Chamber and committees

In the absence of powers on employment legislation the Scottish government seeks to drive Fair Work by attaching criteria to grants, contracts and other public funding through our Fair Work First principles. Menopause support is one of the good practice examples in the Fair Work First guidance and directs employers to resources produced by NHS Inform and Close the Gap. Fair Work First criteria have been applied to public funding totalling £2.4 billion since 2019.

Under the Women’s Health plan, in October 2023 NHS Scotland launched their National Menopause and Menstrual Health Policy for their workforce of around 180,000. This policy was designed to apply to any employer and we continue to promote it across public, private and third sectors.

The recently concluded Workplace Equality Fund supported four menopause-related projects, from which lessons learned and resources created will be shared widely with employers across Scotland alongside wider guidance, advice and support on all aspects of Fair Work as part of a fair work resource hub currently being developed with input from employers.

Communication to specific audiences via social media is an integral part of every Scottish Government marketing campaign and incorporates e.g. videos, paid advertisements, website and social content and influencer marketing. Scottish Government marketing content and campaigns run across multiple social media platforms (in either paid-for or organic form) as part of integrated marketing and communications campaigns. All social media activity is developed to support defined policy outcomes and in line with key Scottish Government priorities.

Scottish Government marketing and advertising spend is published each year can be found at https://www.gov.scot/collections/marketing-spend/ including a breakdown by discipline and media type. As the 2024-25 financial year is not yet complete the information is not included.

AI is a comparatively new technology, and a number of projects and applications for our healthcare services are currently at the research and development stage, or being tested and piloted within particular areas or within single NHS Boards. This is allowing us to learn from what works and what has potential for national scale.

We also recognise that, to harness the benefits of AI at a national level, we need to ensure that our data available across NHS and social care services is fit for purpose to enable AI to work safely and effectively. It’s why, in partnership with COSLA, we launched our first Data Strategy for Health and Social Care in February 2023, committing to adopt a national approach to the ethical, transparent consideration of adoption and implementation of AI-based tools, products and services.

As part of our commitments set out in our Data Strategy we intend to publish a framework for the safe and ethical use of AI across health and social care. This will take place by July 2025 and will set out more information on our approach to AI implementation in Scotland.

In addition to the evaluation process detailed in response to S6W-33751, the Scottish Government utilises robust procurement frameworks to ensure value for money. The Marketing Services Frameworks are used for provision of social media support as part of a wider portfolio of work. The process involves a mini competition inviting all contractors to tender for the work and awarding to one, with both quality and price assessed. Requirements of the winning agency are therefore clearly stated, and contractually agreed, as are the charges payable for the service requirement with the successful contractor. Framework providers are responsible for ensuring costs are an accurate reflection of the level of work to be undertaken. Outputs are measured as part of the campaign evaluation process. Overall agency performance is evaluated bi-annually between contract owners and agencies.

An example of this is the rollout of Digital Therapy services which has been successfully completed with 35 evidenced digital treatments available in all areas of Scotland, including all rural and remote areas. Across digital therapy services a range of technologies have been integrated into clinical service delivery to ensure that services can be accessed in a variety of ways to meet the circumstances of the individual. Over 74,000 referrals and self-referrals were received into digital therapy services in 2023-24.

Data provided by local services indicates high levels of usage of digital therapy services across remote and rural areas, with good clinical outcomes and showing much greater levels of treatment, accessibility and availability in these areas. NHS Shetland, NHS Orkney and NHS Western Isles are some of the biggest users of digital therapies when adjusted for population.

Near Me video consulting for groups continues to show positive impact in areas such as travel miles saved. However, enabled choice is driving greater uptake and engagement with 81% of people completing Near Me group courses over just 75% attending in person. The average weight loss is 3.2kg for Near Me group sessions for weight management groups, nearly twice the average weight loss (1.7kg) for an in-person session. Further information is published here - near-me-groups-report-march-2023_0.pdf

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

Social media activity will typically be part of a multi-channel campaign and assessing performance on social platforms spans a number of disciplines including of advertising, PR, influencer marketing and paid-for media management.

Our social media management and effectiveness is evaluated in a range of ways, according to the SMART objectives: