Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government is clear that there is absolutely no place for discrimination and prejudice in Scotland and that any form of hate crime is totally unacceptable and will not be tolerated. As a nation, we have a long history of welcoming people of all nationalities and faiths, and we are committed to supporting their integration into our communities.

On 13 June 2017, we published an ambitious programme of work to take forward the recommendations made by the Independent Advisory Group on Hate Crime, Prejudice and Community Cohesion. This includes a commitment to deliver a public campaign to raise awareness of the impacts of hate crime which will be launched next month.

We will publish a refreshed version of New Scots, our strategy for integrating asylum seekers and refugees into Scotland’s communities, in January 2018. We have carried out a wide ranging programme of engagement in order to ensure the views and experiences of as many new Scots as possible are included.

We are determined to show leadership in advancing race equality in Scotland. The Race Equality Framework was developed to advance race equality and address the barriers that prevent people from minority ethnic communities from realising their potential.

We will publish an Action Plan in October 2017 setting out the key actions, including actions on Community Cohesion and Safety, we will take over this Parliamentary session to drive positive change for minority ethnic communities.

The Scottish Government is working with partners to deliver Developing the Young Workforce, a seven year programme to reduce youth unemployment, which is helping young people to have a better understanding of the world of work, and career opportunities.

This includes the provision of Career Information Advice and Guidance at an earlier stage in school in order to inform choices around learning and careers, with Careers Advisers meeting all school pupils on a one-to-one basis. The service is personalised, flexible and responsive to the needs of individual customers. This allows SDS to provide targeted advice to those young people who need additional support due to personal circumstances, such as young people with care experience.

Education authorities and other agencies have duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 (as amended) to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. An additional support need can arise for any reason and be of short or long term duration. Additional support may be required to overcome needs arising from learning environment; health or disability; family circumstances or social and emotional factors. Looked After Children and Young People are deemed to have additional support needs until they are assessed otherwise. The assessment of needs must also consider whether the child or young person requires a co-ordinated support plan.

Children and young people's needs are met through planning for their learning and support, usually through an individualised educational programme (this may have another name such as Additional Support Plan) which sets out targets for learning and the support to be provided (usually termly). For children and young people who have complex or multiple needs which require significant support from education and another agency or agencies a co-ordinated support plan (CSP) may be required. The purpose of the CSP is to support co-ordinated planning to meet pupils' needs. The plan lasts for up to a year.

Young people leaving formal education, may be referred by the school (or other partner organisation) to the Opportunities for All Co-ordinator at the Local Authority for support. Every Local Authority area has an assessment & referral process in place and this will identify whether the young person would benefit from taking part in an Activity Agreement, funded by Scottish Government. The assessment takes into account a young person’s social, academic and vocational skill set in order to create a tailored learning plan which will develop their skills and enable them to progress towards employment.

This government is committed to equality of access to further and higher education for young people regardless of their background. The government and stakeholders are taking forward a number of actions to support those with care experience into and through post-16 education. We have introduced a Care Experience bursary from 2017-18. Young people with care experience undertaking an eligible undergraduate course can now apply for a funding package of tuition fees and a non-repayable bursary of £7,625. This is in addition to the existing grant of up to £105 per week to help with accommodation costs in the summer holidays between years of study.

Universities are taking forward the Commission on Widening Access’ recommendation to ensure that those with a care experience who meet the minimum entry requirements are offered a place at university.

Our Commissioner for Fair Access is developing a Framework that will bring together evidence and research on the best support for disadvantaged students, not just to access but to successfully complete their higher education studies.

The Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) Outcome Agreements ask colleges to remove barriers and support full participation and successful outcomes for all groups of learners in their local community. The SFC introduced a national policy for Further Education bursaries in 2016-17 relating to care-experienced students, asking colleges to ensure this cohort receive the optimum award available, taking into account their wider circumstances. Also, in 2016 the SFC set a National Ambition with an overall target for there to be no difference in the outcomes of care-experienced learners comparative to their peers, and we will continue, through our national improvement programme, to focus on how colleges can raise attainment and improve retention in Scotland’s colleges for all learners.

The proportion of looked-after leavers with one or more qualification at SCQF level 5 or better has more than doubled from 15% to 40% since 2009-10. This is evidence that the attainment of care-experienced young people has been improving.

Whilst this is a step in the right direction, our reforms to Scottish Education are designed to do more to close the gap between our most and least vulnerable children and raise attainment for all. By giving more power to schools, including more direct control over budgets, we will empower schools to target resources where they are needed the most to improve the life chances of all of our children and young people.

Our vision for Scottish education is that it will deliver both excellence and equity. This will ensure children and young people acquire a broad range of skills and capacities at the highest levels. Every child and young person should be given the best opportunity to succeed regardless of their social circumstances or additional needs.

The Scottish Government, working closely with partners, is also investing in young people across Scotland through the seven year programme to Develop the Young Workforce (DYW), with the aim of reducing youth unemployment by 40% by 2021. DYW is bringing employers and education closer together so that young people have a better understanding of the world of work, can make informed choices, and are equipped with the skills they need for their future careers. Schools are working in partnership with employers, colleges and others to provide a range of work-related learning opportunities. This includes a growing range of vocational qualifications in the senior phase of secondary school, which is helping to ensure there is sufficient breadth of opportunity to meet the needs of all young people.

We are also taking action through our Getting it Right for Looked After Children and Young People strategy, which set out our aims through: early engagement, early permanence and improving the quality of care. But we know there is more to do to ensure that children and young people who are care experienced enjoy the same opportunities and outcomes as their peers. That is why we have set up the care review being led by Fiona Duncan to identify what changes might be required to the current care system to put children and young people's needs at its heart.

