According to the most recent Children’s Social Work Statistics, there are around 4,000 children in kinship care in Scotland. In a recent review of the Scottish Recommended Allowance for Foster and Kinship carers (SRA), of the 131 kinship carers who responded, 41% agreed that the financial support given to carers was fairer since the SRA was introduced, 37% said it had improved their finances, and 22% said it was sufficient to meet the full costs of looking after children in their care.

The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) monitors the 1140 expansion infrastructure programme on behalf of the Scottish Government, and collects progress data periodically from local authorities. The 2025 data collection exercise commenced in September and is expected to conclude in November. The most recent completed data collection showed that in October 2024, 877 (98%) of projects in the programme were complete, and 16 projects were either in construction or had not yet commenced construction.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41190 on 7 November 2025. 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 does not collect this information. However, the Care Inspectorate collects and publishes data on service cancellations and registrations, available on the Care Inspectorate’s website: Statistics and analysis.

The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Building management responsibilities are a matter for the owners and managers to ensure the safety of their premises. Statutory requirements for the fitness of premises to be used for the provision of early learning and childcare are set out in Section 10 of The Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (Requirements for Care Services) Regulations 2011. These requirements are enforced by the Care Inspectorate, which assesses compliance during inspections and registration processes.

The Scottish Government recognises the valuable youth work provided to young people in rural and Island communities.

Each education authority is responsible for securing Community Learning and Development (CLD) in their area under the Community Learning and Development (Scotland) Regulations 2013, including in rural and island education authorities.

The 2013 Regulations require local authorities to plan and arrange the provision of CLD. In line with the Verity House Agreement, local authorities have the autonomy to deliver services that meet the assessed needs of young people in their areas.

Since 2021-2022, the Scottish Government have also provided grant funding to Youth Scotland to coordinate the Young Islanders Network which provides young people aged 5-25 years a safe space to express and discuss issues that affect their lives and their islands. Scottish Government are providing £119,400 in 2025-26 to support the network.

Young Islanders Network members have been closely involved in informing both the implementation of the current National Islands Plan, published in 2019, and the development of the new iteration of the plan.

In 2024-25, Scottish Government also provided £125k to the Rural Youth Action Network (RYAN) as a youth-led project, coordinated jointly by Scottish Rural Action (SRA) and Youth Scotland, to consolidate momentum behind a rural youth mobilisation and participation platform in Scotland.

To date, £148.1 million has been allocated through the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding to support transformational change in how services are delivered for families across Scotland.

The Scottish Government has sought to balance value for money with a clear commitment to allocating the full amounts available. This approach ensures that investment is both impactful and aligned with the strategic priorities of government.

Despite the tight fiscal position, we have increased Children’s Services Planning Partnerships (CSPPs) funding from £32 million to £38.1 million per annum in 2025-26. This investment will safeguard the progress already being made, and as set out in our Investment Approach, the Scottish Government’s commitment to CSPPs will continue through to the financial year 2026–27. Funding levels are based on a careful assessment of CSPP readiness and capacity for spend, ensuring that the pace of spend matches CSPP need. This long-term investment reflects our belief in the importance of early intervention and holistic support.

Looking ahead, our investment is being shaped by work across the Scottish Government to explore how preventative investment can be brought together to help Scotland tackle child poverty and Keep the Promise.

The Care Inspectorate has provided the following information:

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41194 on 7 November 2025. 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 recognises the valuable support provided to young people through high quality youth work. This work contributes to the Scottish Government’s priority of eradicating child poverty and tackling inequality.

An independent review of Community Learning and Development (CLD) was commissioned in December 2023. As part of the independent review, a detailed literature review was published on the value and impact of CLD, including youth work. This includes external research carried out on the economic value of youth.

The literature review also outlines how youth work provides employability support, opportunities to develop skills and improves young people’s mental health and wellbeing. The literature review can be found here: Community Learning and Development in Scotland and internationally: literature review - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government welcomed the Learning: For All. For Life. report published in July 2024, which made 20 recommendations varying in complexity and scope. The report can be accessed at: Supporting documents - Learning: For All. For Life. A report from the Independent Review of Community Learning and Development (CLD) - gov.scot.

The Scottish Government and COSLA accepted recommendation 1.1 to set up a joint CLD Strategic Leadership Group. The Group are considering the remaining recommendations of the report, including those relating to outcomes and measurement.