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We use a range of measures to monitor the wellbeing of the workforce taking into account the diverse nature of the workforce operating in a range of roles and geographies, the broad spectrum of wellbeing ‘needs’ at both a professional and personal level and different reporting arrangements across sectors.

Our approach reflects a combination of the following measures; the annual iMatter survey, feedback from local and national staffside and other stakeholder channels, academic research, data collected by regulators and partners and evaluation of nationally-led initiatives.

The Wellbeing Champions Network is now well-established to provide feedback on areas of priority need, and to share best practice across health and social care organisations. It currently has over 100 members drawn from Health Boards, HSCPs, Local Authorities and the independent sector.

We continue to actively listen to colleagues across Health and Social care to understand where the current pressures are, and what actions can be taken to mitigate their impact on staff.

The Scottish Government is aware of a growing number of studies linking autistic people (both diagnosed and undiagnosed) to increased chance of suffering from self-harm and suicidality, including the academic report Autistic traits in adults who have attempted suicide published by Richards, G., Kenny, R., Griffiths, S. et al. Molecular Autism and the academic report Links between self-injury and suicidality in autism published by Moseley et al. Molecular Autism in 2020.

People experiencing suicidality often face a complex set of personal issues and circumstances. As such, services must be person-centred and trauma-informed to ensure they provide compassionate and effective support. It is important services recognise and respond to the mental health challenges autistic people face in their day-to-day lives. In terms of learning resources, NHS Education for Scotland (NES) have developed Knowledge and Skills Frameworks for the Scottish Workforce on Mental Health Improvement, Self-Harm and Suicide Prevention, and Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing; these learning frameworks include resources and guidance on providing mental health support for autistic people. In addition, as part of a National Trauma Training Programme funded by the Scottish Government, NES have developed a knowledge and skills framework and training resources to support the Scottish workforce to better understand and respond to trauma.

The Scottish Government set up the National Suicide Prevention Leadership Group (NSPLG) to oversee the delivery of the Suicide Prevention Action Plan ‘Every Life Matters’, published in 2018. The Plan continues to deliver a wide range of actions, including: campaigns to reduce stigma and promote suicide awareness (with a focus on reaching groups with a higher risk of suicide), improving suicide prevention skills of the workforce; ensuring effective, compassionate support to anyone in crisis, and supporting local suicide prevention planning.

In developing the new suicide prevention strategy and action plan, which will publish in September, the Scottish Government and COSLA are focussed on how to further develop effective approaches to reach and support groups at heightened risk of suicide, including autistic people. This will include drawing on research, lived experience insight, and examples of good practice.

The Scottish Government published our Learning/Intellectual Disabilities and Autism Towards Transformation Plan in March 2021. The plan looks at the actions needed to shape supports, services and attitudes to ensure that the human rights of autistic people and people with learning/intellectual disabilities are respected and protected and that they are empowered to live their lives, the same as everyone else. Vital to the successful implementation of the plan are actions to improve diagnostic and post-diagnostic services, to improve waiting times and to provide the support newly diagnosed autistic people require.

We are also carrying out new leadership and engagement work where lived experience is at the heart of the whole process. This process looks to empower autistic people and people with learning disabilities to be the leaders in transforming Scotland, starting by looking at what is needed to improve mental health for autistic people and people with learning disabilities.

The main Mental Health professional groups that the Scottish Government holds data for are Psychiatrists, Mental Health Nurses and Psychologists, including other psychological clinical staff and therapists. The Scottish Government also holds workforce figures for CAMHS, which are multidisciplinary teams that include, in addition to the professions mentioned above, AHPs, counsellors and social workers.

Under this government (since 2007), the number of:

a. Psychiatric Consultants across all specialities in NHSScotland has increased by 21.6% to 548.8 WTE posts;

b. The Mental Health Nursing workforce in NHSScotland has increased by 34.7% to 9,763.2 WTE posts;

c. Staff providing Psychology Services in NHSScotland has increased by 95% to the current all-time high of 1,359.3 WTE posts; and

d. Staff within CAMHS is up by 83.4% to the current all-time high of 1099.5 WTE posts.

NHS Scotland’s Mental Health Nursing, Psychology and CAMHS staffing numbers were at a record high on 31 December 2021.

Vacancy rates at 31 December 2021 were: 16.6% (107.5 WTE) for Consultant Psychiatrists, 12.4% (1,377.3 WTE) for Mental Health Nurses, 12.3% (191 WTE) for Psychology staff and 14.7% (190 WTE) for staff within CAMHS reflecting demand for staff as services continue to grow.

The Scottish Government also collects and publishes figures for mental health workers recruited under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-27, representing our commitment to recruit an additional 800 mental health workers between 2018-19 and 2021-22, to key settings such as A&E departments, GP practices, police station custody suites and prisons. As at 1 January 2022, 756.9 WTE mental health posts have recruited under Action 15.

