Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold this information.

We have published resource planning assumptions covering 2021-2026. When annual financial year expenditure is concluded and finalised we publish an annual out-turn report which illustrates actual spend compared to original resource planning assumptions at the start of the financial year. The report for 2022-23 is currently being finalised but the report for 2021-22 can be found here – Affordable Housing Supply Programme: out-turn report 2021-22 - ( www.gov.scot )

Workforce numbers are reviewed regularly to make sure the Scottish Government is delivering its policy priorities efficiently and effectively. Enhanced recruitment controls are in place to ensure best value for taxpayers’ money, however these operate at the level of the Scottish Government, and there is no specific recruitment cap set centrally with workforce decisions managed across directorates and their divisions.

The Scottish Government collects information on the composition of households making homelessness applications through the HL1 data collection. This includes information on the number of children in the household. The HL3 data collection collects information about temporary accommodation placements connected to homelessness applications.

An additional question was added to the HL3 data collection in 2019 to ask if a child is in the temporary accommodation placement. Although all local authorities have been able to provide this data from April 2022, as this is the first time a full set of data has been available, this is subject to on-going quality assurance. Therefore, information relating to the presence of children within temporary accommodation placements has been derived by linking household records between the HL1 and HL3 data collections. However, it is important to note that households may sometimes make alternative arrangements for children when entering temporary accommodation and therefore it is not always the case that children included in the HL1 return are present in associated temporary accommodation placements. It can also be the case that children are present for only part of the stay in temporary accommodation e.g. as part of shared custody arrangements.

Data on temporary accommodation taken from the HL3 data collection is only available for all local authorities from 2017-18, however, this includes temporary accommodation placements which commenced prior to 2017-18. In addition, some local authorities have provided data prior to 2017-18 and, where this is available it has been included.

Information at individual (person or household) level cannot be provided due to data confidentiality.

The following table shows the distribution of time spent in temporary accommodation for households with children included in homelessness applications for each local authority. The figures are based on homelessness applications made since 1 January 2016 that closed on, or prior to, 31 March 2023 with at least one associated temporary accommodation placement. Note that figures may be based on the total duration of multiple temporary accommodation placements taken up by a household.

Figures have been rounded to the nearest 5 due to small numbers in some categories.

These figures may include households who have turned down multiple offers of settled accommodation by the local authority and chosen to stay in temporary accommodation instead.

Time spent in temporary accommodation for households with children included in the homelessness application (number of households)

Households with an open homelessness application from 1 January 2016 which was closed at, or prior to 31 March 2023 with at least one associated temporary accommodation placement*

The quarterly statistics covering the period to end June 2023 are planned to be published on 12 September. The quarterly statistics for the period including to end August are expected to be published in December.

The following table shows the number of homes approved from applications received from (a) registered social landlords (b) local authorities since the National Acquisition Plan was announced on 19 July 2023. This information is to 24 August 2023:

The Scottish Government is required to deliver a balanced budget and outturn in each year. This has been consistently delivered through prudent and effective financial management, balancing fiscal constraints with priorities. In July 2021 Scottish Government launched the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF), which subsumed the Neonatal Expenses Fund (NEF) to create a single unified fund. These funds are demand led and the Scottish Government has ensured full funding against demand in each year since 2018/19.

The new model will see Scotland moving to a networked model of three neonatal intensive care units (NICU) working alongside local neonatal units (LNU) and special care units (SCU), supported by transitional care and community care services. This aligns with existing service models across the UK.

The transfer and repatriation of mother and babies is a normal component of neonatal care provision in Scotland, ensuring babies receive the most appropriate care at the correct time.

In order to support health boards to move forward with detailed implementation planning, the Scottish Government will commission healthcare planning expertise to undertake national capacity and modelling work.

We will now work with all Health Boards affected to plan for and implement this service change over the course of the next year, informed by the testing that has been underway over the last few years.

We will continue to provide funding to these Health Boards to help transition to the new model.

The Scottish Government has not routinely published expenditure for The Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF) as Health Boards have, up to now, been developing mechanisms to ensure the recording of full and accurate YPFF data.

We are continuing to work with NHS Boards to ensure the comprehensive recording of data and we will aim to publish YPFF data routinely following the conclusion of that work.

Evidence shows that the very smallest and sickest babies, including those born extremely premature (below 27 weeks), do best when they are cared for in larger specialist neonatal units which look after a lot of these babies, and have the right staff and services available on site to give them the very best care. The Best Start report recommended that we move to three of these units in Scotland, to meet the needs of our population, and neonatal experts then went through a rigorous process to decide on the three NICUs of the ERI in Edinburgh, the RHC in Glasgow, and the Aberdeen Maternity Hospital.

The Best Start emphasises parents as key partners in caring for their baby and aims to keep mothers and babies, and families together as much as possible in the crucial early weeks, with services designed around them. We have a number of measures already in place to support families with babies in neonatal care:

• Providing accommodation for parents to stay on or near neonatal units and facilities within the unit to encourage kangaroo skin to skin care and early support for breastfeeding;
• Roll out of the Young Patients Family Fund (formerly the Neonatal Expenses Fund) to support all families with the costs of travel, accommodation and food whilst their baby is in neonatal care; and
• Repatriating babies to their local neonatal units as soon as clinically possible

As part of the next phase, Scottish Government will be consulting with families in the affected areas on implementation of the proposals, so that we can take account of their concerns when the pathways and processes for the new model of care are designed.

This will affect a very small number of families however it is important that we hear the voices of those families to input into design of service delivery.