Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government publishes statistics showing the number of young people who were in a positive destination three months and nine months after the end of each school year. These statistics are available on a comparable basis for school leavers from academic years 2009-10 to 2021-22. They cover all young people who left from a publicly funded mainstream secondary school in Scotland.

Table 1 shows the numbers and proportions of school leavers in a positive "initial" destination, three months after the end of the school year, for 2009-10 to 2021-22. Table 2 provides the same information for "follow-up" destinations, nine months after the end of the school year.

Positive destinations are: higher education, further education, employment, training, voluntary work, activity agreements (from 2010-11 to 2017-18 inclusive) and personal skills development.

The time period covered by these statistics means they contain data that will be affected by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The pandemic could have affected the opportunities available to some school leavers, either directly or due to an impact on attainment caused by the alternative approaches taken to grading National Qualifications in 2020, 2021 and 2022. This should be kept in mind when making comparisons over time.

Table 1. Number and percentage of school leavers in a positive initial destination, three months after the end of the school year, 2009-10 to 2021-22.

Responsibility for school libraries is devolved to local authorities, who already have a statutory duty to ensure there is adequate provision of library services for their residents. There are no plans to impose a specific statutory duty on local authorities in relation to librarian services in schools. It is for local authorities to allocate their resources appropriately and aligned with the needs of the people they represent. Authorities should work in partnership with communities to explore ways of delivering services, based on need.

The Scottish Government have invested £16m per year in order to ensure that children and young people have quick and effective access to support for their mental health and wellbeing through counsellors in schools. Local authorities provide six-monthly reports to the Scottish Government on this commitment. The reports confirm that the overall picture on improving children and young people’s outcomes is positive.

A summary of the reports can be found here: Access to counsellors in secondary schools and children and young people’s community mental health services – summary reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . We will publish a summary of the 2022 reports in the coming weeks, which will include the number of counsellors local authorities reported were in post.

The Scottish Government operated a boiler scrappage scheme from May 2010 to March 2013. Details of the number of boilers replaced through this and other historic schemes funded by the Scottish Government are published on the Energy Saving Trust website .

Since 2013 the Scottish Government has provided help with the cost of replacement heating systems as part of our wider energy efficiency schemes. These include Area Based Schemes launched in 2013 and Warmer Homes Scotland which replaced the previous Energy Assistance Scheme in September 2015.

The Home Energy Scotland Loan and Cashback scheme was launched in 2016. Since December 2022, the Scottish Government only provides support towards the costs of replacement heating systems with low or zero direct emissions through the new Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan scheme.

Table 1. Households receiving support with a replacement heating system through the Home Energy Scotland Loan and Cashback Scheme (now HES Grant and Loan)

The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise worked intensively with CodeClan to explore every possible option to secure a sustainable future, including commissioning the support of private sector consultants and considering options involving other public sector entities. In this case, the financial liabilities carried by the business were substantial, making those options unviable.

Codebase, the operator of Scotland's Techscaler network, has acquired CodeClan’s training materials and other assets. The Scottish Government has agreed to provide financial support to Codebase for the explicit purpose of allowing students who have paid for courses to complete their studies.

Over the next three years the Scottish Government will invest in a new programme of work to support early intervention in speech and language for children and their families, helping to build confidence and capacity for staff working in early learning and childcare settings, and joining up efforts across other key public services, such as health visiting.

In our Best Start - strategic early learning and school age childcare plan 2022 to 2026, we outlined a commitment to invest in a new programme of work to support early intervention in speech and language. As part of that work we are recruiting six Full Time Equivalent Regional Leads for Early Years Speech and Language – in collaboration with Education Scotland.

The leads will be based in each region in Scotland, aligned to Regional Improvement Collaboratives. We anticipate that their work will improve outcomes for children’s speech and language across Scotland, by setting up new stakeholder networks, supporting frontline staff, promoting quality improvement and learning from best practice.

The Scottish Education Exchange Programme Test and Learn project group, which includes representatives from universities and colleges, is expected to continue to meet regularly over the next six months.

Codeclan was a private sector enterprise and its financial stability was the sole responsibility of its management and board of directors.

The Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise worked intensively with CodeClan to explore every possible option to secure a sustainable future, including commissioning the support of private sector consultants.

Ministers are legally bound by subsidy control rules which set clear thresholds on the level of public funding that can be injected into private businesses. In this case the sum required to place the business on a stable footing significantly exceeded these thresholds, with no guarantee of future viability.

Codebase, the operator of Scotland's Techscaler network, has acquired CodeClan’s training materials and other assets. The Scottish Government has agreed to provide financial support to Codebase for the explicit purpose of allowing students who have paid for courses to complete their studies.

We look forward to working Codebase and other partners to ensure the provision of quality, modular skills training is continued and enhanced.

In the meantime, Scotland’s tech sector is served by a world class post-16 education system which each year generates thousands of skilled graduates in key technological disciplines.

The Home Energy Scotland (HES) Grant and Loan Scheme offers funding for a range of zero direct emissions heating systems, energy efficiency measures and additional measures, including solar PV and energy storage systems in some circumstances.

The Scottish Government has not closed this scheme, but has changed the conditions for funding of solar PV and energy storage systems.

For the reason behind this decision, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19607 on 28 July 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at Questions and answers | Scottish Parliament Website .