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The National Chronic Pain Improvement Group (NCPIG), a renamed version of the National Chronic Pain Steering Group (NCPSG), operated from December 2014 until March 2016. During this period, it held five meetings and one development day. The total cost for these events was £7,836.25 (this figure includes venue hire, catering, videoconference facilities, etc.).

The Ministerial Steering Group on Chronic Pain (MSG) has so far held four meetings since its inaugural conference in March 2015. The total cost of these meetings has been £111.66 (catering being the only expense incurred).

It is important to note that neither the NCPIG nor the MSG had or has their own budget, with all costs being paid for by the Scottish Government. Neither group had or has salaried employees, with admin and policy support being provided by Scottish Government officials as part of their duties.

In addition, an annual allocation was provided to NHS Dumfries and Galloway to cover several items and work associated with the group. This allocation of £13,073 was initially provided for the financial year 2014-15, but spanned the existence of both the NCPSG and the NCPIG. This allocation was to cover protected time for the NCPSG and NCPIG Chairs (an NHS D and G employee), and initially admin support for the NCPSG. When the group became the NCPIG, admin duties were passed to Scottish Government officials, with the corresponding allocation amount instead being used to support work on the national chronic pain website: (http://chronicpainscotland.org/).

A second, reduced allocation of £5,285 was given to NHS D and G for the 2015-16 financial year. Specific breakdowns of these allocations are not available centrally.

Finally, travel expenses for both groups were and are offered only to patient members, and the total reimbursement claimed so far is £10.80 (for the NCPIG). Any such expenses incurred by group members from the NHS, the third sector, the Scottish Government or the national officers (National Lead Clinician for Chronic Pain and National Chronic Pain Co-ordinator) would be covered by their own organisations as part of their wider operational costs.

The £1.3 million investment referred to in the 28 April 2014 news release was pump-prime funding provided to NHS boards in order to support Service Improvement Groups/Managed Clinical Networks for chronic pain. The allocations were based on an assessed proposal submitted by each Board, and funding was provided as follows:

We are committed to ensuring that people who have had a stroke have access to the best possible care as quickly as possible. Our Stroke Improvement Plan published in 2014; http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2014/08/9114 continues to support the FAST (Face, Arm, Speech, Time) test in Scotland. The FAST test aims to raise public awareness of the signs and symptoms of stroke to encourage people to dial 999 if they think someone is having a stroke. Further details can be found at; http://www.thinkfast.org.uk/.

The Stroke Improvement Plan, published in 2014 also reaffirms our commitment to improve stroke treatment and care in Scotland. The plan is underpinned by a commitment to improving data collection and the Scottish Government continues to fund the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA), carried out annually by Information Services Division. The Scottish Government provided funding for the SSCA of £167,000 in 2015-16 and is a key focus for raising awareness of stroke as well as driving improvements in stroke care, prevention, skills and knowledge across the whole of Scotland; http://www.strokeaudit.scot.nhs.uk/Publications/Main.html.

Data on the nation of origin of employees of NHS Scotland is not collated or held centrally.

Further information on NHSScotland statistics, including information on how the data are collected and notes to aid interpretation, is given in the 'FAQs' section of the Workforce Statistics website at:- http://www.isdscotland.org/workforce/

Data on the citizenship of employees of NHSScotland is not collated or held centrally.

Further information on the statistics, including information on how the data are collected and notes to aid interpretation, is given in the 'FAQs' section of the Workforce Statistics website at http://www.isdscotland.org/workforce/

Local Delivery Plans (LDP) form the performance contract between the Scottish Government and NHS Boards. LDP standards are priorities that are reviewed and agreed between the Scottish Government and NHS Boards each year. The current standards are available at http://www.gov.scot/Topics/Health/Quality-Improvement-Performance/NHS-Performance-Targets

The Scottish Government has committed to increasing the number of training places for Doctors, Nurses and Midwives and Paramedics across the NHS in Scotland. This includes an extra 50 places which have been allocated to Scottish medical schools for new entrants from 2016 onwards which will result in an additional 250 medical trainees created by 2020-21.100 new GP training places will be advertised in a further recruitment round opening at the end of July. This will take the total number of GP training posts advertised across Scotland in 2016 to 439, an increase of 134 on 2015, and beyond the First Minister’s commitment to increase the numbers to 400. Trainees will start in these posts in February 2017.The Scottish Government has committed to providing an extra 1,000 new Nursing and Midwifery training places in addition to the commitment to train 500 additional Advanced Nurse Practitioners. A proportion of these Advanced Nurse Practitioners will be existing staff along with new posts. The numbers will be confirmed when NHS Boards undertake service and training needs analysis.In addition, the Scottish Ambulance Service (SAS) will train 1,000 new paramedics over the next five years, enhancing the clinical skill mix of staff and introducing new ways of working to better meet the needs of patients in all communities. As part of the “Towards 2020: Taking Care to the Patient” strategy, the Scottish Government has invested £5m in SAS for 2016-17. This investment will allow these new paramedics to be recruited from the current cohort of ambulance technicians, supported by the recruitment and training of 200 new technicians to backfill those posts.

The Scottish Government has ensured opportunities for engagement, particularly as part of a wider debate on the future of general practice, and are grateful for the contribution that the Royal College General Practitioners has already made and look forward to continuing to engage with them, as well as with other stakeholders who share our common desire to further improve the quality of primary care services for the benefit of patients.The profession's representative body for contract negotiations is the Scottish General Practitioners Committee of the British Medical Association, however there is a shared commitment around the future vision for the delivery of primary care services, and the Scottish Government fully recognises the important contribution of all key stakeholders in taking this agenda forward.

The Scottish Government supports medical research financially by three routes: (1) through research and infrastructure support allocations to the NHS Boards, (2) by its contribution to the Office for the Strategic Co-ordination of Health Research which allows Scottish researchers to bid for National Institute for Health Research Grants and (3) through the research funding committees and fellowship schemes run by the Chief Scientist Office. The Scottish Government does not routinely hold information of funding allocated for research into specific health conditions via routes 1 and 2.

The following table shows the figures for funding awarded via the Chief Scientist Office research funding committees and fellowship schemes for the period 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2016. The figures also include the Chief Scientist Office contribution to a number of co-funding initiatives with medical research charities.