Chamber and committees

PHS has advised the Scottish Government that mycoplasma pneumoniae is a common cause of respiratory infections, particularly in school-aged children. Most infections display as a mild respiratory illness, however, some persons experience severe pneumonia and require hospitalization. Significant cyclical increases in mycoplasma pneumoniae infections are observed every 3–5 years, likely because of changes in the circulating strain.

Mycoplasma pneumoniae is one of many respiratory conditions to re-emerge following cessation of nonpharmaceutical interventions, including lockdowns and physical distancing, implemented as part of the pandemic response. After implementation of nonpharmaceutical interventions in response to COVID-19, the frequency of identified mycoplasma pneumoniae infections in Scotland substantially declined beginning in 2020, as was the case for other respiratory infections. Beginning in the autumn of 2023, the United States, China and other countries identified a re-emergence of the infection, a pattern similar to that observed in Scotland.

Mycoplasma pneumonia infection typically is not severe but it can cause a pneumonia that is usually mild in nature. PHS has reviewed routine surveillance data available to them and are reassured that most presentations of mycoplasma pneumoniae infections are of a mild respiratory illness, with children most commonly presenting at GPs with common respiratory symptoms. To date, there have been no deaths in 1280 CARI patients positive for mycoplasma pneumoniae (up to week 7) within 28 days of their test.

The Scottish Government notes that PHS continues to encourage good hand and respiratory hygiene to help stop the spread of winter bugs, including mycoplasma pneumoniae. By keeping hands clean and helping to ensure children practice good respiratory hygiene, the spread of this infection can be reduced. The Scottish Government notes that information on managing the symptoms of common winter illnesses including self-help guides and advice on preventing onward transmission, can be found on NHS Inform. ( https://www.nhsinform.scot/winter-illness/ )

The Scottish Government funds delivery of 1140 hours of high quality funded Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) to all three and four-year-olds and around a quarter of families with an eligible two-year-old, who experience the most disadvantage, across Scotland. This entitlement is regardless of the working status of their parents - putting children first.

We recognise how important both early learning and school age childcare are for families, especially those experiencing poverty and that is why within this year’s Programme for Government we have committed to work with local government and partners in the ELC sector to expand our childcare offers.

We recognise that younger children have different needs to those aged three or four and therefore our new offer will be guided by what the evidence tells us about what is best for children and families depending on the age and stage of the child.

We also know that for children aged under three, how much they benefit from Early Learning and Childcare (ELC) is determined by crucial factors such as their family background, what age they start in ELC, the quality of services and the balance of hours they spend between care at home and in ELC settings. That is why we are committed to listening to families and to putting quality at the heart our work on both the Early Adopter Communities (EACs) and the expansion for two year olds.

We have recently completed and published two key pieces of research to help us understand and identify what models of ELC are best for younger children. The first is a summary of work to map current ELC provision for younger children in Scotland and the second a literature review undertaken by Public Health Scotland. Evidence from this early insights work supports taking a considered approach to policy development in 2024-25, so that we understand what is right for families with under three’s.

Over the next year we will continue to build on this early insights work by piloting new approaches via funding from the Whole Family Wellbeing Fund to test models of holistic family support and by engaging with the ELC sector to understand what is required to support an expansion.

We are already engaging with families through our work with EAC’s and are working to expand our reach to include Fife and Shetland and also to broaden the work to include younger children. This work will provide us with a clearer picture about what approaches deliver the greatest impact for families with younger children.

In parallel we will continue to work with local authorities and our partners in the sector to support up-take of the existing two-year-old offer, to ensure as many children as possible receive the benefits of high quality ELC, as well as planning for a further expansion.

There has been progress in implementing the Scottish Government’s delivery plan:

• the Patient Safety Commissioner for Scotland Act 2023 established a Parliamentary Commissioner on patient safety
• the Glasgow Complex Mesh Surgical Service offers mesh removal surgery, and women can also choose an NHS England surgeon or an independent provider
• 25 women have had the costs of previously arranged private mesh removal surgery reimbursed
• the NHS Scotland Scan for Safety Programme for implantable medical devices is planned to roll out across territorial boards by the end of March 2026
• on valproate, the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency introduced regulatory measures for the prescribing of valproate and we are working closely with the agency to support their implementation

The Scottish Government considers, further to the undertaking offered in 2021, that it is taking appropriate action to pursue the outcomes sought by all of the recommendations of the 2020 report insofar as they relate to devolved matters.

