Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government’s aim is to support high quality, relevant, appropriate and accessible ESOL provision that meets learner need. The Scottish Government’s ESOL funding is currently provided through colleges as part of the grant allocated to the Scottish Funding Council. Colleges are instructed to work with Community Planning Partnerships (CPPs) to determine the level of need for provision and agree with partners how this need can be met.

In addition to this, I have announced an independent review of Community Learning and Development (CLD) which includes ESOL learning. The Independent Review of CLD offers a timely opportunity to better understand how we can ensure that proposed changes to the education and skills system has a focus on the most marginalised learners. Given the ongoing work to reform the education sector, and the intention of the review to provide recommendations on how CLD, including ESOL learning, can best fit within it, it makes sense to pause implementation of the adult learning strategy until such time as the future shape and strategic orientation of CLD is considered.

The vast majority of spending on mental health is delivered through NHS board budgets – and this is not directly affected by the budget reprioritisation. Between the Scottish Government and NHS boards we expect spending on Mental Health to be well in excess of £1.3 billion in financial year 2023-24.

The 2023-24 direct mental health budget of £260.3 million is still more than double the 2020-21 mental health budget of £117.1 million and supports delivery of the new ten-year Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy and recently published delivery and workforce plans, the Suicide Prevention Strategy and action plan and Scotland's first Self-Harm Strategy and action plan. These Plans have been produced with affordability and deliverability within that overall financial envelope as a primary consideration.

In Scotland, under current water quality legislation, the decision to introduce fluoridation of drinking water supplies lies with local NHS Boards. There are currently no known plans to fluoridate the public water supply in Scotland and any decision to do so would be the responsibility of individual NHS Boards in consultation with the public and Scottish Water. There have been no formal discussions with NHS Boards regarding water fluoridation.

The National Digital Platform continues to undergo development, with core components that will enable individual access, such as standards-based data storage and integration, access controls and user authentication for the workforce now largely in place.

However, the Platform itself will not provide patients digital access to their medical records or the ability to book appointments, rather it will power the underlying data requirements and systems integration for digital services that are public facing. Examples of such services include the Scotland-wide national vaccine service, where patients could access their vaccine information and book appointments through systems that relied on the capabilities of the National Digital Platform. Additionally the Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment (ReSPECT) digital application, which is designed, delivered and deployed on the National Digital Platform is currently live in two Boards, and being implemented in several others. The Platform is also being used to power the developing OpenEyes Ophthalmology electronic patient record and the development of a Stroke Assessment tool.

A more detailed update on the National Digital Platform, along with detail on how patient access to their medical information and how appointments will be able to be booked online, will be provided to the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee in February 2024 in response to their correspondence on 05 December related to electronic patient records.

The vast majority of spending on mental health is delivered through NHS board budgets – and this is not directly affected by the Budget reprioritisation. Between the Scottish Government and NHS boards we expect spending on Mental Health to be well in excess of £1.3 billion in financial year 2023-24.

Historically Scotland has a relatively high number of mental health beds per 100,000 of the population and lower levels of bed occupancy (compared to the rest of the UK). However, we are aware of recent pressures on the availability of psychiatric beds, exacerbated by the continuing impact of seasonal illness and COVID-19 on staff capacity in both inpatient and community settings.

Officials have developed a support and engagement plan across mental health services. This will include routine engagement with NHS Boards, alongside access to professional advice and tailored support for those NHS Boards with the highest levels of delayed discharge.

We remain fully committed to delivering the Coming Home recommendations, and to support public bodies to reduce inappropriate hospital stays and out-of-area placements experienced by people with learning disabilities and complex care needs.

Historically Scotland has a relatively high number of mental health beds per 100,000 of the population and lower levels of bed occupancy (compared to the rest of the UK).

However, we are aware of recent pressures on the availability of psychiatric beds, exacerbated by the continuing impact of seasonal illness and COVID-19 on staff capacity. Officials have developed a support and engagement plan across mental health services. This will include routine engagement with NHS Boards, with additional support for those with the highest rates of delayed discharge.

We are continuing to invest record amounts into mental health provision across the country, to ensure the needs of the population are met effectively, safely, and in a timely fashion – this includes advancing our aspiration for care to be person centred and delivered in the community wherever appropriate.

World Expos are overseen and regulated by the Intergovernmental Organisation - Bureau International des Expositions (BIE). BIE membership is reserved so any bid to host a World Expo would need to be progressed by the UK Government and any participation by Scotland in that process would have to be at their invitation.

We are not aware of any bid being considered by the UK for the World Expo in 2035 and would refer the member to the UK Government for any further information on this.

As is stated in The Strategy for Our Veterans, published in 2022, the Scottish Government is committed to ensuring all armed forces personnel and veterans who serve and live in Scotland are able to access the best possible care and support, including safe, effective and person-centred healthcare.

NHS inform includes pages about Health rights for veterans in Scotland , which provide guidance on medical and practical support available for veterans. This information is reviewed and updated regularly.

The Scottish Government recently launched a General Practice Armed Forces and Veterans Recognition scheme. This scheme will help increase understanding, among staff in general practice, of the health issues faced by veterans and armed forces families as a result of military service and includes some of the support services that may be available. General Practices who wish to be part of the Scheme can contact [email protected] for more information.

All Scottish NHS health boards are signatories to the Armed Forces Covenant, which states that members of the veterans and armed forces community should face no disadvantage when accessing and receiving treatment for health problems as a result of service to their country. The Scottish Government meets regularly with NHS Armed Forces and Veterans Champions to support them in meeting their duties under the Covenant.

We committed in the Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy to put appropriate governance arrangements in place to oversee implementation and track progress. We will therefore establish a Mental Health and Wellbeing Leadership Board during the first year of the Delivery Plan that will:

• Provide national leadership and strategic oversight of priorities.
• Ensure activity delivers clear benefits, aligned with the Strategy’s vision, outcomes and principles.
• Provide constructive support and challenge to ensure progress against actions set out in the Delivery Plan.
• Play a key role in evaluating the impact of interventions and sharing learning.

As we have set out in the Delivery Plan (published November 2023), we intend for membership of the Leadership Board to include representation from a range of Scottish Government portfolio areas, Local Government, NHS Boards, Integration Joint Boards (IJBs) and the Third Sector.

World Expos are regulated by the Intergovernmental Organisation - Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) and membership is reserved. Scotland’s participation is reliant on invitation from the UK Government to be a sponsor partner of the UK Pavilion. Building on Scotland’s successful participation at Expo 2020 in Dubai, the UK and Scottish Government are in discussion about opportunities to showcase Scotland at Expo 2025 in Osaka.