- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what role local authorities play in assessing and reporting on the economic outcomes of youth work initiatives in their areas.
Answer
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.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many children whose situation has been flagged as at risk have not been allocated a named social worker within the recommended timescales since May 2021.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This is a matter for local authorities. The member may wish to contact local authorities directly for this information.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the proportion of kinship carers who have reported relying on food banks or emergency grants to support the child in their care since May 2021.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the proportion of kinship carers who have reported relying on food banks or emergency grants to support the child in their care since May 2021.
However, we recognise the financial pressures faced by kinship carers and in August 2023 we introduced the Scottish Recommended Allowance (SRA), with £16 million additional funding, to provide a standard national allowance for kinship and foster carers. The SRA is intended to help meet the costs of caring for a child and reduce reliance on emergency assistance. The Scottish Government uprated the SRA earlier this year, providing an extra £1.9m which is expected to benefit more than 9,000 children.
Eligible kinship carers are also able to access Scottish social security family benefits and payments, such as the Scottish Child Payment and may get financial help with childcare and education. More information is available at: Children and families - Cost of Living Support Scotland.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many social worker vacancies currently exist within children and families services across Scotland.
Answer
The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government have asked the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to run twice-yearly surveys to collect data on practising social workers and vacancy rates in local authorities. The most recent report may be found here: Social worker filled posts and vacancies six-monthly survey at December 2024 | Scottish Social Services Workforce Data.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints Disclosure Scotland has received regarding delays in issuing Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) certificates in the last year.
Answer
I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:
From October 2024 to October 2025, Disclosure Scotland received 74 complaints regarding applications delays.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how many children have been temporarily unable to attend a local authority nursery due to staff shortages in the last 12 months.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold the information requested.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what steps it is taking to ensure that the delegation of the delivery of youth work to local authorities does not compromise the quality or consistency of services across Scotland.
Answer
I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41191 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.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Monday, 13 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of parents who are eligible for 1,140 hours of funded childcare have accessed their full entitlement without restriction on session times since May 2021.
Answer
Information on the number of eligible children who are accessing their full 1140 hours of early learning and childcare entitlement is set out in the ELC Delivery Progress Reports | Improvement Service produced by the Improvement Service. The latest report highlights that local authorities reported that 88% of eligible children were accessing the full entitlement of 1140 hours in September 2024.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Natalie Don-Innes on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the proportion of early learning and childcare facilities that have no access to an outdoor play space.
Answer
The Scottish Government does not hold information on the proportion of early learning and childcare facilities that have no access to an outdoor play space.
The Care Inspectorate assesses settings’ access to outdoor play space at the initial registration stage and on an ongoing basis through their inspection and scrutiny work. The space-to-grow-and-thrive.pdf design guidance for early learning and school age childcare settings outlines that children should have access to suitable and safe outdoor space adjacent to and that is part of the premises-based environment. However, some settings will operate a dispersed or satellite model where they will access an outdoor environment in the nearby community. The Care Inspectorate evaluates these models through their inspection process.
- Asked by: Martin Whitfield, MSP for South Scotland, Scottish Labour
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Date lodged: Friday, 10 October 2025
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Current Status:
Answered by Ben Macpherson on 7 November 2025
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that youth work initiatives are aligned with national economic priorities and strategies, such as the Young Person’s Guarantee.
Answer
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.