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Social Security Scotland regularly publishes information on levels of detected fraud in its Annual Report and Accounts. The most recent document covering the period 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021 was laid before the Scottish Parliament on 3 November 2021.

From 3 September 22018 until 17 November 2021, Social Security Scotland has detected internal fraud with an estimated value of £17,400. Throughout the same period, no overpayments of benefit have been classified as being due to client fraud. Benefit fraud cases are only recorded as such following conviction.

The information requested is not held centrally. Whilst the Scottish Government supports the use of Choice and Partnership Approach (CAPA), there is no requirement for NHS Boards to use it.

On 5 February 2020 the Independent Care Review published its conclusions which became ‘The Promise’ . On the same day the Scottish Government and the Scottish Parliament agreed to implement all the findings of the Independent Care Review by 2030. The Scottish Government continues to work closely with The Promise Scotland to progress the actions set out in Plan 21-24 and Change Programme ONE .

Social Security Scotland routinely publish information as part of the quarterly Official Statistics release ‘Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods’. This includes information on the value of payments issued for Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payments each month.

Number and value of Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payments issued, by year

Social Security Scotland routinely publish official statistics publications on each of the devolved benefits at:https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications

For benefits where clients can apply to Social Security Scotland, published statistics include information on the number of applications received and the outcomes of applications, including the number that have been rejected. The latest publication for each benefit can be found at:

Best Start Grant and Best Start Foods statistics to 31 August 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/best-start-grant-and-best-start-foods-high-level-statistics-to-31-august-2021

Funeral Support Payment statistics to 30 September 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/funeral-support-payment-high-level-statistics-to-30-september-2021

Young Carer Grant statistics to 31 July 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/young-carer-grant-high-level-statistics-to-31-july-2021

Job Start Payment statistics to 30 September 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/job-start-payment-high-level-statistics-to-30-september-2021

Scottish Child Payment statistics to 30 June 2021

https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/reporting/publications/scottish-child-payment-high-level-statistics-to-30-june-2021

Information about alcohol specific deaths, which includes deaths by latest cause, is published annually by National Records of Scotland. The latest data was published on 17 August.

There have been 16,917 deaths attributed to alcohol liver disease since 2000. Records prior to the year of 2000 do not include latest cause of death, so it is not possible to report the number of deaths attributed to alcohol-related liver damage for 1999 year.

More information is available on Alcohol-specific deaths | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

Covid-19 was the highest single cause of excess mortality during summer 2021. Every one of these deaths is a tragedy. All those affected by the virus have our sympathy and we are working to prevent others from experiencing that same heartbreak.

As a result of the Scottish Government’s vaccination programme and increased medical knowledge of the virus, in summer 2021 the mortality rate was far lower, despite greater transmission of the virus. We are now offering boosters to protect the population further.

We are also working to remobilise our NHS safely and will be providing over £300 million in a winter funding package to support the health of people across Scotland this winter.

The Scottish Government’s consultation on a National Care Service closed on 2 November, and received around 1,300 written responses. There was also significant digital and face to face engagement with members of the public throughout the consultation period.

Written responses will be published, where permission has been given, along with summary notes of points raised at the engagement events. An independent contractor has been appointed to undertake a detailed analysis of the responses and we expect to publish the analysis report in early 2022.

(a) Mental Health Workers

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.

(a).1 Consultant Psychiatrists

A breakdown of the number of Consultant Psychiatrists recruited in each NHS Board for each of the last five years can be found on the NES Medical and Dental Turas Dashboard at the following link: Medical and Dental | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

(a).2 Mental Health Nurses

A breakdown of the number of Mental Health Nurses recruited in each NHS Board for each of the last five years can be found on the NES Nursing and Midwifery Turas Dashboard at the following link: Nursing and Midwifery | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

(a).3 Psychology Services Workforce

A breakdown of the staff recruited to the Psychology Services in each NHS Board for each of the last five years can be found on the NES Psychology Turas Dashboard at the following link: Psychology | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

(a).4 CAMHS Workforce

A breakdown of the staff recruited to CAMHS in each NHS Board for each of the last five years can be found on the NES CAMHS Turas Dashboard at the following link: CAMHS | Turas Data Intelligence (nhs.scot)

(a).5 Action 15

In addition to the data listed above, the Scottish Government also collects and publishes figures for mental health workers recruited under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy, 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.

The latest recruitment figures as at 1 July 2021 can be accessed at Mental health workers: quarterly performance reports - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Since 2018/19, almost £68 million has been allocated to Integration Authorities (IAs) based on the NHSScotland Resource Allocation Committee (NRAC) formula. While the Scottish Government provides funding for recruitment under Action 15, workforce and service planning is conducted by IAs according to the needs of their populations.

Since 2018/19 654.3 WTE posts have been recruited, representing nearly 82% of the overall target of 800 WTE. As at 1 July 2021, the recruitment rate per IA ranges between 54% and 101%, with some IAs having exceeded their allocation in advance of the March 2022 deadline.

(b) Community Link Workers

The Scottish Government only holds data on additional Community Link Workers (CLWs) recruited as part of the 2016 manifesto commitment to recruit at least 250 CLWs by the end of 2021-22. Any data prior to the 2016 manifesto, or of similar held specialist posts employed outwith this programme, would be held by Health and Social Care Partnerships.

Since March 2018, 218 headcount (HC) posts have been recruited, representing nearly 87% of the target of 250 CLWs in post. There has been some scaling back on previous projected workforce numbers due to Covid related reasons of limited opportunities to provide support remotely; staff being redeployed elsewhere; contractual delays, but figures remain on track to recover by March 2022.

The Scottish Government published information on the number of CLWs employed by NHSScotland broken down by region on 12 October 2021 in response to a Freedom of Information Request submitted to the Scottish Government on 1 September 2021 (reference FOI/202100235471). The information can be accessed at: Information regarding community link workers: FOI release - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This information is not held centrally.