Scotland Acts 2012 and 2016 implementation: annual reports

7. Employability

The Scotland Act 2016 gave Scottish Ministers the opportunity to deliver employability support to help disabled people or those at risk of long-term unemployment to seek, obtain and retain employment.

Key Developments

• The Scottish Government continues to work closely with all parties to ensure that people continue to get the support required to help them in their journeys into and towards work, with over 16,000 people joining Fair Start Scotland (FSS) in the first 18 months of service.
• The Scottish Government proactively publishes information on our employability services, with statistics published quarterly on progress to date.
• The Scottish Government published the first annual report on the progress of Fair Start Scotland in June 2019, setting out its impact on people and communities.

Costs

Fair Start Scotland

7.1.1 FSS provides tailored, person-centred support to people who need help to find and stay in work, and get the support needed to achieve their full potential. Unlike previous UK Government initiatives, participation in FSS is voluntary.

7.1.2 The Scottish Government has contracted service providers to deliver FSS services across nine contract package areas. The Scottish Government continues to work with service providers to implement and deliver support tailored to participants' individual needs.

7.1.3 The positive impact of FSS was outlined in the first annual report, which indicated that participants welcomed the support they received and that principles of dignity and respect were embedded in the service with participants also feeling they had some control over the support available.^[19]

7.1.4 The Scottish Government will continue to work with a range of partners to support the wider ambition of alignment and integration of employability services as set out in our No One Left Behind strategy. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with the DWP on delivering the FSS services, including increased joint partnership working to support key eligibility groups.^[20]

7.1.5 Scottish Ministers are committed to supporting the delivery of devolved employability services, with additional investment of up to £20 million per annum from 2018, significantly above funding transferred under the Fiscal Framework Agreement.