Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is engaging with the UK Government on their response to the Industrial Injuries Advisory Council’s (IIAC) report. We continue to work with the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to understand the implications of any future changes to legislation. This typically includes modelling relating to awards and applications.

Case rates are uncertain and vary over time with different social mixing patterns. According to the Winter COVID-19 Infection Study, prevalence of COVID-19 in Scotland showed early signs of decreasing in the two weeks to 3 Jan.

Public Health Scotland continue to gather epidemiological information on seasonal respiratory infection activity in Scotland and publish the latest data in their National respiratory infection and COVID-19 statistics report.

The Scottish Government’s decision-making throughout all COVID-19 vaccination programmes has been guided by the expert clinical advice of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) and at present they are not recommending any additional action this winter.

The winter vaccination programme began in September 2023 and all those eligible were invited forward prior to Christmas. The vast majority of vaccinations were completed before the festive break, but appointments are available until the end of the programme on 31 March 2024. So far, over 1.38 million COVID-19 vaccines have been administered, equating to 56.8% of the eligible population.

As the majority of the programme is now complete acceleration is not required, with a focus between now and the end of March on encouraging eligible people who to this point have chosen not to receive vaccination to come forward. PHS and the Health Boards have developed additional communications to support this. In addition the Chief Medical Officer, Chief Nursing Officer, and Chief Pharmaceutical Officer have been working to encourage uptake within the health and social care workforce, to support winter resilience across health and care services.

Medical Associate Professions (MAPs) are not new professions and have been practising across the UK for 20 years. They are an important and valued part of the NHS Scotland workforce.

Guidance regarding ways in which MAPs communicate and engage with patients and the wider public, was issued by the Scottish Government to all Health Boards via a Director’s Letter in 2016.

A programme of work jointly led by the Scottish Government and NHS Education for Scotland, and supported by a Programme Board consisting of partners from across the healthcare system will consider the most appropriate means of public engagement in relation to any future plans for this workforce.

In addition, as part of an ongoing programme of stakeholder engagement it is our intention to host a number of workshops throughout 2024, providing an opportunity for a wide range of key stakeholders to engage in detailed discussion regarding key elements of this work.

The Scottish Government does not currently directly fund training for physician associates or anaesthesia associates via the Health and Social Care Portfolio. Health Boards may choose to put in place local arrangements for staff to train as an anaesthesia associate through existing UK-based course provision, in line with their local workforce and operational plans.

We are working with NHS Education for Scotland to determine whether, and to what extent, we make investment in additional domestic training provision for medical associate professionals (MAPs), in order to strengthen future workforce supply in a way that is commensurate with our commitment to take a progressive and evidence-based approach to the expansion of MAP roles across NHS Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-11669 on 24 October 2017. 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-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

Table One shows the funding allocated to NHS Lothian for improving child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) in 2021-2022 and for a broader range of Mental Health Services, including CAMHS, from 2022-2023. Allocations for the current financial year, 2023-2024 have not yet concluded.

It should be noted that allocations from 2022-2023 onwards were made from the Mental Health Outcomes Framework, which bundled a number of funding streams to allow NHS Boards flexibility to meet local priorities against the stated outcomes. The total allocation can be utilised to support improvements in CAMHS, psychological therapies, eating disorder care, primary care and children and young people’s neurodevelopmental services, as well as ongoing innovation and service reform. It is therefore not possible to provide a specific figure for funding allocated to CAMHS improvement from 2022-23 onwards.

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the final allocations to specific Integration Joint Boards. NHS Lothian will be able to advise on the funding received for CAMHS in the West Lothian Council area resulting from their delegation arrangements.

Table One:

It is too early to determine the impact of the withdrawal of Flexible Workforce Development Fund on college financing. However, the Scottish Government and the Scottish Funding Council will continue to support colleges to understand and minimise any negative impacts on short, medium and long-term financial sustainability.

We remain committed to supporting an education and skills system that responds to the needs of Scotland’s employers/learners and we would encourage employers to continue to work with colleges, building on the relationships they now have. SFC will work with the sector to consider how we make best use of the resources available to enable colleges to maximise opportunities for learners and be responsive to employers’ needs, building on the strong foundations they have established over recent years.

The decision to halt the Flexible Workforce Development Fund was not taken lightly but in an extremely challenging budget environment. It is too early to tell the impact of this decision on the overall job-related training across Scotland. It is hoped that many of the employers who have benefitted from FWDF since 2017 will continue to recognise the value of upskilling their workforce to support economic growth.

Employers have a key role to play in workforce development. We will continue to encourage employers to build on the strong partnerships they have developed and work with their local colleges and universities to ensure training offers align to labour market needs.

NHS Boards are responsible for implementing the National Code of Practice for GP premises.

The NHS Scotland National Primary Care (GP) Premises Group has been set up to consider all matters relating to GP Premises including:

• Oversight of the implementation of the Code of Practice for GP Premises.
• Implementation of GP Sustainability Loans.
• Consideration and review of available guidance.
• Consideration of appropriate schedules of accommodation within Primary Care premises, and specifically that of General Practice occupied areas and how this may affect reimbursement.
• Provide a platform for the Scottish Government to present papers/proposals to the group.
• Provide a platform for the BMA to present papers to the group.
• Provide a platform for the NHS Boards to present papers to the group.
• Ensure the Rent Review Process is consistent and supports the intent of the GP contract where required.
• Standardise approaches, e.g. standardise leases across Scotland.

Health Boards are represented on a regional basis alongside the BMA, the Scottish Government and other stakeholders.