Chamber and committees

The following figures, drawn from the Scottish Government’s annual school census show both the number of primary and secondary Gaelic medium teachers that have been employed in each year since 2016 and the number that would be able to teach through the medium of Gaelic.

Primary school teachers by ability to teach through Gaelic medium

The results of the 2024 Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey will be published in September 2024. The exact time and day of publication will be preannounced at least 4 weeks before publication.

The Scottish Government commissioned the Scottish Cancer Network in August 2022 to review oncology capacity and demand and consider development of a national plan. This work was completed in January 2023.

Statistics on Scotland's public sector finances are published in the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) publication; however, statistics for Scottish public sector net debt are not available. The latest GERS publication is available at: Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland 2022-23 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Figures on UK public sector net debt are published by the Office of National Statistics. In January 2024 the UK's public sector net debt was 96.5% of GDP.

The Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey is designed to collect information on experiences of all cancer types involving an inpatient stay or day case, where it is appropriate to do so. 10% of responses to the 2018 Cancer Patient Experience Survey were from patients with haematological cancers.

To ensure a sufficiently large response to the Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey, a census approach was taken. This means that surveys were sent to all eligible patients, rather than just a restricted sample of them. Just under 8,800 people were invited to participate in the 2024 Scottish Cancer Patient Experience Survey.

To maximise the survey response and make the survey as accessible as possible, so that we collect information on the experiences of as many people as possible, the survey can be completed online, on paper or over the phone. A language line is available for those who do not speak English and the online questionnaire contains a number of accessibility features including the ability to change font size, the option to switch to a high-contrast colour scheme and screen-reader compatibility.

The sample was selected from a national dataset containing records of acute hospital activity (SMR01) to identify people aged 16 or over with an inpatient or day case record with any mention of cancer and a discharge date between 10 October 2022 and the 30 June 2023.

In order to confirm the diagnosis of cancer, and to minimise the risk of sending surveys to patients who did not have cancer, the Scottish Cancer Registry (SMR06) was used to quality assure the survey sample. Individuals who were identified from the hospital records, but did not have a confirmed Scottish Cancer Registry diagnosis were excluded from the sample.

It's critical that we minimise the risk of causing distress to the survey recipients when carrying out the survey. To minimise the risk of distress, some patients are excluded from the survey because the patient may not recognise their diagnosis as cancer or the cancer has complex clinical definitions. These include:

• Patients whose tumour morphology is defined within the Scottish Cancer Registry (SMR06) as benign, uncertain or in situ.
• Patients with non-melanoma skin cancers (ICD10 code C44).
• Patients with rare haematological cancers with complex clinical definitions (ICD10 code of C84).
• Patients with Carcinoma in situ of breast (ICD10 code of D05).
• Patients with insulinoma (ICD03 code of 81513).

An analysis of 2024 Cancer Patient Experience Survey results by cancer type will be one of the outputs of the survey.

The workforce review in oncology was an NHS internal review with no plans to publish. The Scottish Government is using its findings to inform the new Oncology Transformation Programme. This is an action of the Cancer Action Plan for Scotland 2023-26.

We will set out our strategy in the summer. I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-24109 on 12 January 2024. 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 Cancer Patient Experience Survey (SCPES) is part of the Scottish Care Experience Survey Programme. The Scottish Care Experience Survey programme is currently under review and the frequency of data collection will be considered as part of that review.

As reflected in Scotland’s Cancer Strategy for Scotland, published June 2023, we are committed to “expanding and evaluating Rapid Cancer Diagnostic Services to ensure population-based coverage”.

The University of Strathclyde published a final evaluation report on 29 February 2024 reflecting on the successful first two years of RCDSs operating in NHS Scotland. This work was commissioned to inform roll-out, including optimal components. Following its release, we’ll work with Boards across Scotland to consider the findings and ensure learning is embedded.

The responsibility for the balancing of grid lies with the National Grid Electricity System Operator. More information including data on balancing costs can be found here: Balancing costs | ESO (nationalgrideso.com)