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As independent institutions, it is vital universities continue to develop their own mitigating strategies to minimise negative impacts on their short, medium and long-term financial sustainability.

The Scottish Government along with the Scottish Funding Council, continue to explore options in conjunction with the university and colleges sectors, to ensure institutions across the whole tertiary sector are sustainable in the longer-term. To further support universities we have increased higher education resource funding by £20 million in cash terms as part of the 2023-24 Budget. This ensures that our universities continue to deliver a high standard of education for all students against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis.

Scottish universities are autonomous institutions and as such are responsible for their own entry requirements and admissions policies. As independent institutions, it is vital universities continue to develop their own mitigating strategies to minimise negative impacts on their short, medium and long-term financial sustainability.

The Scottish Government along with the Scottish Funding Council continue to explore options in conjunction with the university and colleges sectors, to ensure institutions across the whole tertiary sector are sustainable in the longer-term. We currently have record numbers of enrolments and full-time first degree entrants from Scotland, International students and those from other parts of the UK are not eligible to access funded places.

To further support universities we have increased higher education resource funding by £20 million in cash terms as part of the 2023-24 Budget. This ensures that our universities continue to deliver a high standard of education for all students against the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis.

The Scottish Government welcomes the contribution that international students make to our society, culture and economy. International students add to the diversity of our communities, enrich the learning experience and support local businesses and jobs.

Data published on 19 January 2023 by the Higher Education Statistics Agency shows record numbers of non-EU international students (65,300), and we welcome that these numbers are diversifying with noticeable increases in students from India, Nigeria and Pakistan.

Any decision about dredging the River is for the local authority to take forward. In relation to dredging, there are circumstances in which this can be an appropriate measure to reduce the risk of flooding. However, it is important to avoid inappropriate dredging. This is partly to avoid damaging the river environment, but also because dredging and other river engineering work can often prove ineffective, or in some cases counter-productive, as a tool for managing flood risk. The scale of these risks depends on the river characteristics and the design of the works, which is why large scale dredging operations require an authorisation from SEPA under the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2005.

Universities are autonomous institutions and are responsible for managing their own financial positions appropriately. As independent institutions, it is vital universities continue to develop their own mitigating strategies to minimise negative impacts on their short, medium and long-term financial sustainability.

The Scottish Government along with the Scottish Funding Council continue to explore options in conjunction with the university and college sectors, to ensure institutions across the whole tertiary sector are sustainable in the longer-term.

NHS 24 does not hold information on the number of its call handlers who can speak more than one language.

To ensure clinical safety, NHS 24 uses professional interpreters with advanced language skills who can support callers through the clinical process.

In my statement to parliament in November last year I stated I had recently launched Leading to Change, the Scottish Government’s national leadership development programme, for health, social work and social care. More information can be found on the website: Leading to Change | Leadership Development | NHS Scotland

a) The budget for Leading to Change is £978,000 for year 2022-23.

b) We have conducted user research to ascertain the programme’s reach and to ensure it fully meets the user needs. As of 9 January the following data applies:

• Website ; 7,774 users, 30,731 page views - 3rd October 2022 (launch) to 9th January 2023 (18:00);
• 1983 people signed up to distribution list - 3rd October 2022 (launch) to 9th January 2023 (18:00);
• 10,238 registered users on the Leading to Change app - 3rd October 2022 (launch) to 9th January 2023
• Twitter 5,569 followers as at 9th January 2023 (accounts were @ProjectLiftScot pre 3rd October 2022)
• 964 colleagues attended 11 events - 3rd October 2022 (launch) to 9th January 2023
• 107 colleagues on longer term leadership development programmes delivered or co-delivered by Leading to Change between Sept 22 – 09 January 2023 (some programme began before the launch date)
• 178/200 available Leadership Live subscriptions (22 pending) 3rd October 2022 (launch) to 9th January 2023

c) By ensuring we invest in leadership development we are supporting our valuable front line services to create the conditions and culture that are critical to delivering better outcomes for the people who use our services. Equality, diversity and inclusion are at the core of the Leading to Change programme with tailored and targeted interventions being delivered to increase and support the diverse workforce.

An update on the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care will be published later this year.

In March 2022 the Scottish Government published the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care in partnership with the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities. Following publication of the strategy, the Scottish Government has established a Workforce Data Information and Intelligence Improvement Programme to support further improvement in data collation, quality and evidence triangulation. This programme is focused specifically on improving the quality and granularity of existing data sets, alongside considering the requirements for gathering new or different data to support better decision making, workforce and service planning.

The Scottish Government is providing a range of recruitment support, as well as training and development activity to assist Health Boards with securing the right mix of new and experienced staff for their NTCs.

Detailed plans relating to the size and composition of the workforce for each NTC site has been or will be developed by the relevant territorial NHS Board and submitted to the Scottish Government as part of the wider planning and approval process for the site in operation.

The information on how many Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) staff there have been in each year since 2007 can be found: CAMHS | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

The staff in post tab provides quarterly data for CAMHS workforce.

The Scottish Government has engaged directly with representatives from NHS Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) to consider workforce planning capacity and capability across services. We remain committed to building a culture of continuous learning and improvement in workforce planning, including through the guidance we developed to support the development of health board and HSCP three-year workforce plans. We have been exploring, with stakeholders, formal qualification and accreditation opportunities, we continue to take forward these discussions with partners in further and higher education, alongside the provision of in-house training.