The Official Report is a written record of public meetings of the Parliament and committees.
All Official Reports of meetings in the Debating Chamber of the Scottish Parliament.
All Official Reports of public meetings of committees.
Displaying 745 contributions
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 18 January 2023
Kaukab Stewart
Thank you. On the Gaelic language, will there be additional funding to support the new Gaelic language plan when it is published, in April 2023?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 12 January 2023
Kaukab Stewart
Yes, that is absolutely noted. Those of us who are dealing with constituents on the matter are aware of one layer of the complexity and sensitivities around it, so I can imagine the challenges for caseworkers in doing that very professional job. It is important to put an acknowledgement of their work on the record.
You mentioned that people have been waiting a long time. Is there any priority given? Obviously, every case is individual, and they all deserve the same priority, but there will be people who, for either medical or other reasons, might be prioritised. Has that been considered?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 12 January 2023
Kaukab Stewart
Deputy First Minister, thank you for the update on caseworker recruitment. I would like to look into that a little. You acknowledge that more work needs to be done on that. I have a constituent whose case I have been following. Initially, they felt that there was a shortage of caseworkers and were not allocated one, although the situation has moved on since then. That seems to mirror what you said about the recruitment of 23 caseworkers. Will the number of caseworkers be maintained throughout the operation of the redress scheme? Is there any wiggle room? Cases are obviously very complex. Is there a requirement for more casework to be done or for more people to be brought in?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2022
Kaukab Stewart
The research has been referred to a few times, and I will spend a few minutes digging further into that.
You have made it clear that no decision has been made and that you have commissioned research from CELCIS. Please quickly explain the background reasons for commissioning that research. What is the timeline for that, and how does it fit into the progress of the bill?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2022
Kaukab Stewart
I understand and respect that. I just think that it would be useful for the committee to hear from the perspective of a young person, with their voice, about a real-life example, as that would give a good illustration of their experience of the service. That is why I was keen to get an example.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2022
Kaukab Stewart
It has been quite helpful to get that context, given the concern that there is not enough evidence. It sounds as though the scope of the research is quite wide, but are you confident that the research itself and the method of deployment will be enough to give you the evidence that you need? If you do not get enough evidence, is your mind open to gathering more?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2022
Kaukab Stewart
Thank you for that response, as it leads me neatly to some questions for Mr Stewart.
It has been pointed out—rightly—that the committee has already had two evidence-taking sessions in which we heard from a variety of stakeholders and service providers. Can you provide us with any evidence that you have received from advocacy groups during your own consultation processes or give some examples from the lived experience that you have heard of services not having been as good as they could have been for certain young people?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 23 November 2022
Kaukab Stewart
We have the evidence from service providers and stakeholders about the services that they provide, but I want to be able to cross-check that with the real experience of the recipients of those services. That is the area that I was exploring. I am happy for Mr Stewart to come back on that.
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Kaukab Stewart
Thank you for that, Ross.
Before I bring in the other panellists, I will ask the next part of my question. How much money do your individual areas spend on children’s services, and how has that funding changed over the past decade? Can you give me a comparison with any changes that there might have been in outcomes for young people? In short, I am asking about the money that has been spent and the impact on the outcomes.
Louise, could you respond first?
Education, Children and Young People Committee
Meeting date: 16 November 2022
Kaukab Stewart
Do you have any figures for how much is being spent on children’s services and how that funding relates to outcomes?