Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is supporting the commitment set out by Sandy Begbie, that every young person aged between 16 and 24 in Scotland will be guaranteed either the opportunity to study at university or college, take part in an apprenticeship programme, take up a job or work experience, or participate in a formal volunteering or training programme according to their own personal circumstances.

We are committed to offering support to every young person who requires it. In addition, as per our response to question S5W-33395 on 2 December 2020, due to the uncertainties regarding the labour market, impact of Brexit and the furlough scheme we have not set targets for the Guarantee. Details on the number of opportunities created through the initial funding has been made available in response to questions S6W-00024 on 25 May 2021 and S5W-34612 on 1 February 2021.

As restrictions begin to ease, we will continue to work closely with our delivery partners to maximise the number of young people being supported into opportunities and to enable partners to respond flexibly to meet the needs of young people during this challenging time. The duration and level of support required by young people to access and sustain their employment will depend on their needs.

Our initial activity plan published in November 2020, sets out the steps we are taking to progress the Guarantee. Our equality action plan also details specific activities we are completing to ensure young people from all backgrounds are able to access the Guarantee.

We are also considering progress made on each of Sandy Begbie's initial recommendations for the Young Person's Guarantee, and will produce a report to set out this progress and the future priorities for the Guarantee in Autumn 2021.

We detailed our commitment to producing a detailed Measurement and Evaluation Framework in response to questions S5W-35911 on 24 March 2021 and S5W-34614 on 1 February 2021. As part of this process we are developing a set of Key Performance Indicators that will help us understand the cumulative impact of the Guarantee. These are due to be finalised in Summer 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 Scottish Government currently have no plans to legislate in relation to whiplash injury claims, however, through dialogue with the Ministry of Justice, we will monitor the impact of the provisions recently commenced in England and Wales and keep the issue under review.

Scottish Government regularly monitors SME debt levels and meets monthly with Scottish Financial Enterprise and the main banks in Scotland to monitor trends in lending facilities and identify key emerging themes. In the event that these identify areas of concern, Scottish Government will work with UK government (Treasury, British Business Bank) as well as other SG policy areas and enterprise agencies to develop an appropriate response.

Scottish Government has been monitoring closely the economic impact of Covid on business - including business indebtedness - throughout the pandemic, and has implemented a range of measures to alleviate the resulting financial difficulties. For example, the Advisory Group for Economic Recovery was set up in April 2020, led by Benny Higgins, to provide independent expert advice on actions that will make a difference to businesses across sectors and regions throughout Scotland; Scottish Government also convened a number of discussions with banks and other private sector investors to understand better how to facilitate financing economic recovery, culminating in the February 2021 publication of “Financing the Recovery” which highlighted the need to manage debt exposure, to finance growth opportunities and to design successor loan schemes that are ambitious, flexible and responsive to the needs of the economy. The report made 10 recommendations to the UK Government and to Scottish Ministers, across four areas of focus: Economic Overview, Financing Business Survival and Resilience, Financing Opportunity and Growth, and Business Support and Collaboration. As the regulation of financial services is reserved to the UK Government, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Fair Work and Culture wrote to the Economic Secretary to the Treasury urging him to take forward some of the actions from the report, including extending forbearance measures and the introduction of a framework to manage and recover debt. A positive response was received, outlining what action is already being taken to assist recovery as we move forward.

Since the launch of the Guarantee in November 2020 we have continued to work closely with partners from across the public, private and third sector to deliver the recommendations from Sandy Begbie’s report.

As detailed in response to S6W-00024 on 25 May 2021 through our initial investment of £60m in 2020-21 we have provided funding for around 18,000 new and enhanced existing opportunities to support young people. This includes opportunities through Local Authorities, Colleges, Skills Development Scotland and the third sector.

As part of this process we are collecting information on the number of young people supported by the Guarantee and make this publicly available in the coming months.

Funding for the Guarantee is in addition to our existing substantial investment in Education and skills and further statistics on Apprenticeships are published regularly by Skills Development Scotland. Whilst the Scottish Funding Council collect and analyse data relating to the provision of further and higher education in Scotland.

S6W-00024 provides further details on how we intend to invest the £70m committed to the Guarantee in 2021-22. The Guarantee is based on the principle that local partners are best placed to identify and deliver the opportunities and support needed for young people in their areas and to respond flexibly to emerging challenges. We are continuing to work with partners to ensure that regardless of a young person’s location or background, they are able to access employment, education, training or volunteering opportunities that suit their circumstances.

In response to question S5W-34614 on 1 February 2021 we detailed our commitment to developing a rigorous measurement and evaluation framework to demonstrate the impact of the Guarantee. The measurement and evaluation framework is in the process of being developed with Key Performance Indicators due to be finalised in summer 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 recruitment and deployment of teachers in local authority schools are matters for individual local authorities.

Whilst local authorities are responsible for the recruitment and deployment of their staff, we are firmly of the view that we will need all possible teaching resources at our disposal to compensate for any loss of learning suffered since the start of the pandemic. It is for that reason that we have provided over £200 million of additional funding to support the recruitment of additional staff to aid education recovery.

In the first 100 days of this Parliamentary term, we will fund councils to increase teacher numbers by 1,000 and classroom assistants by 500. This as part of our commitment to support the recruitment of 3,500 additional teachers and classroom assistants over the parliamentary term.

We are working closely with COSLA regarding recruitment practices and the employment of teachers for next academic year, and Local Authorities are currently undertaking an assessment of staff requirements to support education recovery. This issue has also been discussed with the teaching unions at the Scottish Negotiation Committee for Teachers.

This information is not held centrally.

The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) publishes statistics on accidental dwelling fires, broken down by local authority, however this data is not broken down into specific causes. These statistics are available on SFRS’s website, and can be found at this link http://www.firescotland.gov.uk/about-us/fire-and-rescue-statistics.aspx

The SFRS has a statutory duty to promote fire safety across Scotland. In the Fire and Rescue Framework for Scotland 2016, Scottish Ministers require SFRS to contribute fully to improving the safety and well-being of Scotland’s communities and to ensure that there is a clear process for working with partners to identify the risks faced by communities and individuals so that activity can be targeted using a risk-based approach.

The SFRS considers how best to reduce dwelling fires, including those caused by electricity, what the focus of its preventative action will be, and with which partner organisations it will work to achieve this.

In addition to a programme of fire safety awareness campaigns and community safety engagement events, the SFRS carried out 69,227 Home Fire Safety Visits in 2019-20. The SFRS website also carries safety information for householders on a range of issues, including home appliances and electrical safety.

Despite Scotland voting to remain in the European Union, EU citizens are being forced to apply to retain their basic rights. This Government is supporting EU citizens through the Stay in Scotland campaign . Our marketing campaign has relaunched and includes adverts on radio and in local newspapers, helping to reach those not online. Officials have engaged with a wide range of organisations, including religious organisations, parent groups, unions and prisons, to raise awareness. We have worked closely with local authorities and care providers, including funding a caseworker at COSLA and placed a particular focus on vulnerable groups such as the elderly, looked-after children and the homeless. We also deliver an advice service , with Citizens’ Advice Scotland, to support EU citizens applying for settlement.

I have asked SQA to respond. The charges per local authority are:

The budget agreed by Scottish Ministers for SQA for 2021-22 is based on the SQA levy to local authorities and entry fees charged separately remaining at the same level as has been the case since 2012-13.

These fees provide a contribution towards the cost of awarding, rather than covering the full cost for that individual local authority, school or college. The costs of awarding National Qualifications, even this year, are greater than the contribution made by local authorities in the form of a levy.