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There are currently 12 civil servants assigned to the core Promise team. Work to keep The Promise is cross portfolio and officials across Scottish Government are actively engaged in work to support delivery of the recommendations set out in The Promise.

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

I have asked Gerard Hart, Chief Executive of Disclosure Scotland to respond. His response is as follows:

Disclosure Scotland do not hold the information requested.

The Scottish Government provides annual funding to Volunteer Scotland Disclosure Services (VSDS) to assist voluntary sector organisations with navigating the disclosure system. VSDS works in partnership with Disclosure Scotland to help resolve issues experienced by the voluntary sector. While Disclosure Scotland do not receive reporting on delayed recruitment, we maintain close collaboration with VSDS to monitor performance and respond to any feedback received.

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 time taken to progress referrals through the children’s hearings system. The information is available on the SCRA website:

The requested information is not held by the Scottish Government.

Eradicating child poverty in Scotland is a national mission and this Government’s top priority.

The Scottish Budget for 2025-26 outlines wide-ranging investment to deliver progress on our national mission to eradicate child poverty. This includes investment in breakfast clubs, to expand the provision of free school meals to around 25,000 more children and to develop the systems to mitigate the two-child limit.

Our action is making a real difference to families. On average, households with children in the poorest 10% of households are estimated to be £2,600 a year better off in 2025-26 as a result of Scottish Government policies. This value is projected to grow to an average of £3,700 a year by 2029-30.

The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on how many children have been injured in play areas operated by local authorities in the last 12 months. Responsibility for the safety, management and maintenance of play parks rests with individual Local Authorities.

The Scottish Government values the commitment that adoptive families and practitioners make to providing safe, loving, nurturing homes for children and young people across Scotland.

We have awarded the following total funding since 2020 to the Association for Fostering, Kinship and Adoption (AFKA) Scotland; Adoption UK Scotland; St Andrew’s Children’s Society; Health In Mind; and Birthlink, who deliver services and support to adoptive families and practitioners:

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 because the case required information from a third party to complete. This case was completed in November 2024.

Note 1: Protecting Vulnerable Groups (PVG) applications from 1 April 2025 onwards, with the implementation of the Disclosure (Scotland) Act 2020, represents: Level 2 PVG scheme disclosure (Join), Level 2 PVG scheme disclosure (Existing), Confirmation of PVG scheme membership (Join) and Confirmation of PVG scheme membership (Existing). Prior to 1 April 2025, PVG applications represents: Scheme Record Disclosure, Short Scheme Record Disclosure, Existing Scheme Record Disclosure and Statements of Scheme Membership.

Note 2: This figure relates to PVG applications completed between 1 October 2024 and 30 September 2025 inclusive.

Note 3: The processing time for a completed application incorporates all time between an application being received by Disclosure Scotland, through to completion with a disclosure issued to the applicant. Disclosure Scotland deducts any time which the application was suspended on our system, such as being suspended for customer contact. Weekend days are included in the number of processing days for applications, but national holidays and Scottish Government public and privilege holidays are excluded.

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 members.

The Scottish Children’s Reporter Administration (SCRA) publish annual statistics, which sets out a measure on time taken to progress referrals through the children’s hearings system. The information is available on the SCRA website: .

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.