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Questions and answers

Parliamentary questions can be asked by any MSP to the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. The questions provide a means for MSPs to get factual and statistical information.

Written questions must be answered within 10 working days (20 working days during recess)
Other questions such as Topical, Portfolio, General and First Minister's Question Times are taken in the Chamber

Urgent Questions aren't included in the Question and Answers search. There is a SPICe fact sheet listing Urgent and emergency questions.

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Question reference: S6W-21799

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what its response is to the recommendations of the Implementation Evaluation of No One Left Behind and the Young Person's Guarantee.

Learning and evaluation continue to be a key aspect of our approach to employability services in Scotland.

The Implementation evaluation of the development and early delivery of No One Left Behind and the Young Person’s Guarantee was commissioned by the Scottish Government and published on 10 August 2023.

We will consider the recommendations from the evaluation alongside the outputs from our recent national stakeholder discussion events and actions will be reviewed to identify how we can improve.

Question reference: S6W-21802

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to offering funding for employability services on a multi-year basis.

Question reference: S6W-21800

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 24 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what consideration it has given to offering further support to local authorities for (a) data collection and (b) reporting on the (i) No One Left Behind and (ii) Young Person's Guarantee programme.

Data collection and reporting for devolved employability services delivered under the No One Left Behind approach occurs quarterly, with provision in all 32 Local Authority areas aligning with the Employability Shared Measurement Framework. To support this, we have worked with Local Authorities in their Lead Accountable Body role to develop a single reporting template, and accompanying guidance, which has been made publicly available. This reporting contributes to our quarterly statistical publication.

Data collection and reporting has been a key theme identified in our recent national stakeholder discussion events and the actions will be reviewed to identify how we can improve. This will be outlined in the Strategic Plan and National Improvement Plan which will be published later this financial year.

We will continue to work with partners to refine data collection and reporting practices, including identifying where additional support would be beneficial.

Question reference: S6T-01590

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Monday, 23 October 2023
Current Status: Taken in the Chamber on 24 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government whether it will provide an update on the recently announced Centre of Teaching Excellence.

Question reference: S6W-21786

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what guidance it has given to management staff in employability services on the promotion of the Young Person's Guarantee to frontline staff, work and career coaches, employer engagement leads and training providers since it was launched.

Support available through the Young Person’s Guarantee was delivered through Local Employability Partnerships, with Local Authorities acting as lead accountable body.

Employability support for young people is now delivered through No One Left Behind, which continues to utilise the Local Employability Partnership approach for delivery of support.

Awareness and promotion of the Young Person’s Guarantee among employability staff was achieved using existing networks and communication channels.

Question reference: S6W-21792

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to support the third sector in reaching people who are not engaging with employability services, particularly in relation to the Young Person's Guarantee and No One Left Behind programme.

We recognise the important role the third sector can play in supporting people to access support they are entitled to and are committed to working in partnership to develop our devolved approach to employability.

Both Scottish and Local Government have been clear that No One Left Behind will deliver a mixed economy of provision at a local level, meaning organisations including those in the third sector can continue to have a role in providing support based on local demand.

At a local level, Local Employability Partnerships (LEPs) bring together a range of partners including the third sector to build local capacity and take a collective leadership approach to decision making within their local areas to meet service user and labour market needs.

Question reference: S6W-21788

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government how many Employer Recruitment Incentives have been created as part of the Young Person's Guarantee since it was launched.

Support available through the Young Person’s Guarantee was delivered through Local Employability Partnerships, with Local Authorities acting as lead accountable body.

Specific details on Employer Recruitment Incentives are not held by the Scottish Government, therefore requests for this information would need to be directed towards Local Authorities.

Employability contacts for each local authority can be found on the Employability in Scotland website which can be accessed here: https://www.employabilityinscotland.com/local-employability-services/

Question reference: S6W-21797

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to improve the promotion of employability services in rural areas.

No One Left Behind is a place-based approach which sees decisions about services taken locally.

Design and delivery of employability services that meet the needs of users and local labour markets is the responsibility of the Local Employability Partnership (LEP). To support this, and ensure national coherence, we co-designed employability service standards with partners and users. LEPs are required to uphold the expectations set out in the service standards, including ensuring their services are accessible and take account of the experience of users across every area of Scotland.

Learning and evaluation continue to be a key aspect of our approach to employability services in Scotland.

We will consider the recommendations from the implementation evaluation of No One Left Behind and the Young Person’s Guarantee, alongside the outputs from our recent national stakeholder discussion events and actions will be reviewed to identify how we can improve.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with local government partners in each local authority to promote and drive an increase in the reach of our services across all of Scotland.

Question reference: S6W-21794

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what support and guidance it provides to the third sector on the promotion of employability services.

The Scottish Government continues to work closely with local employability partners in each local authority to promote and drive an increase in the reach of our services across all of Scotland.

At a local level, Local Employability Partnerships will deliver a mixed economy of provision bringing together a range of partners including, third sector organisations, ensuring that they continue to have a core role in provision of support based on local demand.

Question reference: S6W-21791

Asked by: Pam Duncan-Glancy, MSP for Glasgow, Scottish Labour
Date lodged: Wednesday, 27 September 2023
Current Status: Answered by Neil Gray on 23 October 2023

To ask the Scottish Government what action it is taking to address reported concerns that its communications on the Young Person's Guarantee and No One Left Behind programme are not sufficiently integrated.

The Young Person’s Guarantee was introduced in response to the Covid-19 pandemic as a measure to prevent long-term adverse impacts for young people in the labour market. It contained a number of aspects, covering skills, education, and employability. Employability support for young people is now delivered through No One Left Behind, as part of the long-term ambition to simplify the employability landscape for service users.

In recognition of the importance of the employability aspect of the Young Person’s Guarantee, we commissioned a joint Implementation evaluation of No One Left Behind and the Young Person’s Guarantee to inform future direction of devolved employability support. This was published on 10 August 2023.

We will consider the recommendations from the evaluation alongside the outputs from our recent national stakeholder discussion events and actions will be reviewed to identify how we can improve.