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The announcement in the Scottish Budget 2024-25 signalled the Scottish Government’s intent to explore the reintroduction of a Public Health Supplement. Retail representatives and other relevant stakeholders will be consulted as part of that exploratory work.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that engagement with the New Deal for Business Non-Domestic Rates sub-group continues to explore how the non-domestic rates system can best support business growth, investment and competitiveness, while acknowledging the important role non-domestic rates income plays in funding public services.

The 2021 manifesto and Framework for Tax 2021 stated our commitment to ensuring that the largest businesses pay the same combined poundage in Scotland as in England by the end of this parliamentary session.

Since the Barclay Review made this recommendation, we have introduced the Intermediate Property Rate on 1 April 2020. On 1 April 2023, we increased the rateable value threshold at which the Higher Property Rate applies, from £95,000 to £100,000. As a result, over 95% of properties are liable for a lower poundage rate in Scotland than in anywhere else in the UK.

Budget decisions are made annually in light of affordability. The Scottish Budget 2024-25 takes a balanced approach to supporting businesses through non-domestic rates where possible, while ensuring the funding necessary to protect public services.

A Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) team was set up within the Marine Directorate in September 2021. While the team contributed to other work programmes, it was principally engaged in the development of HPMA proposals, engaging with stakeholders and the delivery of the public consultation. Other officials from across the Scottish Government, both from within Marine Directorate and from other directorates, also provided input to the work on HPMAs, and did so as part of their normal duties and within normal working patterns. At its maximum, the HPMA team contained the following posts at different grades and roles:

• One official at grade C1
• Two officials at grade B3
• Two officials at grade B2

Civil Servants operate flexibly across a range of policies and programmes according to the specific requirements of their work at any given time. They do not, as a matter of course, record the proportion of their time spent working on particular matters. It is therefore not possible to provide a total staff cost or monthly break down in relation to the policy proposal for HPMAs.

NHS 24 call handlers are not medically trained, they are classed as healthcare support workers.

Callers to NHS 24 will initially have their symptoms triaged by a call handler before being passed on to a clinician within the Service or to another area of the health service best placed to meet their needs as appropriate.

GP practice funding is based on weighting practice lists of registered patients for age, sex and deprivation. Educational status is not recorded.

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 7 posts were advertised in Neurology at ST4 level and 4 (or 57.14%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

Neurology recently became what is known as a group 2 specialty (formerly group 1), meaning that trainees must complete 3 years of Internal Medicine Training (IMT) rather than 2. We are working with NHS Education for Scotland to determine what impact this is having on the attractiveness of the programme. We are also funding uplifts in IMT with 22 posts set to be created in 2024. IMT is a pre-requisite for Neurology (among several other specialties) and increasing front-end supply should therefore improve the sustainability of services in the longer term.

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). Within that overall context there will always be a number of posts which do not fill. Thoracic Surgery ST4 is a small specialty with only 1 post advertised in 2023, therefore, as this post has not filled, the fill rate appears as 0%. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

While Scottish Ministers are sympathetic to calls to replicate the non-domestic rates relief available to businesses in England in the retail, hospitality and leisure sectors, doing so would have meant that the Scottish Government could not provide the NHS, local government, schools, or emergency services with the funding they require.

The Scottish Government will continue to do all it can to support businesses. In 2024-25, the Basic Property Rate will be frozen, which, combined with an inflationary increase in the Intermediate Property Rate, will deliver the lowest poundage for properties with a rateable value up to and including £100,000 in the UK for the sixth year in a row. The Budget also announced a package of reliefs in 2024-25 worth an estimated £685 million . The Small Business Bonus Scheme which offers up to 100% relief from non-domestic rates will be maintained and a new 100% rates relief will be available in 2024-25 for hospitality businesses in island communities, capped at £110,000 per ratepayer.

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 15 posts were advertised in Emergency Medicine at ST4 level and 5 (or 33.33%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. It should be noted that recent uplifts in Emergency Medicine (10 posts in 2023) led to a greater number of posts being advertised. Another 12 posts will be added this year. Steps have been taken by NHS Education for Scotland to fill the 10 vacant posts: 5 are being filled through IDTs (Inter-Deanery Transfers), 1 has been converted to an ST1 post and the other 4 are have been converted to LAT (Locum Appointed to Training) posts.

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 14 posts were advertised in Geriatric Medicine at ST4 level and 7 (or 50%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities. Examples in Geriatric Medicine include:

• Increasing the number of Internal Medicine Training (IMT) posts in the system. IMT is one of two primary routes into Geriatric Medicine. 22 additional posts will be created in 2024 to feed supply into Geriatric Medicine among other specialties.
• The Geriatric Medicine team within NHS Education for Scotland arranged a national teaching session in December for IMT trainees which focused on progression opportunities in the specialty, and a virtual ‘Geriatrics for Juniors’ conference was run in November which included career advice sessions.