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The Scottish Government has spent £764,909,056 on Pupil Equity Funding since 2017-18 to 2022-23. This funding is allocated to all 32 local authorities, as well as Grant Maintained schools. The breakdown of funding by year is publicly available on the Scottish Government website - Pupil attainment: closing the gap - Schools - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

Delivery under No One Left Behind commenced in April 2019. The annual allocations from this point are set out in the following table.

A breakdown of Pupil Equity Funding allocations to each local authority is publicly available on the Scottish Government website - Pupil attainment: closing the gap - Schools - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

As of close of business on 20 June 2022 a total of 410,721 cards had been issued under the Young Persons Scheme (YPS) through the National Entitlement Card scheme and Transport Scot Pass Collect mobile application.

The Improvement Service is responsible for the application process and issue of the National Entitlement Cards. They are being supported by Scottish Government to work with local authorities to identify and support improvements to both online and offline processes to maximise the uptake of scheme and increase accessibility for children and young people. I met with the Improvement Service in late April to make clear our expectations for delivery of the scheme and to ensure they continue to streamline the online process. I will shortly be writing to local authorities seeking assurance on their processes for handling offline applications and providing support if needed.

Transport Scotland also launched the Transport Scot Collect App on 28 February which allows existing Young Scot cardholders aged 16 and over to add the free travel product onto their existing card.

The SPCB provides support to staff who suffer from recurrent illnesses, including migraine.  The SPCB recognises that most people with migraine can manage their condition and work effectively, with the right information and support in place.  Managers and MSPs, in their capacity as employers, are encouraged to create a positive workplace culture, including holding regular conversations with team members about wellbeing so that additional support needs can be identified.  

Members, their staff, and SPS staff also have access to a range of health and wellbeing related policies, advice and services including the Parliament’s Occupational Health Service, which can provide workplace assessments or referral to medical specialists.  The SPCB is also committed to providing a Safe place of work and fully complies with workplace health, safety and welfare requirements including ensuring the availability of water, good lighting, good ventilation and a reasonable working temperature. 

The SPCB also provides support to individuals including:

• Reasonable adjustments including the provision of assistive equipment;
• Localised adjustments to reduce brightness in individual work areas;
• Health and wellbeing training, including stress awareness and managing your physical working from home arrangements;
• Free eye tests;
• Adjustable DSE workstation equipment;
• stress risk assessments, as required;
• Quiet working space in the Holyrood building;
• A good mix of natural and electric lighting and an environment which is free of excessive noise and odours.
  

Staff can also access flexible working arrangements, including flexible working hours and time off for medical appointments. 

When compared to the Migraine Trust’s definition of a migraine-friendly employer the Parliament is well placed.  However, the SPCB continues to review the support it provides to staff.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia are able access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

The Transforming Cancer Care Programme (TCC), where the Scottish Government is working in partnership with Macmillan, aims to ensure that every cancer patient in Scotland has access to a specialist key support worker, who can provide emotional, financial and practical support to those who need it most.

This service will also benefit clinicians, by freeing up time that may have been spent providing this support, and means they will have more time to offer direct medical and clinical support to patients.

Information on the qualifications of teachers is not collected centrally by the Scottish Government. A report commissioned by the Scottish Government and carried out by the Scottish Sensory Centre in 2016 showed that there were 65 teachers working with visually impaired pupils reported as being qualified, with an additional 15 teachers working towards qualification.

The Scottish Government is committed to increase the capacity and expertise of school staff to support pupils with visual impairments. We fund the Scottish Sensory Centre to provide specialist training to school staff to support pupils with a sensory impairment.

Under the Requirements for Teachers (Scotland) Regulations 2005, education authorities are responsible for ensuring that teachers employed to teach pupils who are visually impaired hold an appropriate qualification. We are also working with partners to update the existing qualifications guidance for teachers of deaf and visually impaired children and young persons to ensure staff have the latest advice on routes to professional qualification.

