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Spend on locum psychiatrists is managed locally by NHS Health Boards. It is our expectation that Boards should always be seeking to secure best value whenever they enter into arrangements regarding use of locums.

We recognise that the use of temporary staff in an organisation as large and complex as NHS Scotland will always be required to ensure vital service provision. However we are taking forward work in partnership with NHS Health Boards, overseen by two national oversight groups, to agree measures designed to reduce our reliance on agency staff, with a view to filling more shifts with staff in either NHS substantive or bank roles.

To address specific challenges in the recruitment and retention of permanent psychiatrist posts in Scotland, we have established a Working Group which is actively considering locum usage and complements the work ongoing nationally. The working group will make a series of recommendations and is due to report to Ministers in Spring 2025.

The Scottish Government established the Psychiatry Recruitment and Retention Working Group as committed in the Mental Health Workforce Action Plan (November 2023) to address recruitment and retention challenges facing psychiatry in NHS Scotland.

The working group is actively considering the pipeline of trainee doctors as well as issues such as the use of locum staff and how we can encourage and support applications to permanent positions within NHS Health Boards. We also continue to invest heavily in our future consultant workforce and have created additional training places in psychiatry.

Representatives from the Royal College of Psychiatry in Scotland and the Senior Medical Managers in Psychiatry Group are critical partners in this work.

The working group is due to report to Ministers with recommendations in Spring 2025.

The Scottish Government has developed statistics on primary income flows and gross national income (GNI) for Scotland.

The GNI estimates produced by the Scottish Government are classified as official statistics in development and are reported at the level of totals for the whole economy. It is not possible to produce breakdowns of these statistics for specific industries, such as the whisky industry.

The regulation of private equity funds in the UK is overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), ensuring compliance with financial and investment laws and is therefore a reserved matter.

The Scottish Government does not hold this specific data.

There are two key performance indicators outlined in the Tenancy Deposit Schemes (Scotland) Regulations 2011 that relate to the return of deposits. The return of any undisputed deposit, is to be completed within 5 working days.

The figures provided are based on the proportion of the deposit that is to be returned to the tenant following a landlord starting the deposit return process.

The Scottish Government remains committed to delivering the changes that are required for people with Learning Disabilities as detailed in the Coming Home report and subsequent implementation report in 2022.

FSS collects and monitors Local Authority sampling data and commissions its own national food sampling programmes, which provide assurance on the safety and standards of food sold in Scotland. These include targeted sampling programmes informed by FSS horizon scanning activities, Horizon Scanning | Food Standards Scotland and commodity specific surveys to generate data on the prevalence and levels of contaminants in different foods for the safety assessments that are used to underpin the FSS Risk analysis | Food Standards Scotland. The sampling programmes data is published in FSS’ Our Food Our Food 2023: An annual review of food standards across the UK | Food Standards Scotland; the annual report on food standards in the UK, which is produced jointly with the Food Standards Agency, and DEFRA’s biennial UK Food Security Report 2024 published - GOV.UK. Further information on FSS’s Food Surveillance System can be found on the FSS website: Food surveillance system | Food Standards Scotland.

In March 2024 Processed_and_Ultra-Processed_Foods_-_Board_Meeting_-_2024_March_20_-_240307.pdf the FSS Board agreed the organisational position on processed and ultra-processed foods, based on the SACN review published in July 2023 SACN statement on processed foods and health - GOV.UK. Subsequently, they published a position paper FSS_Advice_-_Processed_and_Ultra-Processed_Food_UPF_-_Position_Paper_-_FINAL_-_August_2024.pdf outlining the evidence in relation to processed and ultra-processed foods and reiterating the advice for healthy and sustainable diets. This was accompanied by consumer advice on the FSS website, summarising ‘five key facts’ Processed and ultra-processed foods | Food Standards Scotland on the topic, alongside social media posts to further raise awareness.

FSS have a primary responsibility to monitor the performance of, and promote best practice by, enforcement authorities enforcing food legislation in Scotland.

The overarching aim is to provide assurance that the delivery of official controls for food and feed is compliant with Scottish and UK legal requirements and official guidance.

The audit programme is risk-based, and all reports are published: https://www.foodstandards.gov.scot/business-and-industry/safety-and-regulation/audit-and-monitoring.