Seòmar agus comataidhean

The Scottish Government is clear that we wish to maintain and advance the high standards Scotland has enjoyed as part of the EU. Ministers have no current plans to use the discretionary powers to align with the European Union legislation provided through the UK Withdrawal from the EU (Continuity) (Scotland) Act 2021 in the area of nature restoration legislation.

The Scottish Government has been working in collaboration with Public Health Scotland and the Scottish Prison Service to improve data on COVID-19 vaccination uptake in Scottish prisons.

New prison vaccination data was been published by Public Health Scotland on 15 September and the link is attached for convenience for the Member. https://publichealthscotland.scot/our-areas-of-work/covid-19/covid-19-data-and-intelligence/covid-19-weekly-report-for-scotland/

Prison vaccination data will now be reported on a regular basis and will assist in considering possible courses of action to improve the vaccination uptake amongst the prison population, including for individuals who have not received their second dose prior to being released from prison.

The NHS Scotland COVID Status app is being developed for release to the public by the end of September with vaccination information initially. We are developing our app to meet the EU requirements so we expect this to be compatible with the IATA Travel Pass. We are engaging with international stakeholders and UK Government to ensure the app is compatible with the other countries requirements of entry.

PDF downloads of vaccination status and 2D barcodes (known as QR codes) were made available for international travel from 3 September to facilitate international travel.

Changes in patterns of mixing, adherence to restrictions, levels of asymptomatic infections and school holidays all impact on cases numbers and will influence the recent drop in positive cases. Waste-water Covid-19 levels continue to exceed case rates. However, relative to the peak reported at the start of July, levels have declined nationally. We will continue to monitor wastewater Covid closely and report the trend weekly in the modelling the epidemic/pandemic publication.

Work to establish the Cleaner Air for Scotland 2 Delivery Group is currently in progress. Membership will be announced shortly.

The removal of public call boxes (PCBs) is subject to the rules in the telephony universal service obligations. In order to remove PCBs BT has to go through a consultation process with local authorities. There is no direct role for Scottish Government. As telecoms regulator, Ofcom is in the process of reviewing these obligations and intend to publish a consultation in the coming weeks.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all our staff have the necessary training/skills to fulfil our commitments to equalities and diversity and dealing with specific groups of stakeholders. Diversity and inclusion capability building, including learning and development, for Scottish Government staff is set out in our Mainstreaming Equality Outcomes Report 2021. In July 2021, we launched new mandatory diversity and inclusion training. This aims to ensure everyone working within the Scottish Government develops and maintains a foundational level of knowledge about inclusion and supports individual self-reflection and personal development.

We are still in the early stages of development in relation to the Carbon Neutral Islands project, and are engaging relevant stakeholders to ensure that the voices of islanders are fully heard. It is therefore too soon to determine how much funding will be allocated.

The Scottish Government are making paper copies of the consultation paper available on request. We have a dedicated mailbox: NCSconsultation@gov.scot for any individual/organisation who wants a copy posted to them. We also have a dedicated telephone number for people without digital access to call to request a paper copy. The National Care Service Consultation automated telephone number is 0300 244 2425.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensure everyone with a neurological condition has timely access to care and services in all regions of Scotland. That is why we published a Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action in December 2019 . We are investing £4.5 million of funding to implement the Framework’s aims and commitments. The aims include improving the provision of co-ordinated health and social care and support, developing sustainable workforce models and ensuring high standards of person-centred care.

Since 2015, the Scottish Government provides £2.4 million annually to improve specialist nursing services. NHS Boards make the decision on where to prioritise this funding based on local need. NHS Boards are expected to ensure that patients, including those who require epilepsy services, have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition.

The Scottish Government launched its NHS Recovery Plan on the 25 August, which sets out our key headline ambitions and actions to be developed and delivered now and over the next 5 years. The plan is backed by more than £1 billion of investment over the next five years.

By the end of this year, we will publish a National Workforce Strategy that supports the delivery of the NHS Recovery Plan , specifically its key workforce targets. The strategy will set out the strategic framework through which we will design, develop and deliver training programmes in partnership with NHS National Education Scotland and the NHS Academy, offering new routes into the NHS, and broadening opportunities. In addition, it will provide NHS Boards a framework for assessing nationally the role of Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS). The NHS will gain additional 500 Advance Nurse Practitioners (ANP) over the next five years and we will be working closely with neurology services to identify areas of need for both ANPs and CNS capacity to better meet patient need.

A recent report published by the Chief Nursing Officer Directorate made a number recommendations regarding CNS roles. This work is being taken forward in Neurology (and epilepsy specifically) by a group with representation from Chief Nursing Officer Directorate, NHS Education Scotland, Centre for Sustainability Delivery as well as strong Epilepsy CNS Representation.

The impact of addressing the COVID-19 pandemic has meant that many health and social care services had to be suspended or reduced in scope and scale. This has affected almost all aspects of NHS care. Addressing the backlog of care, while continuing to meet the ongoing urgent health and care needs of the country, is a priority for this Government.

The Centre for Sustainable Delivery continues to work closely with Neurology services in all Health Boards. In particular work on Active Clinical Referral Triage aims to ensure patients who require appointments most urgently are seen as soon as possible, while those who may not benefit from a Consultant appointment are returned to the GP with advice and guidance; and Discharge Patient Initiated Review aims to avoid unnecessary return appointments, again supporting access for those patient who need to be seen in a timely manner.