Delivering a Greener, Fairer, Independent Scotland - One Year On

Public Services Recovery and Reform

• Teacher numbers increased by 885
• New mental health community services accessed by more than 18,500 people
• Proposals to cut the cost of school uniforms published

The Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party believe in Scotland's ambition to be the best place for children and young people to grow up. Scotland's education system needs to ensure that all children have the best opportunity to succeed, regardless of their social circumstances or additional needs. The Bute House Agreement commits to support the recruitment of at least 3,500 additional teachers and 500 classroom assistants over the course of the parliamentary term. Teacher numbers increased by 885 over the year to December 2021 following the commitment to permanent funding of £145.5 million to local authorities to support education staffing. This will ensure sustained employment of these additional teachers, while meeting local needs and benefitting Scotland's children and young people. To address equalities issues around uniform policy and reduce the cost of school uniform, a consultation was launched in May 2022 seeking views on what should be included in national guidance for education authorities and schools on school uniform.

Improving young people's outcomes is at the heart of everything the Government seeks to do. Work has begun on the commitment to provide support for children and young people's mental health and wellbeing by embedding counselling through schools, training for staff and the publication of new guidance to support whole-school approaches to mental health and wellbeing in schools. The Mental Health in Schools working group is now focussed on embedding and evaluating these approaches as part of a strategic approach to improving children and young people's mental health and wellbeing. By December 2021, more than 18,500 children, young people, parents and carers accessed the newly established community services and we have committed to doubling funding for this, from £15 million to £30 million, by the end of this parliamentary term.

The Bute House Agreement committed to transforming Scotland's social care system to help everyone in Scotland to thrive and live a full life. The National Care Service Bill, introduced to the Scottish Parliament in June 2022, provides the basis for a National Care Service that will have human rights embedded throughout and ensures the best possible outcomes for people accessing care and support, ending the postcode lottery of care. The service will be co-designed with people who have direct experience of social care services and ensure fair employment practices and national pay bargaining for the social care workforce.

The needs of the trans community, including non-binary people, are an important shared priority. As often the most stigmatised in our society, the trans community must be supported and this includes improving the health services they may require. Therefore, the Agreement commits to centrally fund improvements in gender identity services. In December 2021 the NHS Gender Identity Services: Strategic Action Framework was published, backed by a £9 million commitment, which sets out collaborative work to improve access to, and delivery of these clinical services.