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The National Trauma Training Programme (NTTP) provides freely available and evidence based trauma training resources for the whole workforce, including education and health professionals, supported by over £8 million investment since 2018. This is key to ensuring that children, young people and their families are supported effectively by workforces and services that recognise the impact of adverse and traumatic experiences, and provide support which is centred around relationships and causes no further harm.

In 2023, the Scottish Government will publish a long-term delivery plan for the NTTP which will include an outline of future commitments and priorities for supporting trauma-informed practice across the children and families workforce.

Education Scotland has also developed a Keeping Trauma in Mind professional learning programme to support education practitioners across Scotland with their knowledge, understanding and skills required to support children and young people (including adoptees) who may be impacted by trauma.

In 2023-24, the Scottish Government has allocated over £480,000 directly to organisations delivering support for adoptive families, including parents. This funding supports a range of initiatives, including: a national helpline; services for practitioners; an Adoption Contact Register; Adoption Week Scotland; and Adoption UK’s PATHways service which provides therapeutic and peer support.

Future funding commitments are subject to the outcome of any spending review by the Scottish Government and approval of the annual Budget Bills by the Scottish Parliament.

The Scottish Government’s Care Experienced Children and Young People’s Fund (CECYPF) has provided over £50 million to local authorities since 2018 to support children and young people’s attainment and wellbeing. The Fund is for care experienced children and young people, including those who have been adopted.

CECYPF has been used for a range of work, for example inclusion support teams who provide direct trauma-informed help to young people to be fully included in educational settings. The Fund has also supported extensive staff training, including for primary and secondary school teachers, to develop more trauma informed educators, to enable care experienced children to learn efficiently and effectively.

Education Scotland has also developed a Keeping Trauma in Mind professional learning programme for education practitioners, including primary and secondary school teachers, across Scotland. The programme develops the skills, knowledge and understanding required to support children and young people (including adoptees) who may be impacted by trauma.

Under The Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, local authorities have a duty to assess someone’s needs for adoption support services and then provide that support. This applies to a wide range of people affected by adoption, including all adoptees irrespective of their age.

As part of our commitment to Keep the Promise, the Scottish Government is looking at the package of support available to all care experienced people, regardless of their age. We recognise that the impact of care experience can be lifelong and we are working to ensure that all care experienced people, including adoptees, irrespective of their age, are given the support they need to realise their full potential.

Under the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007, local authorities have a duty to assess someone’s need for adoption support services and then provide that support. This may include counselling and guidance for parents who have adopted or may adopt a child, as well as assistance in relation to the adoption process, including preparation for adoption.

In 2023-24, the Scottish Government allocated over £480,000 directly to organisations delivering support for adoptive families and practitioners. This funding supports a range of initiatives, including: a national helpline; services for practitioners; an Adoption Contact Register; Adoption Week Scotland; and Adoption UK’s PATHways service. PATHways is a free therapeutic intervention programme which helps adoptive parents to achieve better outcomes for their children by giving them early access to a clinical psychologist and peer support.

The Scottish Government has also allocated £32 million in 2023-24 to Children’s Services Planning Partnerships in local areas as part of the Whole Family Wellbeing programme of activity, which aims to deliver transformational change to improve holistic whole family support, including for adoptive parents.

Under the Adoption Agencies Regulations (Scotland) 2009, each local authority or adoption agency which is carrying out functions such as the assessment of prospective adopters must appoint an adoption panel.

The Scottish Government’s 2011 Guidance on the Looked After Children (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and the Adoption and Children (Scotland) Act 2007 sets out that the adoption panel should reflect the community from which children and families may come, as adopters are wide ranging and panels need to be informed and sensitive to issues around ethnicity, beliefs, sexuality and lifestyles.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring all people living in Scotland with neurological conditions, such as Essential Tremor, are able to access the best possible care, support and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care

Subject to eligibility criteria, NHS Boards are responsible for providing travel assistance where travel is required for medical reasons. The Scottish Government provides the overall guidance to NHS Boards, and individual Boards are responsible for developing and applying their own policies taking account of local circumstances.

We recognise that points have been made around the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership and whether young people need more protection.

This is why we have been meeting with interested stakeholders.

There are a range of views here. Increasing the minimum age can be argued to increase safeguards for young people, but such a change can also be seen as removing their right to marry or to enter a civil partnership. Additionally, given the range of rights that people acquire when they reach 16, we need to consider carefully whether broader implications would arise from a change to the minimum age of marriage.

The number of registered marriages in Scotland involving 16- and 17-year-olds is very low. However, we are also aware that there are some concerns regarding unregistered marriage ceremonies and about children and young people being taken abroad to be married.

The forced marriage offence in England and Wales has recently been extended, so that it is an offence there in all circumstances to do anything intended to cause a child to marry before they turn 18. No form of coercion requires to be used and the offence applies where the marriage is to take place outside England and Wales, and regardless of whether the marriage would have legal effect.

We would need to assess if this approach would be right for Scotland. Introducing a similar measure here might have the adverse impact of driving forced marriages even further underground. Forcing someone into marriage is already a criminal offence in Scotland and applies to any religious or civil ceremony of marriage whether or not legally binding. This offence will extend later this year to include forced civil partnerships.

The Scottish Government will continue to listen to stakeholders and the wider debate, as we actively consider our next steps. This will help ensure that we properly assess the potential impacts of changes and, if we take forward a full public consultation, that this includes robust evidence.

Since my response to S6W-16048 was issued, my officials have met with representatives from the following organisations:

The Church of Scotland

The Free Church of Scotland

Sikhs in Scotland

The United Free Church of Scotland

We have additionally received written views on the minimum age of marriage and civil partnership from the Equality Network.

Invitations to meet have been issued to representatives of all the other organisations that my response to S6W-16048 indicates we planned to meet.

I am meeting Pauline Latham MP after the summer recess. Ms Latham promoted the Marriage and Civil Partnership (Minimum Age) Bill in the Westminster Parliament. That Bill once passed and implemented led to an increase in the minimum age of marriage in England and Wales from 16 to 18.

The member is welcome to write to me with details of any other interested groups who want to be involved.