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I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13514 on‎ 16 January 2023 for an update on the development of a menopause and menstrual health workplace policy for NHS Scotland. 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 .

Once developed for the NHS this policy can be used/adapted for other sectors, such as social care.

The Women’s Health Plan includes a variety of short, medium and long-term actions. Since the publication of the Plan in August 2021, we have prioritised actions that we know will have an immediate impact on health inequalities. Our first report on progress will be published in early 2023, and will set out the progress made since the publication of the plan.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S6W-13514 on 16 January 2023 for an update on the development of a menopause and menstrual health workplace policy for NHS Scotland. 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 .

Work is currently underway in the Scottish Public Health Workforce Development Group to assess needs and agree priority actions in relation to the public health workforce. Three additional Public Health training places for trainee doctors have been created in recent years following recommendations made by the Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group. While this may seem like a modest increase, it is relative to the specialty’s training establishment i.e. there were 35 established training places prior to the creation of those three extra posts. This will continue to be reviewed as part of public health workforce planning.

The Scottish Government’s Marketing team met with health and social care partnerships Communications leads in November 2022 to discuss the upcoming Adult Social Care National Recruitment Campaign, which launches on 25 January 2023.

As part of this, a stakeholder toolkit and campaign materials are being developed and will be shared with the HSCPs to be used at a local level and support their own local recruitment activity.

Alongside the marketing for the campaign, Scottish Government have worked with HSCPs and provider representative organisations to deliver webinars for social care employers, offering advice and support for when delivering their local recruitment campaigns.

Since 2019, the Scottish Government have led an Adult Social Care Campaign Advisory Group. This group ensures that representatives from across the sector, including HSCP representatives, have the opportunity to collaboratively work together, share good practice and provide support across different localities.

A stakeholder group has been established to progress this work, including the Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) and NHS Education for Scotland (NES) who each have a key role in social care workforce development.

Last year, we worked collaboratively with SSSC and NES to develop a national induction framework for social care staff. An evaluation of the framework has been launched with the aim of improving and expanding the materials further.

We have also committed to expanding the framework to encompass continuous professional development opportunities, and this work has begun with the stakeholder group. By doing this, we will support our commitment to improving fair work, increasing employee engagement, enhancing skills and capabilities, attracting new talent and contributing to improved employee wellbeing.

The national adult social care recruitment campaign, There’s More to Care Than Caring, ran from 8 November 2021 to 2 January 2022 and included digital, press, out of home and radio advertising, supported by virtual workshops, partnerships and public relations activity.

The campaign was evaluated by an independent research agency and results showed 48 per cent awareness of the campaign amongst the overall target audience, exceeding the campaign target of 40 per cent.

This awareness converted into action with 11 per cent of those who had seen or heard of the campaign saying they had applied for or got a job in adult social care as a result. In addition almost 39,500 visited the Care to Care website during the campaign period.

The campaign this year is due to run from 23 January 2023 to 5 March 2023 and will include out of home, radio and digital advertising, as well as a partnership with STV, supported by field, partnership and public relations activity.

Pay for staff in the Senior Civil Service is reserved and operates within the UK Cabinet Office pay and performance management framework.

As at 30 November 2022, a total of 41 staff earning over £100,000 per annum were employed in Core Scottish Government at a total salary cost of £4,552,993. This represents 0.45% of the total number of staff employed in Core Scottish Government. The following table provides a breakdown by Directorate General area.

In conjunction with the Fair Work in Social Care group the Scottish Government has funded several uplifts to the minimum hourly rate for Adult Social Care staff, including the mid-year December 2021 uplift to £10.02. In April 2022, the Scottish Government delivered an additional uplift taking the Adult Social Care hourly rate to £10.50. This represents an increase of 10.5% for these workers with pay rising from at least £9.50 per hour in April 2021 to at least £10.50 per hour in April 2022.

From April 2023, adult social care workers delivering direct care in commissioned services will see their pay increase to a minimum of £10.90 per hour; in line with the Real Living Wage rate for the 2023-24 Financial Year.

Working collaboratively with the Fair Work in Social Care group will ensure we are committed to improving fair work practices across the social care sector.

We are working with sector stakeholders to embed the principles of Effective Voice in social care, to enable staff to engage in meaningful, constructive dialogue within their employers to help promote fair working conditions, develop best practice, and deliver high quality care.

The Fair Work in Social Care Group, including key Social Care stakeholders, Trade Unions, representative sector organisations, and care providers, developed an Effective Voice Framework informed by the lived experience of staff. The Framework will support employers and employees to assess the standard of Effective Voice in their workplace and take steps to enhance it, if necessary.

A project to trial this Framework in social care settings will begin in early 2023.

The Scottish Social Services Council (SSSC) launched a new system for Continuous Professional Learning (CPL), in October 2020. The change allows for a more flexible approach to recording learning, doing so in a way which works best for registered workers and gives employers more of a role in reviewing registrants’ learning.

Through SSSC social services workers have access to free learning resources, interactive webinars that support CPL and career development and new information on nationally recognised learning resources endorsed by SSSC all of which will support CPL.