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The Scottish Funding Council’s University Upskilling Fund was introduced in 2019. The total spend across the Fund’s operational period from 2019-2024 was £33,672,015.

This information is not held centrally.

The Transport (Scotland) Act 2019 places a duty upon all local authorities to enforce the new parking prohibitions. It is for each local authority to determine how best to enforce these prohibitions in their area. Transport Scotland annually collates figures on income and expenditure and Penalty Charge Notices issued, which now includes pavement parking. The most recent report was published in December 2024 and can be found at the following link: Decriminalised Parking Enforcement (DPE) Report 2023-2024 | Transport Scotland

Transport Scotland facilitated a Parking Standards Group with representatives from all 32 local authorities, in advance of the 2019 Act becoming law. During these meetings, in depth discussions were held around the enforcement of the new parking prohibitions. Transport Scotland also issued detailed guidance to all local authorities providing them with a procedure to follow to enforce the prohibitions This guidance also addressed any subsequent queries raised by local authorities.

Officials are in ongoing discussions with SCOTS and COSLA in respect of the funding mechanism for the relevant costs associated with the new prohibitions. Once those discussions have been concluded we will be in a position to reimburse any further eligible costs incurred by local authorities.

Transport Scotland provided £2.4 million to local authorities for the completion of their road assessments to identify if there are areas of footway they may wish to exempt from the national pavement parking ban. It is not for Transport Scotland to assess how local authorities undertook their road assessments. Local authorities are best placed to make informed decisions on the management of their local road network and to assess which of the footways within their area are suitable for exemption, in line with ministerial directions.

We review YouthLink Scotland’s No Knives, Better Lives programme regularly to consider how it can continue to help prevent violence and reduce its harm. Part of this work has included the creation of the Quit Fighting for Likes Campaign, developed by the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit, YouthLink Scotland No Knives, Better Lives and Medics Against Violence. Launched on 11 September 2024, the campaign provides a suite of resources aimed at frontline practitioners to help engage young people in conversations to help them understand the impact and harms caused around the filming and sharing of violent incidents.

The campaign, including the accompanying practitioner resources, remain available to access on the websites of the Scottish Violence Reduction Unit and YouthLink Scotland No Knives, Better Lives. It is intended that the campaign will be re-run again after the school summer holidays.

Scotland was the first country in the world to run a dedicated Year of Young People in 2018. It aimed to inspire Scotland through our young people by celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and on the international stage.

During Year of Young People 2018 the Scottish Government made a commitment to give young people in Scotland greater opportunities to have their voices heard and listened to by decision makers.

That commitment has been honoured. Last year, Scotland became the first country in the UK and the first devolved nation in the world to incorporate the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) into its domestic law. Among the rights in the UNCRC is the right for all children under the age of 18 to express a view in relation to decisions that affect them, and for their views to be given due weight in accordance with their age and maturity.

As set out in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (Incorporation) (Scotland) Act 2024, we are committed to ensuring that children and young people across Scotland have access to actively participate in decision making processes, which directly affect them. We recognise the importance of meaningful and robust engagement with children and young people so that they are empowered, involved and included. This means working in partnership with them, their representative organisations and other public bodies, to ensure that their voices are central to informing policy that is child friendly, youth led, inclusive and representative.

In addition, recognising the shared responsibility to respect and protect children’s rights and embed child rights practice into all of our everyday work, the Scottish Government has published non-statutory guidance on Taking a children's human rights approach: guidance to assist this work.

The Scottish Government’s own commitment to meaningfully engage with children and young people is demonstrated by the annual meetings between children and young people and the Scottish Government Executive Team and Cabinet. These provide an opportunity for decision makers at the highest level of government to hear to the voices of children and young people and understand the issues that matter most to them.

Work since 2018 has also included initiatives to celebrate the contribution that young people make to society. This has included the Scottish Government’s Saltire Awards, which celebrate youth volunteering, and the Young Scot Awards, which celebrate the outstanding achievements of young people in Scotland.

There are therefore no current plans for future Themed Years, or to repeat another dedicated Year of Young People. Instead the Scottish Government will continue to celebrate the contribution that young people make, strengthen their voices, and importantly ensure their views continue to be heard directly by decision makers.

The Scottish Government, through policy initiatives such as Getting it right for every child, emphasises the importance of professionals such as social workers and teachers working together to achieve the best outcomes for children and young people. This will continue as we work towards delivering the Promise.

At present the Scottish Government does not routinely gather data regarding the exact locations where social workers are co-located in schools. The Whole Family Wellbeing Fund (WFWF) programme however has a key core component of implementing a whole systems approach and has supported several initiatives throughout Scotland to enable young people to engage with social workers school.

Examples of these are located in:

South Lanarkshire

A family support programme called ‘Pathfinders’ is working with secondary schools and social workers to contact and support young people who are disengaged from school, with a focus on preventing the child or young person being taken into care.

This programme was established prior to WFWF in three secondary schools in 2019, and expanded to seven in total. Evaluation has shown that by the end of March 2023-2024 the programme had worked with 534 young people and families.

South Lanarkshire reports indicate a range of improvements relating to young people’s meaningful participation in school or learning. The report also indicated that young people were able to recognise positive changes in their behaviour and wellbeing. Young people also expressed trust in Pathfinder officers, saying they feel listened to and understood.

Fife

A test of change project provided early access to social work support in two localities. The project provided drop-in services in schools that focussed on: building supportive networks for families within the local communities. The project also provided advice on benefits, housing, fuel poverty, social isolation and mental health. Senior practitioners were recruited to work with a small number of children and young people to provide early help in schools, specifically to avoid exclusions.