Chamber and committees

Under criminal proceedings statistics, the category of homicide contains a wide range of different criminal offences. The offences include murder, culpable homicide through to causing death by careless driving.

Sentencing in any given case is a matter for the independent court within the overall legal framework. The court will take into account the full facts and circumstances of a case before deciding sentence.

The latest available information is for the financial year to 2019-20. Our records show that in 2017-18 and 2018-19 there were 3 people and 6 people respectively, who were convicted of homicide in a Sheriff court who received a fine, as a main penalty. All of these convictions relate to the offence of causing death by careless driving. There were no Justice of the Peace Court fines imposed in respect of homicide offences nor any of the items listed (c) to (f) issued for homicide.

Information on the main penalty issued for a crime prosecuted in a Scottish court can be found in table 8a of the Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistical bulletin, which can be viewed here: Criminal Proceedings in Scotland statistics - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Source: Scottish Government Criminal Proceedings database

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with dystonia are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

While the Scottish Government’s role is to set the strategic policy for the NHS in Scotland, NHS Boards and healthcare professionals locally have responsibility for both service delivery and people’s care. NHS Boards are expected to ensure that patients, including those who require care and support for dystonia, have access to a range of professionals to provide the appropriate management of their condition.

Dystonia UK, a leading charity that provides supports for people living with dystonia, is a member of the Neurological Alliance of Scotland (NAoS). The NAoS are key members of our National Advisory Committee for Neurological Conditions which is working to drive improvement in outcomes for people with a range of neurological conditions, including dystonia.

In 2019, we published a Neurological Care and Support – National Framework for Action, with a vision to ensure everyone with a neurological condition, including dystonia, can access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms.

We are investing £4.5 million of funding to implement the 17 commitments in the framework, supporting innovative practice in neurological care for people with conditions such as dystonia. No applications have been received to date for projects in relation to the direct support and care of people affected by dystonia and we would welcome future applications.

Through Commitment 13 of the Framework, the Scottish Government will support neurological research by promoting the work of the Chief Scientist Office, third sector organisations’ research and Scottish neurological research networks; encouraging opportunities for people with neurological conditions to become involved in research trials; and highlighting the need for further qualitative research on the impact of living with a neurological condition.

The Chief Scientist Office research funding committees are open and applications on the underlying causes, diagnosis, treatment and management of dystonia are welcomed - Response Mode Funding Schemes – Chief Scientist Office (scot.nhs.uk)

Teachers’ pay negotiations are a matter for the Scottish Negotiating Committee for Teachers (SNCT), comprising membership from local authority employers, teacher unions and Scottish Government.

The last SNCT pay negotiation meeting was held on 17 November. The next meeting will be arranged at the appropriate time.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting a fair pay offer for teachers and remains committed to working with our partners in the SNCT to bring these discussions to a successful conclusion.

The information requested on how many specialist osteoporosis nurse positions are (i) filled and (ii) vacant by NHS Board is not centrally available.

Numbers of radiography staff have increased from 1,836.8 WTE to 2,507.7 WTE since September 2007 - a 36.5% increase.(September 2007 - September 2021).

Information on how many radiographer positions are (i)filled and (ii)vacant by NHS Board, can be found on the TURAS NHS Education for Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHSScotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence

The 2022-23 Scottish Budget provides investment of £18 billion for the Health and Social Care Portfolio, delivering on the commitment to pass on frontline health and care Barnett consequentials in full.

The consultation on the National Care Service closed on 2 November 2021. We are currently analysing the consultation responses and will develop specific policy proposals, including on commissioning, once that analysis has been completed.

There is a commitment to co-design of a future National Care Service with people with lived and living experience of social care support, including those who access care, carers and care workers. The geography and demography of Scotland, including the unique circumstances of islands, will need to be central to that future co-design process.

The link below leads to the latest elective waiting times publication which was published on Tuesday 30 November for the quarter ending 30 Sep 2021. This provides number of patients waiting and seen by specialty for outpatients and inpatient / day cases.

Stage of treatment waiting times - Inpatients, day cases and new outpatients 30 November 2021 - NHS waiting times - stage of treatment - Publications - Public Health Scotland

The split between inpatient and day case is not published. in addition, this publication only covers details up to the end of September 2021, with the information on the quarter ending 31 December 2021 due to be published at the end of February.

Through Zero Waste Scotland, Scottish Government has provided the amounts shown in the table below, since 2011, directly to support local authorities’ recycling and re-use services. These grants included support for communications.