The Scottish Government has been working with a number of advocacy providers and partners in the children’s hearings system to develop a sustainable model of advocacy provision for children and young people attending hearings.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the participation of children and young people in all areas of their lives, but in particular when they are at their most vulnerable. This can be the case for children attending hearings and a range of measures are being taken forward by individual agencies and the Children’s Hearings Improvement Partnership to better elicit, and respond to, children’s views.

With regard to advocacy, we have been testing potential approaches in a number of areas, with a view to creating a sustainable advocacy system that can be rolled out nationally by enacting section 122 and introducing associated regulations.

It is important that any national advocacy provision complements existing work supporting better participation, and that children are well served by it. We have indicated our intention to Parliament to make major progress in the next two years.

Tackling inequality is at the heart of this government’s agenda and we are committed to improving the lives of looked after children.

Our 2015 Getting It Right For Looked After Children Strategy (GIRFEC) is focussed on ensuring the needs of looked after and care experienced children and young people are at the heart of our wider work to improve their outcomes.

Working closely with partners, the Scottish Government is investing in young people across Scotland through the seven year programme to Develop the Young Workforce (DYW). DYW is bringing employers and education closer together so that young people have a better understanding of the world of work, can make informed choices, and are equipped with the skills they need for their future careers. DYW has a focus on supporting 'looked after children' in the immediate and longer term to help them overcome any barriers they face in accessing learning and employment opportunities.

In line with DYW, the Scottish Government is funding a number of employability programmes aimed at helping young people with complex needs, including those with care experience, to achieve positive outcomes. For example, Local Authority Activity Agreements, the Inspiring Scotland 14:19 Fund and the Community Jobs Scotland programme provide personal support as well as training or work experience opportunities for young care experienced people. In addition, in 2017-18, we are providing funding of almost £1.2 million to a third sector Consortium of Barnardo's, the Prince's Trust and Action for Children to launch the pilot of a new employability programme - 'Discovering Your Potential' - specifically for young care experienced people. The programme will deliver long-term, intensive, through and after-care personal and employability support, to help young people achieve positive outcomes.

A new initiative for 2017 is: 'Our Hearing-Our Voice' (OHOV), a Young People's Board. OHOV is aimed at supporting and improving the Children’s Hearing system, but will also provide training and employability support for around 30 young care experienced people recruited to work with the Board.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) published its Equalities Action Plan for Modern Apprenticeships in Scotland on 2 December 2015. The plan has a focus to increase the number of young disabled people, ethnic minority groups and care leavers entering Modern Apprenticeships. From April 2017, enhanced contribution rates will provide young disabled and care experienced people, up to the age of 29, with the highest level of Modern Apprenticeship funding for their chosen Frameworks. Furthermore, SDS is Working with key partners to introduce strategies that support individuals with care experience to sustain and achieve their apprenticeship.

The vision for Scottish education is that it will deliver both excellence in terms of ensuring children and young people acquire a broad range of skills and capacities at the highest levels, whilst also delivering equity so that every child and young person should thrive and have the best opportunity to succeed regardless of their social circumstances or additional needs.

To support this education authorities and other agencies have duties under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004 (as amended) to identify, provide for and review the additional support needs of their pupils. An additional support need is a barrier to learning which can arise for any reason and be of short or long term duration. Additional support may be required to overcome needs arising from learning environment; health or disability; family circumstances or social and emotional factors. Looked After Children and young people are deemed to have additional support needs until they are assessed otherwise.

The proportion of looked-after leavers with one or more qualification at SCQF level 5 or better has more than doubled from 15% to 40% since 2009-10 – evidence that the attainment of care-experienced young people has been improving but for some of Scotland’s most vulnerable young people.

The Scottish Government does not collect national data on the numbers of care experienced young people who receive independent advocacy to support them across a range of domains and experiences, including – additional support needs, mental health, children’s hearings, Looked After Children Reviews and child protection proceedings. Advocacy can be accessed by young people themselves through Local Authorities, third sector organisations or other private providers. The Scottish Independent Advocacy Alliance maintains a directory of independent advocacy services.

In the case of Children's Hearings, some limited provision exists thanks to the work of voluntary organisations. Section 122 of the Children's Hearings (Scotland) Act 2011, including a regulation-making power for the Scottish Ministers to make provision for advocacy for children’s hearings and an obligation on the chairing Member to advise children of the availability of those services, is not yet commenced. Ministers have indicated that they plan to make significant progress in this area over the next two years, and an announcement will be made in due course.

However, Scottish Government has funded action research projects on advocacy for children in hearings since 2015 in Fife, Highland, Dundee and North Lanarkshire. These projects have provided an advocate for 88 children and young people to support them at their Children's Hearing.

It is the responsibility of each local authority to use resources as efficiently as possible and deliver services effectively to ensure taxpayers get the best possible value. How this is done is a matter for each council - councils are autonomous bodies, responsible for managing their own day to day business and answerable to their electorates.

We will expect to obtain credible evidence of actual uptake from local authority returns, which will be collected in 2017-18 and published from 2019 in the annual National Statistics publication Children’s Social Work Statistics. We will consider this, and any other information that we obtain from across local authorities, to monitor numbers and support local authorities to ensure they offer support best suited to each care leaver.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the age at which local authorities cease to track the outcomes of care-experienced young people.

The Scottish Government collects data from local authorities on children and young people who are looked after and/or in receipt of aftercare services, which includes data on their health, housing status and employment status.

The Scottish Government data collection from local authority social work departments ends when either 1) the child leaves care (majority at or before age 18) and does not take up aftercare services; 2) the young person is no longer in receipt of aftercare services (at or before age 26).

We are unable to say what information local government may collect that is not requested by Scottish Government.