The latest Action 15 recruitment figures as at 1 January 2022 can be accessed at Mental health workers: quarterly performance reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Despite this workforce expansion, demand for Mental Health Services remains high. The Scottish Government has committed to develop a long-term Mental Health Workforce Plan in the first half of this Parliament, and to ensure that by 2026, 10% of frontline NHS budget is invested in mental health, with 1% directed specifically to children and young people.

The independent Barclay Review of Non-Domestic Rates acknowledged that exemption - where types of property are exempt from rating – is not the best way to affect non-domestic rates liabilities. The review highlighted that where properties are not valued and do not appear on the valuation roll the financial benefit to those concerned is unknown, which decreases transparency and has the potential to create unfairness for other ratepayers. Furthermore, exemptions are based on the property characteristics of lands and heritages, rather than occupiers. As such, any exemption for the property types that ALEOs operate would require to apply across the tax base, to all similar lands and heritages.

The independent Barclay Review recommended that charity relief be ended for ALEOs and the existing relief for ALEOs removed. The Scottish Government only accepted this recommendation in part, and on 28 November 2017 it was announced that properties being run by council ALEOs in receipt of relief, charitable or sports club, on that date would be able to retain that relief in full. However, to address the concerns of the continuing expansion of the ALEO approach, the cost of further relief to ALEOs would be offset to councils to mitigate against future ALEO expansion.

ALEOs are still able to claim relief, and Local Authorities may award the relief included within their baseline amount as they see fit. However, if the total amount awarded by the Council exceeds the established baseline, its Local Government settlement is adjusted by an offsetting amount.

This data is not centrally available; whilst Public Health Scotland publish the total number of patients waiting for specialist mental health services, detail of the individual types of assessment or diagnosis is not held. The publications for both CAMHS and Psychological Therapies waiting times for the quarter ending December 2021 can be found at Publications - Public Health Scotland .

The Scottish Government is committed to implementing the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People, published in September 2021, which specifies service standards that all children’s services should follow, to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland. Scottish Government have also commissioned Directors of eHealth, working with others including Public Health Scotland, to work to improve digital infrastructure, applications and data to report on all standards within the National Neurodevelopmental Specification.

The Scottish Government have also established the National Autism Implementation Team , in partnership with Queen Margaret University, to support Health and Social Care Partnerships to consider best practice and support improvement through the redesign of autism diagnostic services.

The National Implementation Team is supporting NHS Boards to examine diagnostic pathways for autism and establish regional experts to assist with improving tiered autism specialisms across health boards.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08108 on 3 May 2022. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-08108 on 3 May 2022. 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

The Healthy Working Lives programme, which is delivered on our behalf by the Public Health Scotland, was paused during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Scottish Government is determining how best to take the Healthy Working Lives programme forward in light of the changing needs of the population coming out of the pandemic.

Needs arising from the pandemic, such as support for those suffering from Long Covid and mental health support, will be of particular focus as we adapt to the changed situation we find ourselves in. This will be in line with the commitments outlined in the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan.

The duty to ensure equality of opportunity rests with employers and so the development and implementation of plans is a matter for Local Authorities. The Scottish Government does not collect this information centrally.

Public sector bodies, including local authorities, are subject to the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) which requires listed public authorities, in all their functions, to have due regard to eliminate discrimination, advance equality of opportunity, and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic, such as disabled people, and those who do not.

Furthermore, local authorities in Scotland are subject to The Equality Act 2010 (Specific Duties) (Scotland) Regulations 2012. This includes a duty to gather and use employee information in relation to their protected characteristics, before using that information to better fulfil their duties under the PSED; as well as a duty to publish statements on equal pay and occupational segregation (within organisations) regarding disabled people. Responsibility for ensuring compliance with these duties lies with the Equality and Human Rights Commission.

The Scottish Government is currently reviewing the effectiveness of the PSED in Scotland. This means reviewing the Scottish Specific Duties as well as the implementation environment in which they sit. From December 2021 to April 2022 we ran a public consultation containing ambitious and detailed proposals for changes to the duties, several of which will help to address barriers faced by disabled people in the workforce.

After consultation responses have been analysed, we will continue to work with public bodies and equality advocacy groups with a view to introducing new regulations that will deliver better outcomes for those who experience inequality.

Chronic Pain services in Scotland are currently unable to gather electronic data on return appointments in a consistent manner and one that could support routine national data collection by Public Health Scotland (PHS).

We have published a draft Framework for Pain Management Service Delivery for public consultation in December 2021 which invited ideas and views on a proposed commitment to continue work with Public Health Scotland to increase national reporting and analysis of data to improve services for people with chronic pain.

Responses to the consultation are currently being analysed and we will publish our response to the findings, including how these views have been used to shape the final Framework and actions to improve pain management data collection and reporting, later this year.