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The number of undergraduate places available for medicine in 2010-11 and 2011-12 are as shown in Tables 1 and 2.

Medical Undergraduate Intake Targets

Table 1

Table 2

The Scottish Government is committed to reducing essential household costs for low income households via a range of measures, for example by:

Alleviating the effects of rising energy prices, through the Energy Assistance Package and Home Energy Hotline;

Working with partners through the Access and Affordability Expert Group to determine the evidence on food poverty in Scotland and to build a long term strategic programme for a stronger community food and health sector, in order to improve access to affordable and healthy food for vulnerable groups;

Extending free school meal criteria to all parents in receipt of qualifying benefits;

Committing to delivering an average 6000 affordable homes per year over the lifetime of this Parliament;

Continuing to reduce the essential costs of living through measures such as freezing council tax, and abolishing prescription charges, and

Analysing the impacts of changes to the welfare system on people in Scotland, making representations to the UK Government on these impacts, and working with stakeholders to contribute to, and influence the debate.

Scottish ministers are required to prepare and publish standards for regulated care services including care homes. There is already a specific set of National Care Standards in place for this type of services setting out the quality and standards of service that users should expect from their provider.

Social Care and Social Work Improvement Scotland (SCSWIS) inspects and regulates services against the requirements and criteria set in legislation as well as the National Care Standards.

I also refer the member to the answer to question S4F-15 on 2 June 2011. The answer to the oral parliamentary question is available on the Parliament’s website, the official report can be viewed at:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/apps2/business/orsearch/ReportView.aspx?r=6271&mode=html.

We are well aware of the problems associated with this issue. Extensive work around the analysis of the factors relating to the appropriate level of medical undergraduates is being undertaken, of which the BMA is aware, having been invited to sit on the reference group examining this issue. Any decision to change the number of international medical students studying at Scottish universities will take due regard of workforce planning.

Workforce planning projections indicate that over the next three to four years there are likely to be more doctors completing training than there will be consultant posts available to employ them. The issue to be tackled is not necessarily one of simple medical over-supply but one of how to employ these newly trained doctors in an affordable, appropriate, and sustainable manner.

The Scottish Government’s response to this issue has been to take steps to move towards a service predominantly delivered by trained doctors, rather than doctors in training. Moving to a trained doctor service provides an opportunity to enhance the service’s capacity to deliver high quality care and to achieve better value for money. A trained doctor service will necessarily consist of a “mixed economy” of existing and future consultants and Specialty Doctors, with a role for other healthcare professionals which makes the most of their potential.

NHS board projected staff in post (whole-time equivalent) changes in 2010-11 were published on 3 June 2010 at:

http://www.scsotland.gov.uk/Publications/2010/06/NHSWorkforce2010.

National Services Scotland Information Services Division are due to publish the national NHSScotland workforce statistics up to 31 March 2011 on the 28 June 2011.

We are in the process of requesting from NHS boards their projected staff in post changes for 2011-12 and plan to publish consolidated workforce projections for NHSScotland when this information is available.

The consequentials on the full NHS (health) settlement in England are allocated to the Scottish Government on a total budget basis with no specific policies ring-fenced.

The consequentials on the full NHS (health) settlement in England are allocated to the Scottish Government on a total budget basis with no specific policies ring-fenced.

No decision has been made as yet about changes to laboratory services in the Clyde area.

The Scottish Government is committed to keeping NHS services as local as possible whilst recognising that patient safety and sustainable high quality care remain the priorities.

I expect all boards to plan and provide services in line with this commitment. Where changes to local services are proposed, the consideration must be fully informed by robust evidence and meaningful engagement with the appropriate stakeholders.

This is a matter for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde. The review of laboratory services in the Clyde area is at a very early stage and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde needs to undertake considerable further work and engagement with stakeholders before finalising robust options for formal consideration.