Chamber and committees

This is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland. I have asked the Chief Executive of SDS, Damien Yeates to write to you outlining these costs.

It is the responsibility of individual grant funders to monitor a grant recipient’s compliance with the real Living Wage and effective voice conditions and its progress on the remaining five desirable Fair Work First criteria, as part of their standard grant governance, assurance and monitoring processes.

Whilst the recruitment and employment of teachers are matters for local authorities as the employer, the member may wish to be aware that teachers are not employed on zero-hour contracts.

The number of complaints the Agricultural Wages Enforcement Team have investigated that involved the use of interpreters, over the past five years, is:

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

The requested information on what percentage of frontline healthcare staff currently employed by NHS (a) Highland, (b) Western Isles, (c) Orkney, (d) Shetland and (e) Grampian are due to retire in the next (i) year and (ii) five years is not centrally held.

The information requested is not held centrally and is a matter for the Health Boards referred to in the question.

The requested information on how many travelling consultants there have been within NHS (a) Highland, (b) Western Isles, (c) Orkney, (d) Shetland and (e) Grampian in each year since 2021 is not centrally held.

The Scottish Government is aware of the unique needs of our rural and islands communities, and that these needs vary significantly from place to place. We recognise that there is no “one size fits all” approach which will work for every community, and that harnessing the local knowledge of staff working within these areas can play an important role in improving healthcare outcomes.

That is why the work of the NHS Scotland remote, rural and islands task and finish group that we have convened is being led by representatives from across our rural and island Health Boards.

The group is working to develop a framework for sustainable delivery of healthcare services in rural and island communities. We aim to develop a model with services provided as local as possible and specialised as necessary in order to ensure equity of outcomes. The leadership, collaboration and innovation that our rural and island Board representatives are bringing to this group will ensure this work meets the needs of the communities they serve.

The Scottish Government will announce its spending plans for 2025-26 in its budget, on 4 December, with more detailed consideration of portfolio spend priorities, including the Monitor Farm Programme, being taken shortly thereafter.