Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government prepared its draft Transport to Health Plan in 2023, we are currently engaging with the relevant partners on the commitments contained within the plan. It is expected that the plan will be finalised by the end of September 2024. We do not intend to publish the draft plan while it is still being developed.

Since October 2022 we have invested £4 million to deliver innovative school age childcare services to around 600 children from 500 families through our Early Adopter Community projects in Glasgow, Inverclyde, Clackmannanshire and Dundee.

On 22 May 2024, the First Minister announced a further £16 million investment over the next two years in the early adopter community projects including expanding delivery to communities in Fife and Shetland. This will enable participating local authorities to increase the number of families supported across these communities, expanding parents’ access to childcare, particularly for those families most at risk of living in poverty.

The early adopter community projects are a key driver for change. They will be a leading source of evidence, data, insights, and evaluation relating to the impact, approach and economic outcomes associated with place-based, people-centred systems of childcare focused on understanding the changes local authorities can undertake to expand access to childcare for those families who need it most, and the difference that can make towards reducing poverty. This work is already informing what system changes are needed at national and local levels to support sustainable delivery of childcare services within communities, and how these link with wider public services which families need.

We are committed to sharing learning across the early adopter community network and with all Local Authorities, to ensure we support future development at a national level. Our independent process evaluation report for the early adopter communities, being carried out by IPSOS Scotland, will be published in September 2024. IPSOS have engaged with project leads, service staff, local delivery partners and families to understand what is working well for them and what could be improved, to support next steps and future investment.

Community First Responders (CFRs) are highly valued by the Scottish Ambulance Service and are a dedicated and valuable asset to the communities they serve across Scotland including Mid Scotland and Fife. They form an integral part of the Service’s response, especially but not solely, to Out of Hospital Cardiac Arrests (OHCA)

CFRs are community-based volunteers that, subject to their availability, work to a clinically assured scope of practice to enhance and complement, but not replace, the emergency ambulance response within an agreed geographical area.

Connecting people to non-clinical options which can help with their health is an important part of a healthcare professional's toolkit. This is very much in line with the principles of Realistic Medicine, supporting our healthcare professionals to deliver a more personalised approach to care. The resources and services to which people are connected can range from financial, housing and welfare support through to engagement with cultural activity, community cafés, opportunities to be physically active and many others depending on what works for the individual. Connecting people to nature is one option which is available to health professionals where appropriate. There is a great deal of excellent work taking place across the country to deliver relevant initiatives. We are working with partners to understand how we can best support this local activity and develop our policy to ensure that these approaches are supported and valued.

We have committed to implementing new infrastructure-levy regulations under the Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 by spring 2026. On 3 June a discussion paper was published setting out the research undertaken previously and seeking views on the various options for a levy. The discussion phase will run until 30 September. After that, and subject to the views received in response to the discussion paper, draft regulations will be prepared which will be subject to a formal consultation in early 2025.

The Scottish Government prepared its draft Transport to Health Plan in 2023, we are continuing to engage with the relevant partners on the commitments contained within the plan. It is expected that the plan will be published by September 2024.

Migrant workers are essential contributors to our communities, public services, and vitally help address skills shortages.

Scotland’s Fair Work Action Plan sets out actions to become a leading Fair Work Nation by 2025.

The Scottish Government have funded the Worker Support Centre since 2022 to provide free and confidential support to seasonal migrant workers so that more of them understand their workplace rights and how to exercise them. RSABI (founded as the Royal Scottish Agricultural Benevolent Institution) provides practical, emotional, and financial support to all people involved in the Scottish agricultural industry.

Control over employment and industrial relations legislation is currently reserved to the UK Parliament; while this remains the case, we will continue to use our Fair Work policy to drive up labour market standards for workers across the Scottish labour market.

Scottish Government welcomed the transport to health and social care report from the Mobility and Access Committee (MACS) and agreed to develop a transport to health plan in response.

Progress has been made against the recommendations including bringing more focus and prominence in work with the relevant partners including Regional Transport Partnerships and Health Boards to take forward specific actions and commitments towards better joined up care planning and working.

Recognising the importance of the recommendations, Transport Scotland have included Transport to Health as one of seven thematic workstreams in their approach for delivery of the Accessible Travel Framework

The programme of NHS reform will consider the recommendation that transport should be built in as an integral part of the care pathway.

Whilst the Transport (Scotland) Act was implemented in 2019, sections 120 and 121 required secondary legislation to be enacted. This secondary legislation was enacted and came into effect on 1 October 2023.

We expect reports from Health Boards in Winter 2024. Assessments will be made once these reports are received.

The Scottish Government intends to publish costs of the tribunal, which will include payments it has made towards the legal costs of Sheriff Jack Brown in relation to his fitness for judicial office tribunal proceedings. Following a recent Freedom of Information request for this information, the Scottish Government will publish these details on its website, as soon as possible after the Freedom of Information response is issued.