Through the See Hear strategy, the Scottish Government and COSLA are committed to supporting children and young people who are affected by sight loss or blindness to access the services and social care they need. The strategy supports them to get direct assistance when they need it.

In addition, the Additional Support for Learning Act (2004) requires education authorities to identify, provide for, and review the additional support needs of their pupils. This includes support for children and young people with visual impairments. Other agencies, such as NHS Health Boards and social work services can be asked to help identify needs and provide support under the Act.

Following an assessment of children and young people’s needs, local authorities are responsible for putting in place appropriate support and interventions to support children and young people, including the provision of appropriate equipment.

The Scottish Government funds the Scottish Sensory Centre and CALL Scotland to provide advice and training to school staff on support, including the use of assistive technology, for children and young people with specific communication and sensory needs.

The Scottish Government/COSLA See Hear strategy expresses the Scottish Government’s commitment to supporting children and adults who have sight loss/visual impairment, deafness and dual sensory loss to access the services and social care they need. The strategy presents a framework for actions which includes emphasis on children and young people with a sensory loss receiving appropriate and timely intervention in the early years and for as long as is required.

The Visual Impairment Network for Children and Young People (VINCYP) aims to improve the care for children and young people with a visual impairment. VINCYP involves professionals working in local authorities (education and social work), health, parents/carers of children and young people with a visual impairment and voluntary sector organisations, and has local implementation groups in addition to the national network.

VINCYP has developed a Pathway of Care and related standards, self-assessment frameworks and good practice guidelines to ensure that children and young people with a visual impairment are provided with effective support as early as possible.

VINCYP does not provide Visual Impairment (VI) services in Scotland and has no role in the outsourcing of services. The VINCYP pathway and standards highlight the services which are required for children and young people with VI and their families in each local authority area. VINCYP could offer specialist advice for local authority commissioners on service specifications for outsourcing services, but cannot offer advice on particular providers.

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 requires education authorities to identify, provide for, and review the additional support needs of their pupils. This includes support for children and young people with visual impairments. Other agencies, health and social work services can be asked to help identify needs and provide support under the Act. The statutory code of practice sets out guidance for authorities and partners on the requirements of the Act.

The Scottish Government also funds the Scottish Sensory Centre and CALL Scotland to provide advice and training to school staff on support, including the use of assistive technology, for children and young people with specific communication and sensory needs.

We are committed to supporting patients to deal with the emotional and physical effects of cancer. We are currently working in partnership with Macmillan to improve the service we offer cancer patients through the Transforming Cancer Care Programme (TCC). This joint partnership with Macmillan is worth £18 million, and is the first of its kind in the UK. The programme looks to ensure that every cancer patient in Scotland has access to specialist key support worker, who can provide emotional, financial and practical support to those who need it most. This partnership is the first of its kind in the UK.

To ensure vital services of support for patients continued throughout the pandemic we established the third sector resilience fund and the wellbeing fund as part of a £350 million support fund announced on 18 March 2020. The £15 million Adult Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund was announced on 15 October 2021. This is the first year of a two year Fund to support mental health and wellbeing in communities across Scotland.

As part of our Cancer Recovery Plan, a new National Framework has been developed to support people affected by cancer. Launching in Spring 2022, the Framework not only sets out general principles for high quality holistic care, but also incorporates a number of tools that will aid implementation across Scotland. The Framework highlights the four levels of psychological care and support which are supported through expert evidence, and presents two models for implementation that are applicable across sectors, including health, care and the third-sector.

Cancer prehabilitation can support patients with the mental and physical challenges of living with cancer. A Cancer Prehabilitation Implementation Steering Group was convened in April 2021 to support and oversee the implementation and evaluation of comprehensive prehabilitation and evaluation whilst three subgroups look to: develop a digital resource that will improve access to education and training, improve access to psychological care and support and develop and implement a nutrition framework for prehabilitation.