Chamber and committees

Physician associates are valued and welcome members of the NHS Scotland workforce, and will continue to contribute to the Scottish Government's priority of developing a sustainable system that ensures people get the right care, at the right time, and in the right place. Work is being taken forward through our national Medical Associate Professionals Programme Board to identify how the Physician Associate profession can be utilised to best effect going forward.

GP practices, as independent contractors, are responsible for determining their own staff mixes and it is up to individual practices to decide whether or not they wish to employ Physician Associates or any other type of clinician. The work to expand the Multidisciplinary Teams supporting GP practices through the Primary Care Improvement Fund is based on transferring services from GP delivery to delivery by health board employed staff. It is up to health boards to decide how to staff these services, although they must work closely with local communities and stakeholders to ensure that specific local challenges and population need are taken into account.

The additional mobile endoscopy units have supported patients to be clinically prioritised for endoscopy, ensuring that a range of conditions, including Inflammatory Bowel Disease, are diagnosed and managed timeously.

To provide further support for timeous diagnosis, the Scottish Government commissioned Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) will shortly publish a newly developed Inflammatory Bowel Disease pathway to support earlier identification and management of the disease.

This is all part of our programme to drive up productivity and tackle waiting lists, supported by the CfSD. Together, our actions will further enable NHS Scotland to maximise capacity, build greater resilience, reduce variation and deliver reductions in the number of patients who have waited too long for diagnosis and treatment.

Announcements of ministerial appointments to all public bodies, including NHS boards, since 2020 can be found on the Scottish Government website at https://www.gov.scot/collections/public-appointments-announcements/. Each announcement includes a declaration of any political activity within the five years preceding appointment.

This information is not available for appointments prior to 2020 and could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) including Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative Colitis 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.

To specifically support scope based diagnostics we have published an Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan backed by £70 million. The plan focuses on key areas such as: Balancing Demand and Capacity; Workforce Training and Development; Infrastructure; and Innovation and Redesign.

Long waits are regrettable and patients continue to be seen based on their clinical urgency, for example, those referred with an urgent suspicion of cancer continue to be prioritised for scope-based diagnostic tests. If a patient feels that their condition is deteriorating in any way, they should contact their GP who can provide a clinical update to their Specialist Consultant. The GP can also provide support and management advice to patients.

Third sector organisations like Crohn’s and Colitis UK also provide information and support for those living with or affected by IBD including on safeguarding: Crohn's & Colitis UK

The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Under the terms of the Civil Service Compensation Scheme, which the Scottish Government is entitled to follow, there are three categories of early departure: voluntary exit, voluntary redundancy, and compulsory redundancy. No voluntary redundancy schemes have been run in 2024-25, and therefore the number of employees in Scottish Government who have been offered voluntary redundancy packages and rejected them, but remained employed with the Scottish Government is nil.

Funding provided by the Scottish Government (Chief Scientist Office) for research falls into three broad areas of activity, i.e. research studies, capacity building and supporting infrastructure.

The specific amounts provided by condition are set out below although it should be noted that research studies (funded by non-commercial and third sector organisations) would also have benefited from the provision of service support costs and other generic resources which are not routinely recorded by condition.

Research Grants

The Chief Scientist Office supports response mode grant committees and a small catalytic grants scheme (2016-19). The committees which comprise independent experts as well as public representatives consider applications across broad research remits to address health and care challenges in Scotland. Applications are subject to independent expert peer-review with funding recommendations made by the committees. It should be noted that (1) funding rounds were significantly impacted in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic which saw a significant research response and (2) for 2024 to date only one of the two funding rounds has been completed.

The economic and social benefits of salmon farming are clear. The sector produces the UK’s number 1 food export and supports around 12,000 jobs in Scotland across its supply chain, providing a steady stream of revenue to Scotland’s coastal communities.

National Planning Framework 4’s policy on aquaculture seeks to ensure that new aquaculture development is in locations that reflect industry needs and considers the impacts of proposed developments and how producers contribute to communities and local economies. The new National Marine Plan 2 will set out a coherent vision for the future development of Scotland’s land and seas and will guide all marine licensing and consenting decisions.

The planning system ultimately delivers a cost benefit analysis of every development proposal. The planning system carefully considers the economic, social and environmental impacts of fish farms and experienced local authority planners are charged with making decisions in the best interest of their communities and in line with the statutory development plan.

We continue to believe it is for local authorities to analyse the impacts of development proposals through the planning system.

The route map to achieving a 20% reduction in car use is co-produced with CoSLA, in recognition of the joint commitment to a just transition to reducing car use. We continue to work closely with local and regional partners to update the route map and timeline for demand management, and we will publish it on completion of that engagement.

Recent ScotRail analysis suggests around £160,000 net revenue per annum is foregone from being unable to sell alcohol on ScotRail services.