pdf

[3] The Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh: https://www.rcpe.ac.uk/sites/default/files/drugs_deaths_in_scotland_report_final_0.pdf

[4] Drug Deaths Taskforce: https://drugdeathstaskforce.scot/media/1248/drug-law-reform-report-sept-6th-21.pdf

[5] Scottish Government: https://www.gov.scot/publications/international-approaches-drug-law-reform/documents/

The Scottish Government engages regularly with the public, private and third sectors on economic policy developments, including Fair Work, and our upcoming National Strategy for Economic Transformation. Fair Work is a key driver for sustainable and inclusive economic growth; it sits at the heart of our wellbeing economy ambitions and is central to economic recovery and renewal. A key strand of our Fair Work Action Plan is creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces, and our Fairer Scotland for Disabled People: Employment Action Plan contains a commitment to work with employers to support the development of mentally flourishing workplaces and also to develop pathways that enable those seeking to enter or remain in work to access appropriate and timely mental health and employability support.

As I highlighted in the Sustainable Procurement and Fair Work debate on 2 November 2021, we have launched a public consultation on the action needed to ensure Scotland becomes a Fair Work Nation. The consultation has been informed by discussions with key stakeholders from the public, private and third sectors and workshops are being held to gather wider views. I encourage you and members to promote this consultation to employers and workers across their constituencies.

The Scottish Government recognises the issues raised by third sector organisations regarding the impact the Covid pandemic has had and is having on working lives, especially those in low-paid or insecure jobs. That is why a range of actions have been set out in the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Strategy and the broader Covid Recovery Strategy to mitigate negative impacts on workers and to improve the financial security of lower income households.

Our overarching vision to become a Fair Work Nation by 2025 is central to addressing issues of job insecurity, in-work poverty and under-employment – priorities that will also be reflected through the forthcoming National Strategy for Economic Transformation. The Scottish Government is committed to safeguarding the wellbeing of workers across Scotland and will keep a future of work commission under review.

Scottish Government officials met with representatives from the National Union of Students (NUS) Scotland on 14 October to discuss the shortage of available student accommodation this academic year. The matter was also discussed at the meetings of the Covid Recovery Group and the Purpose Built Student Accommodation Steering Group on 20 October, and at the Student Accommodation Group meeting on 4 November. The issue of housing capacity was highlighted in these meetings, and proposals for dedicated meetings with universities and accommodation providers from areas experiencing particular problems in this academic period were explored, and will be taken forward.

The Scottish Government has no direct role in the provision of student residential accommodation whether the accommodation is managed by universities or private sector organisations. However, we remain committed to working further with universities and student associations to develop solutions to the present shortfall in renting opportunities for students.

Our Programme for Government commitment to review Purpose Built Student Accommodation and our 100 days commitment to establish the next stage of this, is already underway and will be taken forward in parallel with work to ensure rent affordability and improving standards across the private rented sector.

The Scottish Government routinely publishes official labour market statistics for disabled people and analysis of how their labour market barriers and outcomes are changing over time.

We know the disability employment gap - the difference between the employment rates of disabled and non-disabled people - narrowed over the latest year to July 2020 – June 2021 by 1.5 percentage points in Scotland, to 32.0 percentage points. This was a larger narrowing of the disability employment gap than in the UK, where it narrowed by 0.6 percentage points. Scotland’s disability employment gap was also smaller than the disability employment gap in both Wales and Northern Ireland in the latest year.

We remain on course to reach our ambition to at least halve the disability employment gap in Scotland by 2038, however, we know there is much more work to do. For example, we continue to work closely with our partners in Disabled People’s Organisations to hear directly from disabled people themselves what changes they are experiencing in the labour market. This includes their representation on our Short Life Working Group for the refresh of our employment action plan, ensuring disabled people’s lived experiences are shaping this work.

Latest data and analysis are published at:

Labour market monthly briefing: November 2021 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Fairer Scotland for disabled people - employment action plan: progress report - year 2 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government has not been involved in any discussions regarding the development of an Edinburgh specific rate of pay.

Employment law remains reserved to the UK Government therefore, the Scottish Government cannot currently legislate on this matter. We continue to promote payment of at least the real Living Wage and welcome the increase to £9.90 per hour for workers over 18 announced on 15 November.

I was pleased to note that City of Edinburgh Council has achieved Living Wage City recognition and is promoting payment of the real Living Wage in the region.