Seòmar agus comataidhean

The list of active groups and sub-groups within the Finance and Economy portfolio includes:

• Apprenticeship Approval Group (AAG)
• Business Support Partnership
• Climate Emergency Skills Action Plan - Implementation Steering Group
• Clyde Mission Strategy Group
• Community Wealth Building (CWB) Bill steering Group
• Creative Industries Leadership Group
• Developing the Young Workforce Employers Forum
• Digital Collaborative Governance Group
• Economic Leadership Group
• European Structural and Investment Funds Programme Board
• European Structural and Investment Programme Monitoring Committee
• European Structural and Investment Programme Monitoring Committee Working Group
• European Structural and Information Technology Board
• Financial Services Growth and Development Board
• Flexible Workforce Development Fund Senior Strategic Group
• Foundation Apprenticeship Enhancement Group
• Green Freeports Programme Board
• Industry Leadership Chairs Group
• Innovation Strategy Steering Group
• Input-Output Expert Users Group (IOEUG)
• Lifetime Skills Offer Steering Group
• Life Sciences Scotland Group
• Ministerial Trade Board
• National Strategy for Economic Transformation Delivery Board
• National Strategy for Economic Transformation Portfolio Board
• National Strategy for Economic Transformation Skilled Workforce Programme Board
• Public Sector Network Steering Group
• Regional Economic Policy Advisory Group
• Retail Industry Leadership Group
• Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) Group Board
• Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) Standards And Frameworks Group
• Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) Employer Engagement Group
• Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) Employer Equalities Group
• Scottish Apprenticeship Advisory Board (SAAB) Apprentice Engagement Group
• Scottish Business Growth Group
• Scottish Cities Alliance Chief Executive Officers Group
• Scottish Cities Alliance Delivery Group
• Scottish Cities Alliance Leadership Group
• Scottish City Region and Growth Deal Delivery Board
• Scottish Economic Statistics Consultation Group
• Scottish Government and Business Organisations Meeting
• Scottish Government Labour Market Evidence Programme
• Scottish Taskforce for Green and Sustainable Financial Services
• Skills Ministerial Group
• Strategic Leadership Group for Advanced Manufacturing
• Sub-Scotland Economic Statistics Group
• Tourism and Hospitality Industry Leadership Group
• Wellbeing Economy Governments (WEGo)
• Young Persons Guarantee Equalities Subgroup
• Young Persons Guarantee Employer Advisory Group
• Young Persons Guarantee Implementation Planning Group

Please note these groups will be kept under review.

Caledonian Sleeper is a subsidised Franchise. The Caledonian Sleeper Franchise is of significant social, economic and environmental value to the people of Scotland.

We will set out our approach to the future electricity market in an Independent Scotland in the forthcoming Net Zero prospectus paper.

In accordance with Scottish Ministers franchising policy statement, appropriate assessment of a direct award to Serco Caledonian Sleepers Ltd. is being made and Ministers will inform Parliament when this assessment is concluded.

The National Audiology Review Group continues its independent review of services having most recently convened on 25 October. It will shortly be meeting with the Review’s Chair for an update on their progress and their developing recommendations.

The review is pursuing four workstreams encompassing the lived experience, governance, quality assurance and education and will fully report in the new year.

Following the publication of the review findings in December 2021, NHS Lothian has had extensive interactions with a range of professionals who work with children and young people to highlight the key findings in the report and this has included Speech and Language Therapists, Health Visitors, General Practice, Ear Nose and Throat clinicians, Community Paediatricians and teaching staff, with further communication to the Director of Education.

This has involved individual meetings with professionals as well as the development of a staff briefing document, which was widely circulated across key networks. As part of this process, those working with children who had any concerns about a child's hearing were encouraged to contact the Audiology department directly or to refer the child through the normal referral route (e.g. Health Visitor, Speech and Language, the GP, etc.).

Information has been widely disseminated through professional staff groups working directly with children and their families, with clear mechanisms for children to be referred to the Audiology department where there are concerns about their hearing. A telephone helpline was established on 9 December 2021 and this continues to be in operation to make it easy for families to make direct contact with NHS Lothian about any audiology concerns. NHS Lothian also works closely with the National Deaf Children Society to support families.

As of July 2022, 202 families have been directly contacted by NHS Lothian and offered a retest. This work is based on the timeline associated with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO) investigation and the sample size of the British Academy of Audiology (BAA) review, which covers the period 2009-2018. The number of children that have now had that retest is 47, with a further 31 with an appointment date. The number of children who were retested were found after retesting to have a (new) hearing impairment is 10. Families that have not responded to the initial letter have been sent a follow up letter highlighting the importance to make contact with the service.

