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Playgroups can currently deliver early learning and childcare in partnership with the local authority to meet the current entitlement (as set out in my answer to

S5W-07418 on 8 March 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

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

As outlined in response to S5W-07417 on 8 March 2017, the Care Inspectorate has a statutory responsibility to inspect and regulate all registered providers of day care, including playgroups, against the ‘National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16’. However, each setting is ultimately responsible for ensuring they meet the requirements set out in the various guidance and legislation governing early learning and childcare.

Early Years Scotland provides support to early learning and childcare settings to ensure the highest quality provision for children. There are a number of strands to their work, including supporting their members, working in partnership with local authorities (including Aberdeenshire) and delivering services direct to children and families. All of their staff are fully qualified early years professionals. Early Years Scotland provides a wide variety of information and guidance and template policies that settings can use as a basis for developing their own specific, local policies. Early Years Scotland ‘Development Support Officers’ work across Scotland, working directly both with members and, where they are working in partnership with a local authority, non-members.

We are not aware of Principal Teachers being deployed in voluntary settings such as playgroups. However, anyone who is managing/providing an Early Learning and Childcare setting, is ultimately accountable for the care and education of the children in that setting.

There is a requirement for all childcare registered with the Care Inspectorate (including playgroups) to have an early years manager/lead practitioner. This manager can be shared with other services if the Care Inspectorate agrees to a peripatetic management arrangement.

It is a requirement of the SSSC that every manager/lead practitioner of a daycare of children service must be either:

• Hold, or be working towards, a relevant degree level Childhood Practice award

• Hold a qualification that allows registration with the General Teaching Council (Scotland) or other regulatory body.

Local authorities can secure delivery of the funded entitlement to early learning and childcare through other partner providers including playgroups. In this context, local authorities have a responsibility for securing improvement in the quality of school education which includes the early learning and childcare entitlement delivered through partner providers.

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

The Scottish Government is not aware of reports of inexperienced volunteers and parents being permitted to run childcare businesses. Any concerns regarding the standard of early learning and childcare in Scotland should be raised with the Care Inspectorate.

All care services classed as day care of children (including nurseries, children’s centres, crèches, childminders and playgroups) must be registered with the Care Inspectorate if they provide services for over two hours a day and for six days or more each year. The Care Inspectorate has a statutory responsibility to inspect and regulate all registered providers of day care against the ‘National Care Standards for Early Education and Childcare up to the age of 16’.

New household income brackets were introduced as part of the overall simplification of the higher education student support system in 2013-2014.

Simplification made it clear what every student is individually eligible to apply for, according to the income of the household in which they reside. When the new system was introduced, the minimum loan that all students, regardless of their household income, were eligible to claim, was increased from £910 to £4,500.

In addition to the support provided by SAAS through loans, every higher education institution has a discretionary fund that students experiencing financial difficulty can apply to for help with study related costs such as accommodation and travel. These funds are allocated by Scottish Ministers and administered by individual colleges and universities.

The Scottish Government wants to ensure that student funding is fair and equitable, which is why we have enabled an independent review of the further and higher education student support system. The review is chaired by Jayne-Anne Gadhia, CEO of Virgin Money and is scheduled to report to Ministers by autumn 2017.

There are a range of programmes that offer advice on physical activity and nutrition to tackle obesity, type 2 diabetes and other medical conditions. However details are not held centrally.

Under Scots law where a person’s property is damaged as a result of the wrongful (e.g. negligent) actions of another person or organisation he or she can, if relevant criteria are satisfied, raise an action in the civil courts for damages to compensate for loss suffered.

Damages are a matter for the courts to decide and it would be for individuals to seek their own legal advice on whether they had a case or not under the current law.

Police Scotland will consider in the first instance whether there is sufficient evidence that the accident amounted to a criminal offence, such as careless or dangerous driving, requiring a report to the Crown Office & Prosecution Service (COPFS).

COPFS is Scotland’s independent public prosecution service. If a criminal offence is reported to COPFS by Police Scotland, then the particular facts and circumstances of the case will be considered carefully by prosecutors. Prosecutors will decide firstly, whether there is a sufficiency of evidence. Prosecutors will then decide whether it is in the public interest to prosecute. Each case will be considered on its own particular circumstances.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06882 on 20 February 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

The Scottish Government and partners are developing an Active and Independent Living Improvement Programme (AILIP) to provide an ongoing focus to the contribution of allied health professionals (AHPs) to supporting the health and wellbeing of the population.

AILIP will focus on wellbeing, prevention and targeted early interventions for children, young people and adults of all ages and abilities, supporting them to live well; be physically active; self-manage their health conditions; remain in or return to employment; and live independently at home or in a homely setting.

We are also working closely with the Care Inspectorate to examine the possibility of expanding their successful Care About Physical Activity Programme for older people in care homes.

Further to this, the Scottish Government delivers a number of services through NHSScotland to support the health, safety and wellbeing of workers in Scotland.

The Scottish Centre for Healthy Working Lives is funded to provide access to information and advice on a wide range of workplace-related health and wellbeing issues through its website, free and confidential adviceline and network of advisors. This advice includes how employers can support older workers, workers with disabilities and those with long term health conditions.

Working Health Services Scotland and Fit for Work Scotland are services aimed at supporting employees to return to work from sickness absence, tailored to the individual’s needs and circumstances. These services take account of the employee’s age which will be reflected in advice on return to work.