Parliamentary questions
Martin Whitfield
543 questions tabled in the Scottish Parliament, most recent first.
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the £500 million Whole Family Wellbeing Fund has been spent to date, and what proportion remains unallocated.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: To date, £148.1 million has been allocated through the Whole Family Wellbeing Funding to support transformational change in how services are delivered for families across Scotland.The Scottish Government has sought to balance value for money with a clea…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children with additional support needs currently attend school on a part-time timetable.
Answer · Jenny Gilruth: This information is not held centrally. Education Authorities should hold this information locally, given that the statutory responsibility for the delivery of Education rests with Local Authorities.
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many disclosure checks for Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) certificates have taken longer than eight weeks to process in the current year.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:From 1 January to 19 October 2025 inclusive, there were 34 Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) application results where the processing time took longer tha…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average processing time for Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) certificate applications has been, and how many have been delayed due to staff shortages, in each of the last six months.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Time period PVG application was completed inAverage processing time (days)April 202510.5May 202511.7June 202512.5July 202516.1August 202511.8September 2025…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many schools are currently unable to deliver outdoor learning due to insufficient space or facilities.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: As the member may be aware, while the Scottish Government does not collect national statistical data on this matter, in June 2025 Nature Scot, Learning Through Landscapes and Play Scotland have published “School Grounds in Scotland in 2025 Key Points an…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many disabled children who are assessed as being eligible for a care package do not currently receive one.
Answer · Tom Arthur: Health and Social Care Partnerships provide Public Health Scotland (PHS) with a weekly snapshot of the current demand for Care at Home services. The data includes information on the number of people waiting on an assessment for a package of care to allow them…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the average time is between a child being referred to the Scottish Children's Reporter and their first Children's Hearing taking place.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: This information is not held by the Scottish Government as it relates to an operational matter for the children’s hearings system.The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) publish their annual statistics, which sets out a measure on t…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what its estimate is of the average waiting time between a parent applying for a nursery place and them receiving confirmation of availability.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold this information.Local authorities are responsible for setting their own admission policies to ensure they meet their statutory duty to secure the statutory entitlement to funded early learning and childcare for children …
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many families are currently on waiting lists for respite care.
Answer · Tom Arthur: It is the primary duty of Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) to strategically plan the delivery of integrated adult health and social care provision in a local authority area. This duty will include the gathering of information regarding the demand for local ser…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many early learning and childcare settings have been temporarily or permanently closed due to structural safety concerns in each year since May 2021, broken down by local authority.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The information requested is not held by the Scottish Government. Building management responsibilities are a matter for the owners and managers to ensure the safety of their premises. Statutory requirements for the fitness of premises to be used for the provi…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many kinship carers have appealed decisions regarding financial support in the last 12 months.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not collect data on the total number of appeal decisions made by kinship carers regarding financial assistance.Decisions regarding financial support, including any appeals, are managed by individual local authorities in accordance…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much Disclosure Scotland has spent on overtime payments to employees due to staff shortages in the last 12 months.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:In the past 12 months, Disclosure Scotland spent £300,321.94 in overtime payments.Overtime allows us to be agile and responsive to changing demand, i…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the current average spend per child is on play provision in Scotland, and how this compares with England and Wales.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on average current spend on play per child in Scotland and does not hold such data for England or Wales.The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all children across Scotland can access h…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what Disclosure Scotland's total spend on external consultants and contractors has been in the last three years.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows: Spend on IT contractors £'0002024-259,3032023-248,3962022-238,295Disclosure Scotland had no consulting fees in the last three years.
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what proportion of the children’s services workforce is currently employed through temporary or agency contracts.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This is a matter for local authorities. The member may wish to contact local authorities directly for this information.
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints have been made regarding errors in Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) certificate records since 2021.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:Disclosure Scotland received 25 formal complaints regarding errors in Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) disclosures in the period since 2021.
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many complaints Disclosure Scotland has received regarding delays in issuing Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) certificates in the last year.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:From October 2024 to October 2025, Disclosure Scotland received 74 complaints regarding applications delays.
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of progress against the 2030 target for fulfilling The Promise.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government remains resolutely committed to fulfilling all recommendations of the Independent Care Review and to Keeping The Promise by 2030.The Promise Implementation Plan, published in March 2022, set out the Government’s approach to fulfi…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many children’s hearings have been delayed due to a lack of available panel members in each of the last three years.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: This information is not held by the Scottish Government as it relates to an operational matter for the children’s hearings system. Children’s Hearings Scotland (CHS) are responsible for the scheduling and administration of children’s panel m…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how many social worker vacancies currently exist within children and families services across Scotland.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. The Scottish Government have asked the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) to run twice-yearly surveys to collect data on practising social workers and vacancy rates in local auth…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what assessment it has made of the waiting times for court-ordered permanence or adoption orders.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Government recognises that delays in securing permanence or adoption can negatively impact on children’s wellbeing.We continue to work with organisations in Scotland to consider data and research on permanence, to understand where challenge…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what information it holds on the number of capital projects for early years expansion that remain incomplete or delayed beyond their original target date.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) monitors the 1140 expansion infrastructure programme on behalf of the Scottish Government, and collects progress data periodically from local authorities. The 2025 data collection exercise commenced in September and is expecte…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how much has been spent on agency social work staff within children and families services in each of the last five years.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government. This is a matter for local authorities. The member may wish to contact local authorities directly for this information.
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what the longest waiting time for Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) certificate clearance has been in the last 12 months.
Answer · Natalie Don-Innes: I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:From 1 October 2024 to 30 September 2025 the longest waiting time for a Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) result was 192.7 processing days. This was becau…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it ensures that youth work initiatives are aligned with national economic priorities and strategies, such as the Young Person’s Guarantee.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41194 on 7 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it supports local authorities in measuring and reporting on the impact of youth work on young people’s economic wellbeing.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41190 on 7 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it plans to work with local authorities to develop a coordinated national strategy for youth work that aligns with its broader priorities and ensures equitable service provision.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41194 on 7 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government how it engages with youth workers to assess the effectiveness of its policies on youth work in supporting economic outcomes.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: The Scottish Government recognises the valuable and high quality support provided to young people by youth workers.The Scottish Government regularly engages with Community Learning and Development (CLD) Managers Scotland, Youth Scotland and YouthLink Scotland…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government whether it has conducted any research on the potential correlation between youth work participation and improved health outcomes for young people in Scotland.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41186 on 7 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committe…
9 Oct 2025 · Written Question
To ask the Scottish Government what role youth work plays in addressing issues such as substance abuse and other health-related concerns among young people.
Answer · Ben Macpherson: I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-41186 on 7 November 2025. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committe…