Chamber and committees

The Concordat agreement between the Scottish Government and the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA) included a commitment to make progress towards delivering an extra 10,000 respite weeks across Scotland. Following discussions with the Scottish Government, and supported by over £4 million of Scottish Government funding, COSLA agreed that the target would be met by 2011; 2,000 additional weeks would be provided across Scotland in 2008-09, with further increases in subsequent years. The data for each local authority will be published once it has undergone the necessary checks.

The Carers Strategy for Scotland, to be published in 2010, will include a chapter on short breaks/respite, as breaks from caring are a priority for many carers.

Our concordat with local government and the single outcome agreements that we have agreed with community planning partnerships (CPPs) are central to realising our goal of a successful Scotland and better outcomes in life for people in Scotland in partnership. We highly value the role that the third sector can play, within these arrangements, towards these goals.

Under these arrangements, it is for local authorities to take their own decisions on individual financial contributions to third sector organisations and we will not be issuing specific guidance to local authorities and CPPs on the details of this point.

However, we are very well aware of the concerns of some third sector organisations about funding arrangements and, as outlined by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 29 October 2009, we have taken a number of steps at national level to provide certainty and security of funding to the third sector in Scotland.

Our concordat with local government and the single outcome agreements that we have agreed with community planning partnerships (CPPs) are central to realising our goal of a successful Scotland and better outcomes in life for people in Scotland in partnership. We highly value the role that the third sector can play, within these arrangements, towards these goals.

It is for local authorities to take their own decisions on individual financial contributions to third sector organisations and we will not be corresponding with local authorities and CPPs on the details of this point.

However, we are very well aware of the concerns of some third sector organisations about funding arrangements and, as outlined by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 29 October, we have taken a number of steps at national level to provide certainty and security of funding to the third sector in Scotland.

Our concordat with local government and the single outcome agreements that we have agreed with community planning partnerships are central to realising our goal of a successful Scotland and better outcomes in life for people in Scotland in partnership. We highly value the role that the third sector can play, within these arrangements, towards these goals.

It is for local authorities to take their own decisions on individual financial contributions to third sector organisations and we will not be issuing specific guidance on the details of this point.

We are very well aware of the concerns of some third sector organisations about funding arrangements and, as outlined by the Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth on 29 October 2009, we have taken a number of steps at national level to provide certainty and security of funding to the third sector in Scotland.

The information requested is not yet collected centrally. However, the first biennial reports on the exercise of the functions of adult protection committees are due to be submitted to Scottish ministers in October 2010. The Scottish Government is also working with COSLA to develop a survey on the use of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act since its enactment last year. Information from the survey will be available early in 2010 to provide an interim report in advance of the first biennial report.

This information is drawn from the Statutory Performance Indicators (SPIs) on respite collected by Audit Scotland. It is necessary in the first instance for Audit Scotland to be satisfied with the technical aspects of the data. The Scottish Government must also carefully analyse the data. I plan to publish the Scotland-wide data as soon as it has undergone the necessary checks.

The first biennial reports from Adult Protection Committees are due in October 2010. In the meantime, officials are working with COSLA on a survey of local authorities to assess the impact of the act since commencement, including multi-agency working and prosecutions. I am happy to share the results of the survey with Parliament once they become available.

The Scottish Government is fully committed to publication of its response to the recommendations of the short-life working group on school clothing grants.

Officials are currently working with COSLA to consider how the recommendations can be met within existing financial resources. A response will be issued following those considerations.

The Fresh Talent: Working in Scotland Scheme: an evidence review published in September 2008, was a research paper which provided an evaluation of the scheme to inform policy development, but did not make specific recommendations.

The Scottish Government and its agencies provide support to international graduates through our Relocation Advisory Service, Talent Scotland and Graduates for Business. In addition, the Strategic Investment Fund supports post-graduate employment of international students in Scotland, in line with the objectives of the government''s International Framework.

The current economic downturn is affecting labour markets across the globe, but Scotland''s employment continues to be higher than the UK, and there continues to be a significant number of job opportunities across the country. Additionally, our Economic Recovery Plan is supporting up to 15,000 jobs across Scotland and, going forward, our actions have the potential to create thousands more jobs over the long term.