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Today we have published Scotland’s first National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care: https://www.gov.scot/isbn/9781804350058

We have worked, in partnership with our co-producers COSLA and extensively engaged with Stakeholders from across Health and Social Care to develop the Strategy.

The Strategy outlines our shared vision for the workforce, a sustainable, skilled workforce with attractive career choices where all are respected and valued for the work they do.

This vision supports our tri-partite ambition of Recovery, Growth and Transformation of our Workforce. In the strategy we look at the whole workforce journey and how we can plan for, attract, train, employ and nurture our Health and Social Care Workforce. This is the first time we have articulated a workforce strategy for our Health and Social Care workforce in this way.

We acknowledge the challenges the pandemic has brought not only for our services but also for our workforce and that is why that is why through this strategy we seek to embed a new long-term approach. The strategy expressly commits to increasing our understanding of demographic change in demand for services and details actions we will take to further understand how we can use this information to achieve a more sustainable, skilled workforce and how we can make careers, at all levels, in health and social care more attractive.

The Strategy recognises that although we have seen continued growth in our workforce for the last 10 consecutive years, we know that growth in the workforce alone will not deliver the services the people of Scotland need now and will need into the future. Our tripartite aim supports our NHS Recovery Plan and recovery of our Social Care services and workforce.

The Strategy sets out the actions we will take in partnership with the workforce to achieve our vision.

One such action is to publish our indicative projections for the Health and Social Care Workforce growth later this year. This will allow us to expressly incorporate evidence from 3 year Workforce Plans (which will also be published in due course by Health Boards and Health and Social Care Partnerships) and the forthcoming revised Medium-Term Financial Framework. We will review these projections annually and as more evidence becomes available.

We will review the strategy and progress on the actions therein, annually and in line with any further considerations and evidence which emerges.

The National Transport Strategy, developed through a collaborative process with stakeholders, including BEMIS the National Ethnic Minorities umbrella body, recognises that feelings of safety and fear of violence can shape BAME people’s travel behaviour and the racism can be associated with the use of public transport is often intersected with other forms of abuse e.g. sexual harassment. Work undertaken by the Transport Equality Network (of which BEMIS was a member) on the Scottish Government’s response to COVID19 found that there were no new transport challenges for BEMIS, rather the pandemic has exacerbating existing challenges.

Transport Scotland has also commissioned research from the Poverty Alliance on transport and poverty. As part of this, BAME research participants related their anxiety around reaching support services, particularly those from asylum seeker families, and voiced concerns over health risks faced by ethnic minority people using public transport during a pandemic and the stigma associated with that. In response, the Scottish Government has facilitated a meeting between the participants and the Confederation for Passenger Transport, to allow the research participants to have their concerns heard directly by industry representatives.

refer the member to the answer to question S6W-06847 on 11 March 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

The Scottish Government does not collect demographic data specifically on the public transport workforce nor does it do so for each mode of public transportation. If collected, this data will be held by public transport operating organisations.

Latest data from the Annual Population Survey over the period Jan-Dec 2020 provides breakdowns on employment by industry sector which includes the category “Transport and Storage”. It shows that 4% of all those aged over 16 in employment were working in Transport and Storage.

Of those employed in transport and storage industries, 21% are women. This compares to a figure of 49% for those employed in all industries who are women.

With regard to the trends in these figures from 2002, Census data from 2011 is directly comparable with the 2020 figures above. It shows that in 2011, of those working in transport and storage industries, 19% were women. This is compared to 21% for 2020.

Data from the 2001 Census is available but is not directly comparable as the industry definition was broader to include ‘transport, storage and communication ’. However, it shows that of those working in these industries in 2001, 27% were women.

As a trustee the Council holds and administers common good property for the benefit of the local community. Accordingly, they must make decisions for the benefit of the community. As locally elected representatives, Councillors are well placed to make these decisions in the interests of the local community.

The Water Industry Commission for Scotland (WICS) has responsibility for setting charge caps and otherwise sets out expectations or forecasts including for income as a guide to Scottish Water and stakeholders. Across the 2021-27 regulatory period the maximum increase to charges will be capped at CPI+2% on average for each year of the regulatory control period. Scottish Water must propose charges in its Annual Scheme of Charges that are consistent with this average annual cap and the cumulative application of this cap. It has discretion as to the precise profile of charges that it seeks to levy on customers within the regulatory control period. In line with its statutory duties, WICS considers any Charges Scheme that could be consistent with the overall cap on the amount of charges that can be levied on customers during the 2021-27 regulatory control period. The average household charge for 2022-23 remains lower than the average charge in England and Wales.

Most recently services and ferry delivery structures in other countries have been reviewed include Norway, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. These examples will inform the development of ferries policy including in the consideration of relevant assessments and the decarbonisation of the Scottish Government ferry fleet.

We are fully committed to reaching net-zero emissions by 2045 and transforming Scotland in to a fairer, greener and more prosperous country, that is why we have committed £2 billion in low carbon funding to invest in new measures to end Scotland’s contribution to climate change and create green jobs. Creating, supporting and monitoring green jobs through initiatives like the Just Transition Fund for the North East and Moray and the Green Jobs Fund will be vital in helping Scotland to secure a truly just transition to net zero, with no person or region left behind.

These statistics, published by ONS annually, relate to what may be considered a narrower definition of direct jobs in the UK low carbon and renewable energy economy, including the offshore wind sector. Work is ongoing within the Scottish Government to establish a broader measure of green jobs. ScotWind puts Scotland at the forefront of the global development of offshore wind and represents a huge step forward in our just transition to net zero. I welcome the commitments from the winning consortia to invest at least £1 billion, on average, in Scotland's supply chain for every gigawatt of capacity generated. This will generate thousands of new jobs and provide opportunities for diversification and skills transfer from existing sectors such as oil and gas.

My officials have worked closely with VoiceAbility, and continue to support them to develop comprehensive training packages for their advocates. This training will be delivered through VoiceAbility’s newly established training centre and Scottish headquarters in Glasgow.

Training provides all necessary information on Scottish benefits; the application and appeals process; and the Scottish Social Security Principles set out in the Social Security (Scotland) Act 2018 and underpinned by Social Security Scotland’s Charter. In return, VoiceAbility Learning and Development leads have supported Social Security Scotland counterparts to develop training resources for client advisors – setting out the principles of advocacy, as well as the client journey following referral to the service.

Officials will continue to monitor the service as it develops to ensure that all training packages are relevant and up to date.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05383 on 21 January 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