The Scottish Government is providing record funding of over £14 billion to local authorities in 2024-25, including £600.6 million of additional revenue funding for day to day services.

Subject to the outcome of the UK Government Spring Budget, the Scottish Government has committed to pass on up to £62.7 million of additional funding directly to local government alongside any consequentials received for increased teacher pension employer contributions.

Local authorities are independent corporate bodies with their own powers and responsibilities and are entirely separate from the Scottish Government. As long as they act lawfully, it is up to each local authority how it manages its day-to-day business and decision making processes. Ultimately, it is for locally elected representatives to make local decisions on how best to deliver services to their local communities.

As a responsible government, we meet periodically with large industrial operators, such as those at Mossmorran, to discuss operational as well as forward looking matters focused on sustainability and decarbonisation.

To date we have had conversations with both Exxon Mobil and Shell about their participation in the Acorn Project and as part of the wider Scottish cluster, which they see as a key project to unlocking significant carbon reductions across the site.

Later this month I will be visiting the Mossmorran site to hear more about these decarbonisation plans.

A total of 20 projects are currently being delivered through the Just Transition Fund in 2023-24.

Spend is still ongoing to March end 2024 with just under £12 million drawn down by projects to date. This is comprised of £10.3 million in capital, £1 million in financial transactions and £671,000 in resource.

A further £3.15 million of 2023-24 forecast spend has been reprofiled into 2024-25 financial year.

In addition, £25 million was allocated to the Scottish National Investment Bank for 2023-24, to be invested in the North East on a commercial basis, in line with the Bank’s Investment Strategy and its Missions, including to support a Just Transition to net zero.

Since November 2021, sentinel surveillance data have been available for mycoplasma pneumoniae in Scotland through the CARI sentinel surveillance programme. In this programme, sentinel GP practices across Scotland recruit and swab patients with symptoms of acute respiratory infection. These samples are all tested for ten respiratory pathogens, including mycoplasma pneumoniae. Enhanced surveillance data, primarily relating to symptoms, are collected by an online questionnaire from patients tested in the programme. Analyses from these data suggest that most infections display as a mild respiratory illness. To date, there have been no deaths in 1280 CARI patients positive for mycoplasma pneumoniae (up to week 7) within 28 days of their test. With the information from CARI, GP providers have been advised that they should consider mycoplasma pneumoniae as part of the differential diagnosis for community-acquired pneumonia cases.

PHS separately analyses data on all microbiology laboratory specimen results across Scotland to identify positive mycoplasma pneumoniae test in hospitals or care homes, or as requested in the community (by GPs). These data are reviewed by PHS and NHS Health Boards to identify any clusters or trends resulting in severe disease that warrant further intervention. To date, no unusual outbreaks or evidence of increased severity of disease has been noted and public health guidance on management of cases/clinical treatment remains unchanged.

The Scottish Government recognises that surveillance is a critical part of our approach to monitoring and managing the spread and prevalence of mycoplasma pneumoniae, Covid-19 and other respiratory infections. Public Health Scotland (PHS) are responsible for delivering Scotland’s National Respiratory Surveillance Plan with the support of the Scottish Government.

As part of PHS’s work, respiratory infection levels, including those of mycoplasma pneumoniae, and their impact are closely monitored throughout the year using various sources of data, including microbiological sampling and laboratory test results from community and hospital settings, NHS 24 calls, primary care consultations, hospital admissions, and mortality by cause. Intelligence generated from the different Scottish surveillance systems, including for mycoplasma pneumoniae, are used to inform proactive measures to prevent spread and ensure timely clinical response.

There are currently 25 members of the Co-Production Group. Six are serving teachers, and two additional secondary teachers have been invited to join the group, which will bring the total to eight. The following stakeholders are represented:

• Teachers and practitioners
• Convention of Scottish Local Authorities (COSLA)
• Education Scotland
• Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)
• Scottish Council of Deans of Education (SCDE)
• General Teaching Council for Scotland (GTCS)
• Association of Directors of Education (ADES)
• Education Institute of Scotland (EIS)
• NASUWT
• School Leaders Scotland (SLS)
• AHDS
• Scottish Council of Independent Schools (SCiS)
• Scottish Secondary Teachers’ Association (SSTA)
• CLD Standards Council
• Early Years Scotland
• Scottish Social Services Council
• National Centre for Gaelic Language and Culture

The Co-Production Group is one part of the overall co-production process. Ongoing additional engagement with teachers and stakeholders will take place as part of the design process.