Seòmar agus comataidhean

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15725 on 16 March 2023. 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

The Scottish Government values the crucial role carried out by kinship carers and is committed to delivering a Scottish Recommended Allowance for them, alongside foster carers. We acknowledge that it has taken far longer than we would like. That is why we are actively exploring all available options and working at pace with CoSLA, to deliver the allowance as soon as possible.

The number of district nurses working in NHS Scotland in each of the last five years can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence .

The Scottish Government does not direct NHS Boards to ensure that their district nurses and their teams undertake routine, planned visits to over 65s, however it is possible that such visits take place in some parts of the country. The roles of district nurses and their teams was described in the Transforming Roles District Nursing paper, which can be found here Supporting documents - Transforming nursing, midwifery and health professionals roles: district nursing roles - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The remit of the Women’s Health Champion is to drive change and share best practice and innovation in the improvement of health services and health outcomes for women. Professor Glasier will work with partners in the NHS and across the public and third sectors to drive forward the ambitions, aims and actions in the Women’s Health Plan. Professor Glasier’s particular priorities were set out in the recently published report on progress and include specialist menopause services, menstrual health with a focus on endometriosis and polycystic ovarian syndrome, and heart health.

The Champion is a member of the Women's Health Plan Implementation Programme Board which has been established to oversee and drive the delivery of the Plan.

Professor Glasier is scheduled to attend the next Women’s Health Cross Party Group on 22 March 2023. In addition a number of introductory meetings with both individuals and organisations have already taken place, with more arranged for the coming weeks. Any requests should be directed to womenshealthchampion@gov.scot.

Once the Board has committed to follow the recommendations of the NDAP, the responsibility for doing so remains solely with the Board. The NDAP action plan was agreed locally in discussion with the NDAP team and Graham Construction. A tracker was developed which was worked on with these partners in a collaborative method to agree with the NDAP team when actions were closed and with NHS Grampian’s construction partners Graham Constructions, about actions that were to be developed and closed during the Stage 4 construction phase. Internal governance of this process has been led through the Baird and ANCHOR Project Board and onwards to the Board of NHS Grampian as required.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-15497 on 16 March 2023. 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

In common with all major health infrastructure projects, existing equipment will be transferred from the current sites and this will be supported by investment in new equipment. The Full Business Case identified a required capital budget for equipment of £14 million. So far, the procurement of equipment to date remains within budget and no additional funding has been requested by NHS Grampian.

The procurement of much of the required equipment will however not be completed until much closer to the operational date. The impact of inflation and in some cases availability of supply in the current market is a recognised risk across all capital projects. The Scottish Government will liaise closely with NHS Grampian to ensure that any emerging pressures on the equipment budget are managed appropriately.

On 24 February 2023 NHS Lanarkshire informed Scottish Government that they required funding of £193k to support their National Treatment Centre and this funding will be provided as it is an agreed national priority.

The Scottish Government do not publish NHSScotland Design Assessment Process (NDAP) reports, but they are available on request from the Health Board.

As we work towards the introduction of the Education (Scotland) Bill prior to the summer recess and the creation of the new Qualifications Body, visionary and resilient leadership is essential for the SQA and its successor organisation. This will guide it through the process of transition and embed the required reforms set out in the findings of the Muir report and on which the Government is determined to deliver. I am therefore announcing an appointment round for the position of Chair of the SQA, with the successful candidate taking up post in September 2023.

It is my intention that the new Chair of the SQA will transfer to the new body and will become the Chair of the new Qualification Body. Provisions to allow this transfer to happen will be included in the upcoming Bill and will be subject to Parliamentary approval.

This approach will support the crucial transition period allowing the new Qualifications Body to take full advantage of the changes in leadership, culture and governance necessitated by the Government’s Reform Programme. This will also be shaped by the National Discussion, the findings of the Independent Review of Qualifications and Assessment, the Independent Review of the Skills Delivery Landscape.