Chamber and committees

We are planning on the basis that the full model should be implemented by mid 2025.To aid with implementation we will work with regional chief executives and strategic planning leads to undertake modelling and capacity work to help develop local implementation plans. It is important that the whole multidisciplinary team are involved in developing local plans, including obstetric and maternity staff.

For parents of babies currently in neonatal care, there will be no immediate change. This model of care is based on how neonatal care has been delivered in Scotland for many years. For example, babies born in the Borders needing specialist intensive care have for many years received intensive care in Edinburgh or Glasgow, before being transferred back to hospitals closer to home as their condition improves.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

SPS has assessed the procurement and installation costs for the project at HMP Grampian as £554,995 (excluding VAT). The cost includes all cabling and preparatory works associated to the project at HMP Grampian, as well as the materials and the associated required testing and commissioning works.

Permanent In Cell Telephony means individuals in prison can maintain purposeful family contact, including with children, which we know is important for good mental health and wellbeing, and for reducing the risk of reoffending upon return to communities. In Cell Telephony will also support SPS’ longer term ambitions for in-cell technology, with additional educational opportunities and giving those individuals in prison greater control over their own lives, again supporting reintegration into the community and reducing the risk of reoffending.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

During the period April 2020 to June 2023 the total costs are assessed as £477K.

Permanent In Cell Telephony means individuals in prison can maintain purposeful family contact, including with children, which we know is important for good mental health and wellbeing, and for reducing the risk of reoffending upon return to communities. In Cell Telephony will also support SPS’ longer term ambitions for in-cell technology, with additional educational opportunities and giving those individuals in prison greater control over their own lives, again supporting reintegration into the community and reducing the risk of reoffending.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09277 on 4 July 2022. 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 .

The Scottish Government actively supports health boards across Scotland to plan locally for service need and service delivery.

From September 2006 to March 2023 we have increased the Consultant Radiologist workforce from 223.5 whole time equivalent (WTE) posts to 358.9 WTE – a 60.6% increase.

In March 2022, we published the National Health and Social Care Workforce Strategy, which sets out a long-term vision for achieving a sustainable health and social care workforce. In that Strategy we committed to developing and publishing workforce projections to support long-term planning both for service delivery and service reform.

We continue to invest heavily in our future consultant workforce and have been increasing the number of available training places in Radiology in line with recommendations made by the Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group (SSoTTG).

In 2018 we committed to increasing the Clinical Radiology training establishment by 10 places per year over a five year period. That commitment was met in full last year, bringing the total number of extra places created in this specialty since 2014 to 68, with 10 additional Clinical Interventional Radiology training places also being created over the same period.

The SSoTTG is actively considering the need for further uplifts as part of its annual review of medical training establishments and will be making recommendations later this year for expansion taking place in 2024.

Between 1 August 2021 and 21 June 2023, the Scottish Government has been notified of 19 cyber incidents on public sector organisations under our Notifiable Scottish Public Sector Cyber Incidents Policy and Procedure. Cyber incidents notified do not however necessarily equate to cyber attacks.

The Scottish Government will not provide further details. The organisations that report cyber incidents under the Notifiable Scottish Public Sector Cyber Incidents procedure reasonably expect these details to be treated as confidential. Disclosure of these to a wider audience would undermine this confidentiality and adversely affect the openness with which organisations currently report incidents and participate in the reporting process.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The following table provides the number of SPS issued mobile phone handsets that have been confiscated at HMP & YOI Grampian, each month, from 1 January 2022 to 20 June 2023:

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The cost for providing prisoners mobile phones as at March 2023 was £2.890m. These figures include all costs associated with usage, running costs and additional mobile handsets purchased.

From Jan 2021 – March 2023 the Scottish Government provided over £2.8 million as part of our Women Returners funding through which over 2,100 women have been given support to help with their route back to work. In so doing we have met our 2018/19 Programme for Government commitment to support over 2000 women by the end of the 2022-23 financial year.