Chamber and committees

Childcare is not being provided directly at face-to-face Experience Panels meetings. We are determined, however, that there should be as few barriers as possible to participation, and are therefore reimbursing panel members for travel and childcare costs incurred as part of their contribution to designing and building a new Social Security system for Scotland.

The Scottish Government commissioned Timewise to deliver the Flexible Jobs Index Scotland. Timewise are responsible for publishing the Flexible Jobs Index Scotland, not the Scottish Government. It is our current understanding that the Index will be published in September.

On 19 July 2017, a total of 16,595 air weapon owners had been licensed since the air weapons legislation took effect on 31 December 2016. Individuals are licensed rather than guns, therefore there is no record of the number of weapons kept by each licence holder.

Information is not available on the number of unlicensed owners and guns. No records of air weapon numbers were kept before the air weapons regime came into effect.

The Skills Investment Plan: Prospectus for Scotland's early learning and childcare sector was published on 23 March 2017. The Prospectus is available online at: http://www.skillsdevelopmentscotland.co.uk/media/43127/early-learning-and-childcare-sip-digital.pdf. The Skills Investment Plan is a live document and an updated version will be produced by the end of October 2017, for publication alongside our Quality Action Plan.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-10384 on 9 August 2017. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

Local authorities are currently developing early learning and childcare expansion plans, which include anticipated workforce requirements each year, and which are due to be submitted to the Scottish Government by 29 September 2017. We are working with local authorities and other partners to profile the recruitment of new entrants to the workforce ahead of the expanded entitlement coming into effect in 2020.

This information is not held centrally. The Scottish Funding Council are the Public Body responsible for this information. They can be contacted at:

Scottish Funding Council, Apex 2, 97 Haymarket Terrace, Edinburgh EH12 5HD.

We are committed to ensuring that an appropriately skilled workforce is in place to deliver the expanded entitlement to early learning and childcare. We will continue to build capacity in the workforce up to 2020 through a variety of pathways including apprenticeships and further and higher education courses to ensure that adequate training and education provision is in place to meet the demands of the expansion.

The Scottish Government is engaging with stakeholders and users extensively around the Learner Journey Review including representatives drawn from public bodies and agencies, the third sector and private organisations with expertise of the learning system, as well as organisations representing the interests of parents, young people and employers. In addition, we have run a series of engagement events with colleges and their partners across Scotland to gather perspectives at a regional level.

The Review will consider what improvements can be made to the learner journey from the perspective of young people, and we are engaging with young people directly to enable this. We have commissioned research, undertaken by SQW Consultancy in partnership with Young Scot, into young people’s experience of the education and training system in Scotland. Stage 1 of the Learner Journey Review will report in the autumn, and will set out proposals for improvements. The Scottish Government will continue to engage closely with stakeholders and delivery partners on the implementation of the Review, and will undertake formal consultation on outputs from Stage 1 should that be appropriate.

To protect those on the lowest incomes from cost of living increases, the Scottish Government will ensure that from 2021 the first of £12,750 of the non-saving and non-dividend income of a Scottish taxpayer is tax free. If necessary, in 2021 the Scottish Government will create a zero rate band above the Personal Allowance to ensure that this protection for low income taxpayers is delivered. Detailed income tax proposals for the financial year ahead, including the financial implications will be set out each year by the Scottish Government at the Draft Budget.