Scottish Government marketing teams do not specify inclusion of any specific media outlets to media agencies who prepare the media strategy and schedules based on audience to ensure advertising is as effective as possible and delivers high levels of reach for the investment. Therefore campaign budget is also a critical factor in media agencies determining whether smaller outlets, which deliver lower levels of reach in general, will be added to a media schedule.

Registers of Scotland is a non-Ministerial Public Body answerable to the Scottish Parliament and Digital transformation and modernisation of the Registers of Scotland systems are the responsibility of the Keeper.

RoS is delivering a significant programme of digital transformation and modernisation. This has moved RoS’s registers to the cloud; enabled applications to be submitted digitally; and enabled customers to self-serve digital information from the registers; as well as significantly modernising the internal digital tools used by RoS to process applications.

The Scottish Government sets out the Digital Scotland Service Standards which RoS adheres to and RoS staff have taken part in training and development from the Scottish Government’s Digital Academy.

The Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group undertakes an annual review of medical training establishments and makes recommendations to Scottish Ministers on the need to create additional training places in order to meet increased demand and future anticipated consultant need.

I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

NRS operates an information security governance and assurance structure aligned to ISO 27001 and HM Government security framework.

Personnel are vetted and undertake mandatory security and data protection training. NRS routinely uses data protection impact assessments to identify and address privacy risks. Regular IT Health Checks are completed and vulnerabilities remediated. Security event monitoring and alerting is in place. Risk management, asset controls and reporting processes are used to manage technology risk.

NRS has achieved Cyber Essentials Plus certification and accreditation as a data processing environment under the Digital Economy Act.

Scottish Government marketing and advertising spend is published each year and can be found at https://www.gov.scot/collections/marketing-spend/ including a breakdown by media type.

Details are provided in the following table.

The Scottish Government has a dedicated team that manage all aspects of our fleet. Part of this role is to ensure vehicles are maintained in line with manufacturers recommended maintenance schedules and guidelines to ensure emission compliance and the active monitoring of fuel usage.

Progression data from the General Medical Council shows that 90% of trainees have obtained a specialty training post in the UK within three years of completing the Foundation Programme. It is likely that overall numbers taking up a specialty training place for cohorts 2022, 2023 & 2024 (albeit not immediately after completing foundation training) will increase over the coming years.

The number of established training places in each specialty is determined by anticipated future demand and workforce need for consultants and General Practitioners rather than foundation programme numbers.

While resident doctors are eligible to apply to specialty training after completing foundation training, other career routes are available and many choose deferred application or alternative routes including periods in locally employed doctor roles or periods of travel alongside options to develop their skills and experience through SAS grade roles. Data shows a trend of increasing proportions of Foundation Year 2 doctors delaying NHS specialty training in the whole of the UK and in Scotland. However, of all the cohorts from 2017 to 2021, only 8% of Foundation Year 2 doctors did not receive any offer of a training post after applying in the same year they completed foundation training.

There is no evidence to show that the reduction in Foundation Year 2 doctors entering specialty training has had an impact on the availability of medical professionals. Progression data from the General Medical Council shows that 90% of trainees have obtained a specialty training post in the UK within three years of completing the Foundation Programme.