The Ombudsman asked for an external audit across 2009-2018 and NHS Lothian commissioned BAA to design and conduct the audit. Nearly 23000 children had been seen in this timeframe. They proposed and audited children in 7 cohorts, which were stratified for those children who were higher risk.

Cohort 1 - Any complaints made to NHS Lothian or anonymous complaints to BAA

Cohort 2 - Any child on permanent childhood hearing impairment (PCHI) register at NHS Lothian

Cohort 3 - Any child who had been seen by the paediatric audiology service at NHS Lothian and discharged but went on the be later diagnosed with permanent hearing loss

Cohort 4 - Any child seen for ABR testing at birth and following result discharged from the service

Cohort 5 - Any child seen three or more times by the service

Cohort 6 - Any child seen for behavioural testing once by the service with no further appointments

Cohort 7 - Any child seen twice by the service then discharged with no further appointments

Of the 1,007 that were able to be reviewed (for various reasons including failed to attend, 113 children could not be reviewed) there were 120 where there were no concerns reported; 542 were reported as having minor concerns; 190 moderate concerns, and 155 with reported significant concerns. BAA defined significant concerns as those where there may have been an impact on the child’s clinical outcome. In all other audited cases, (852 cases) no impact on clinical outcome was considered likely by BAA.

The method and cohorts for the review were set by BAA, not NHS Lothian, and were designed to look particularly at cases where the child had been discharged but then was referred back in or subsequently identified with a hearing loss. At NHS Lothian's request, BAA then undertook to look at more cases from younger children or more recent years, and all children entered onto the register of permanent childhood hearing impairment.

Of the 155 cases, all have been considered by NHS Lothian and action taken. The cases have been prioritised to manage the most urgent within two main groups, those with the possibility of their current active clinical care needing to be changed (92 cases) and those where there was a clinical governance failing (63) but where the treatment was believed to be correct now. The allocation of cases into these categories were shared and agreed with the BAA and the appropriate follow up action has been undertaken by the Health Board.

• Of the 92 cases – 44 were in categories of glue ear, tinnitus and hyperacusis or without follow up and these have been clinically reviewed rather than subject to automatic recall for clinical appointments.
• Of the remaining 48 cases, 36 have attended for review
• 16 children with hearing loss have been identified through the review process

For those 63 children in whom the management by the BAA team was now felt to be correct but in whom a serious concern in the pathway to that management was identified, contact has been made with families and meetings have been offered.

With regards to any review being made public, the first set of reports from the BAA were published and are publicly available on the NHS Lothian website and also the British Academy of Audiology (BAA) website. The further review by the BAA on ABR testing over the last 5 years is not yet complete. The information is currently being reviewed to ensure that the content is accurate and that information provided to patients and families is correct. Once this work is complete, it is expected that a summary report will be discussed at NHS public Lothian’s Board meeting, the papers and minutes of which are published on NHS Lothian’s website. With regards to press releases, the Scottish Government does not hold that information, it would need to be obtained directly from NHS Lothian.

To date, there have not been any discussions between the Scottish Government and the Clyde Catamaran Group regarding it's Scottish ferry shipbuilding strategy. However, a meeting has been arranged with the Clyde Catamaran Group and I look forward to discussing their proposals on the matter.

Matters relating to the procurement of new vessels for Orkney and Shetland’s internal ferry services are the responsibility of those councils. Therefore any discussions with the Clyde Catamaran Group on this topic would be for Orkney and Shetland Island Councils.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-12273 on 5 December 2022. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

An option for reopening the rail line between Dumfries and Stranraer was assessed as part of the second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2). The outcome of this was that this option did not form part of the strategic transport investment recommendations within STPR2.

Instead, recommendations set out in STPR2 for rail focus on the decarbonisation of the remainder of the network; measures to increase the amount of freight travelling by rail, including on the key routes in South West Scotland serving Stranraer and Dumfries; and on improving connectivity between our major cities.

However, there remains a path for regional or local rail projects to come forward, and Transport Scotland will consider these subject to a strong business case being developed in accordance with Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) and suitable funding being available.

All food and drink served in all education authority and grant aided schools must meet the standards set out in the 'Nutritional Requirements for Food and Drink in Schools (Scotland) Regulations 2020'. The Regulations are based on scientific evidence and dietary advice and are designed to ensure children and young people are provided with an appropriate amount of energy and key nutrients to support their healthy growth and development.