Chamber and committees

Our initial estimate of £31m is still relevant. However, this will be revised in the next couple of months as further detail becomes available on Local Government staffing costs.

The Scottish Government believes it is important to support children and young people to have the knowledge and skills necessary to use social media in a positive way.

We provided the Scottish Youth Parliament and the Scottish Children’s Parliament with over £90k of funding to develop the ‘Mind Yer YTime’ web resource, launched in April 2020 and updated in September 2021. This online hub is specifically designed to give children and young people advice on the safe use of screen time and social media use and their impacts on physical and mental wellbeing.

We provided over £160k to Young Scot to deliver a range of positive messages, advice and resources to young people regarding health and mental wellbeing through the ‘Aye Feel’ hub. This includes a range of resources, stories, blog posts and targeted social media content on social media usage and managing screen time.

In February 2022 we supported Young Scot to launch the ‘ National Conversation on body image, screen time and mental wellbeing ’ , with children and young people so that their voices can directly shape our future work in this area.

We have also provided Young Scot with £124,740 to run its #DigiKnow cyber awareness and peer education programme around online safety and security, aimed at young people from disadvantaged backgrounds.

More broadly, we are aware that some stakeholders have concerns that the UK Government needs to go further in using the UK Online Safety Bill to protect the population’s mental health and wellbeing. We would encourage the UK Government to listen and respond to those concerns so that we can all seek to engage in social media in a constructive and positive way.

We are working collaboratively with Community Learning and Development providers to support safe practices and behaviours through the Advanced Learning COVID-19 Recovery Group and to deliver guidance that will support the Strategic Framework. This will include encouraging local/community facilities to permit access to organisations and groups working within this sector, operating in line with their own requirements under the terms of the Strategic Framework.

We have also prepared safer workplaces guidance and the organised activities for children guidance to support and accelerate these organisations ability to safely reopen these buildings. However, the responsibility for reopening youth and community facilities ultimately rests with the owners.

The Scottish Government believes it is important to ensure young people build skills in the positive use of social media. In December 2021, UK broadcasting regulator Ofcom published its approach to online media literacy, setting out the need to build media literacy skills, including identifying misinformation on social media platforms.

There are no specific creative sector projects on social media being funded by the Scottish Government at this time but there are a number of projects and initiatives funded from other areas of the Scottish Government that seek to develop skills in the positive use of social media. Those relevant to youth workers and community groups are set out below.

In 2021-22, the Scottish Government’s Cyber Resilience Unit provided funding to Civic Digits CIC of £35,550, complementing funding from Creative Scotland, to deliver The Big Data Show to 2,400 children in schools and to a community organisation working with young people from black and minority ethnic communities.

In 2020, the Scottish Youth Parliament, with Scottish Government funding, also developed a digital resource called Mind Yer Time, to help children and young people use screens and social media in a healthy way.

Official Modern Apprenticeship (MA) statistics are published by Skills Development Scotland (SDS) quarterly, including the number of starts.

The following table shows the number of MA starts over the last five years on the Youth Work Framework:

The Scottish Government believes that all young people in Scotland should have access to youth work services at the right time, and in the best place, for them. Various groups representing young people with protected characteristics, including young people from minority ethnic communities, have been involved in the consultation for Scotland’s new youth work strategy. The strategy aims to see more joined up services for young people where schools, colleges, service providers, local authorities and education partners are better connected around the youth work offer, meaning better opportunities locally for young people across Scotland, including those from minority ethnic communities.

The Scottish Government also provide core funding to Intercultural Youth Scotland to ensure young people from a minority ethnic background are supported and encouraged to take part in youth work activities. The funding has also supported a range of mental health programmes, in particular during the pandemic. In addition to this, a range of local, national and grassroots organisations are funded to promote youth work among the minority ethnic community and advance race equality in general to improve outcomes for young people.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-01070 on 9 July 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

Scottish Government is taking steps to encourage youth work as a career by offering targeted qualifications and professional learning opportunities, building awareness of the sector, and offering support to gain qualifications.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) offers a Youth Work Modern Apprenticeship that teaches practical skills needed for a successful career in youth work. SDS also manage Individual Training Accounts, offering those who are unemployed or with an income of less than £22,000 access of up to £200 per year to support entry to or progression in work; and supports people to develop new skills and progress their careers.

Scottish Government also funds Youth Scotland to deliver the PDA in Youth Work to youth workers across Scotland, including volunteers. Furthermore, the Community Learning & Development Standards Council for Scotland (CLDSC) offers various opportunities to its members for professional learning & development, including buddying and mentoring programmes for early-career CLD practitioners, including youth workers. The CLDSC are also currently working with a range of stakeholders (including Further and Higher Education providers and Scottish employers) to host a CLD open day later in 2022 where youth work as a career or voluntary opportunity will be promoted to those not already involved in Community Learning & Development.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that everyone living in Scotland with Cystic Fibrosis is able to access the best possible care and support for their mental health.

As Cystic Fibrosis is a complex condition that affects individuals in different ways, people of all ages will have access to Specialist Cystic Fibrosis Centres and be cared for by a team of doctors, nurses and allied health professionals with specialised knowledge. Cystic Fibrosis Centres in Scotland include a Clinical Psychologist as part of the multidisciplinary team who can provide mental health support to the patient and their family.

Further emotional support can be accessed via the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and a resource detailing support for people on the impact of Kaftrio is available online via their website.