³ÉÈË¿ìÊÖ

was published in March 2023 and outlines the outcomes and opportunities provided by the funding from the Young Person’s Guarantee.

The Scottish Government provides a range of advice and support for people experiencing bereavement.

Our emotional and wellbeing support for adults includes:

Providing funding to for the National Bereavement Helpline, which provides free listening and counselling support to people right across Scotland.

Since 2021, we have invested £66 million in our Adults Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund which supports a wide range of grassroots projects to provide compassionate wellbeing support. This fund prioritises supporting people experiencing bereavement and loss; and during 2023-24 we supported 196 such projects.

Working in partnership with Public Health Scotland and SeeMe to deliver a for employers to enable them to support their employee's mental health more confidently; and we have already included a focus on grief and bereavement.

Our website (hosted on NHS Inform) provides advice and information to the public about improving their wellbeing. The website includes advice and signposting information to support organisations for people (of all ages) who are experiencing grief and bereavement.

Our strategy and soon to be published new will set out the specific support available for people bereaved in these ways.

For children and young people, the loss of a parent can have a profound effect, so it is vital that support is provided at the right time, and in appropriate settings. Our emotional and wellbeing support for this group includes:

• Working with Education Scotland to review learning and teaching resources, as well as support for school staff, so that schools can play their role in supporting the needs of bereaved children and young people.
• Continuing to provide £16 million annually to local authorities to ensure that every secondary school has access to school counselling services.
• Schools being able to refer children and young people to the Seasons for Growth programme, which offers peer and small group bereavement support.
• Since 2016, our Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Funds have provided funding of £14.5 million annually to 115 organisations – including to , and who provide vital support to children and young people who are bereaved.

We recognise that the death of a loved one can cause financial and practical challenges for families. Our Funeral Support Payment provides a contribution towards funeral costs for those who receive a low-income qualifying benefit. Since launching the payment in 2019, we have provided £56.9 million of support to over 29,000 people. We are also committed to extending Carer Support Payments from 8 weeks to 12 weeks after the death of a cared for person, and this payment also connects carers to wider forms of support at this difficult time.

was published in March 2023 and outlines the outcomes and opportunities provided by the funding from the Young Person’s Guarantee.

No One Left Behind is the approach to devolved employability support between Scottish and Local Government, which empowers Local Employability Partnerships to lead the design and delivery of services in each Local Authority area. These services are influenced by local need, and guided by co-produced national products in areas that require consistency, such as the Employability Service Standards, the Customer Charter, and the Shared Measurement Framework. Local Authorities may supplement funding provided through No One Left Behind with resources from other sources.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes experimental statistics on outcomes linked to the No One Left Behind strategic approach. These include the cumulative number of participants supported into employment, and the number of individuals who have sustained employment for defined time periods. The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support are available at: .

The Scottish Government does not currently publish estimates of costs per sustained employment outcome for No One Left Behind at either Scotland or Local Authority level.

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support are available at: .

I have asked Alison Byrne, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland to respond. Her response is:

The number of individuals in Scotland whose partner has died under the age of 50 is not held. Marital status of the deceased is collected through death registrations so the number of deaths by marital status is provided in the following table.

Table 1: Deaths of those aged under 50 by marital status, registered in Scotland, 2014 to 2023

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach including the number of participants supported into employment. This includes a range of Scottish Government funding such as the Parental Employability Support Fund.

Since February 2022, statistics have been reported by totality of all funds and as such, no breakdowns for Parental Employability Support are available.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support by all parents are available at: .

The Scottish Government collects and publishes statistics related to the No One Left Behind strategic approach as a totality of all funding. Therefore, no breakdowns for Parental Employability Support, including a cost per person, are available.

The most recent statistics for Scottish Government funded employability support by all parents are available at: .

The decision to mitigate the effect of the two-child cap was taken following discussions in Government in advance of the draft budget publication on 5 December 2024. This decision was subsequently recorded and stored in the Electronic Records and Data Management System in accordance with records management requirements.

The Scottish Government recognises the significant impact that bereavement can have on young people and is committed to ensuring that schools are equipped to provide appropriate support.

We published a professional learning resource and a Whole School Approach Framework to assist school staff in supporting children and young people’s mental health. This framework encourages all schools to help young people develop resilience and personal coping skills while ensuring that measures are in place to support those who experience bereavement.

Education Scotland provides a range of materials, including resources specifically focused on bereavement, to aid teachers in delivering sensitive and effective learning on this topic. These resources are regularly reviewed and updated to reflect best practice.

Schools may also refer to the Seasons for Growth programme which contains support around bereavement and trauma. This is in addition to local policies in place for bereavement.