Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22254 on 28 March 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx .

In December 2017 we published the Race Equality Action Plan outlining more than 120 actions we will take over the course of this Parliament to secure better outcomes for minority ethnic communities in Scotland. One of the commitments made is to mark the International Decade for People of African Descent over 2018-2019 with an innovative programme of events.

We have noted the publication of the report by Glasgow University, “Slavery, Abolition and the University of Glasgow”, and the interesting approach it takes to quantifying and addressing the historic implications of slavery for the institution. While we have no plans to directly replicate this for the whole of Scotland, we will consider how the report, and the approach it sets out, can inform our plans for the International Decade as we take these forward.

Initial teacher education (ITE) programmes in Scotland are offered at both undergraduate and postgraduate level. For undergraduates aspiring to become history teachers, the University of Stirling offers a Bachelor of Education (Secondary) degree programme. This allows students to study the practice of teaching (pedagogy) and two specialist subjects simultaneously. History is included in the suite of subjects offered and Scotland’s role in the slave trade is covered within the course content.

The universities of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow and Strathclyde offer ITE programmes at postgraduate level for history graduates. These focus on developing theoretical and practical knowledge in how to teach rather than subject knowledge, given the degree level requirement that is set for entry to these programmes.

In relation to the professional development of history teachers, I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-22255 on 27 March 2019. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx ”.

As set out in the answer to S5W-21243, it is up to teachers and schools to determine what is taught in classrooms. Curriculum for Excellence provides opportunities for young people to learn about current and past attitudes and values and historical events and their impact on society today. This can include learning about Scotland’s role in the transatlantic slave trade. Learning about the transatlantic slave trade is an option in both the National 5 and Higher History national qualification courses. Education Scotland has published resources for teachers on slavery and human trafficking. These includes resources to support teaching and learning about the transatlantic slave trade in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries with an emphasis on the Scottish perspective and impact.

Local Authorities are responsible for monitoring and implementation of air quality improvements.

The Scottish Government is progressing cross-government action and partnership working to prevent and mitigate adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). For example, we have expanded the Family Nurse Partnership across Scotland to support young first time mothers who are more likely to experience ACEs. We are helping children affected by parental imprisonment by providing
‎ £1.8 million to extend vital support for the families of prisoners between 2016-19 and parenting support is now delivered in all of Scotland’s public prisons. We are improving Joint Investigative Interviews to ensure that people carrying out interviews with children where abuse or other trauma is suspected work in an expert, trauma-informed way, and we are working to develop a ‘Barnahus’ approach to ensure that children who experience severe trauma receive the wrap around support and recovery services they need.

With Scottish Government funding, NHS Education for Scotland are implementing a three year national trauma training programme to support the Scottish workforce to better recognise and respond to children and adults with ACEs and trauma. Education Scotland are facilitating nurture and trauma-informed approaches in schools. We are also working with NHS Health Scotland to raise awareness of ACEs across sectors and support community responses to ACEs.

As part of the long-standing national approach of Getting it right for every child, the Scottish Government are currently developing further guidance to support good record keeping practice and effective use of chronologies to better understand evolving circumstances in a child’s life.

In terms of prevalence, the Growing Up in Scotland (GUS) longitudinal study tracks the lives of representative samples of children and their families from birth and has collected information on the experience of adversity in childhood. It also asks parents about their own adverse childhood experiences to explore associations with resilience and parenting and the intergenerational transmission of ACEs.

In addition, the new Health and Wellbeing Census (expected to be operational from 2020) will replace several school-based surveys and will ask a range of questions about childhood adversities, appropriate for the age and stage of the pupil. We have also incorporated ACEs questions into the 2019 Scottish Health Survey to establish the prevalence of ACEs amongst the Scottish adult population and the links with health outcomes and behaviours.

The data published in the Royal College of Ophthalmologists Workforce Census 2018 does not accord with that published by NHS Education for Scotland (NES), who are responsible for medical trainee recruitment in Scotland.

The fill rate for vacancies in Ophthalmology at both Specialty Training year 1 level (ST1) and ST3 level, have been consistently 100% over each of the past five consecutive years, with the exception of one ST3 post in 2018 that did not fill out of 11 posts in total.

An annual process, managed by the SG Shape of Training Transition Group, considers medical specialty trainee supply and demand. The process takes account of a range of factors including medical profile workforce data (such as the number of trainees about to qualify and gain their Certification of Completion of Training and retirals) as well as responses from Health Boards, Specialty Training Boards, and others with an interest such as Royal Colleges. The Royal College of Ophthalmologists have not submitted a case for increasing Ophthalmology training numbers in Scotland during the recent consultation for 2019 trainee recruitment.

Under this government, the number of Consultants in NHS Scotland has increased by 51.3% to record high levels, with the number of ophthalmology consultants increasing by 45.5% over the same period (Sep-06 to Sep-18). The rate of ophthalmology vacancies has also seen a downward trend over the past two years. The number of Consultants specialising in Ophthalmology who are employed by each Board in NHS Scotland, and the current vacancy picture, is available on the ISD website: https://www.isdscotland.org/Health-Topics/Workforce/Publications/2018-12-04/Medical-and-Dental.asp .

NHSScotland Boards have fully delegated powers in relation to employment issues. They are required to have the correct staff in place to meet the needs of the service and to ensure high quality patient care. It is for individual health boards to make decisions on the creation of posts and filling of vacancies to meet the needs of the service.

To support Boards, the Scottish Government has invested £4 million pound in domestic and international recruitment efforts across NHS Scotland over the next 3 years.

The Financial Memorandum which accompanied the Damages (Investment Returns and Periodical Payments) (Scotland) Bill set out the Scottish Government’s assessment of the financial implications of the Damages (Investment Returns and Periodical Payments) (Scotland) Bill and a revised discount rate for NHS compensation budgets for clinical negligence claims -https://www.parliament.scot/S5_Bills/Damages%20(Investment%20Returns%20and%20Periodical%20Payments)%20(Scotland)%20Bill/SPBill35FMS052018.pdf.

The Discount Rate reviews in Scotland by the Government Actuary and in England and Wales by the Lord Chancellor will be carried out later this year and until they have been completed, it will not be known if they have produced different rates.

The Scottish Government expects that the UK Government will continue to cover the costs arising from the change in the discount rate to the extent that the rate in Scotland is in line with the rate in England and Wales. The Scottish Government will continue to pass this funding to the NHS in Scotland.