Chamber and committees

Our aims for Digital Skills & Leadership for all staff across Health & Care in Scotland are delivered by the cross-sector Building Digital Skills & Leadership Programme hosted by NHS Education for Scotland.

This Programme that has funding in place until June 2023 has been incorporated into Priority Four of the ‘Care in the Digital Age: delivery plan 2022 to 2023’ that was published on 8 November 2022. Details of this programme within the delivery plan can be found on the Scottish Government website at:

Care in the Digital Age: delivery plan 2022 to 2023 - Digital Skills & Leadership

We recognise that the opportunities offered by digital are continually evolving and we need to continually explore those opportunities to transform our services for patients and service users. Our further plans for Digital Skills & Leadership will be outlined as part of an update of the delivery plan by April 2023 taking account of the budget available for 23/24 and further opportunities to support and accelerate reform.

As outlined to the member in parliamentary question S6W-13453 on 26 January 2023, the national framework for acute oncology services has been published. The framework lays out the agreed key principles that underpin an effective Acute Oncology Service (AOS) in NHS Scotland and outlines the clinical standards and proposed outcome measures against which services can be developed and monitored.

In addition, we have committed to increasing the acute oncology workforce as outlined in the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care.

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

I refer the member to the Scottish Governments National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care, where we committed to developing a Remote and Rural Workforce Recruitment Strategy for Health and Social Care by the end of 2024. An update on the National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care will be published later this year.

This is a matter for the Scottish Social Services Council. The information requested is not held centrally.

This is a matter for the Scottish Social Services Council. The information requested is not held centrally.

I refer the member to the answers to question S6W-13542 on 20 January 2023 and S6W-13509 on 24 January 2023. 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

When the Connecting Scotland programme first launched, its early aims were to support people shielding or vulnerable to Covid-19. This allowed for devices, connectivity and skills to be provided alongside guidance and information on how to access health and care services such as Near Me video appointments or finding information on NHS Inform.

Our digital in care homes programme was launched to complement Connecting Scotland and saw over 75% of all adult and children's care homes in Scotland take up the offer of digital devices, data packages and skills. These homes cover over 90% of all residents in Scotland with devices being used to help residents to remain connected to friends and family and to access key services such as the NHS.

The Scottish Government have set out plans in the Digital Health and Care Delivery Plan to launch a new digital inclusion in health and care programme by March 2022 that will look to support people in housing and mental health with greater access to services.

Connecting Scotland is also working closely with the Digital Lifelines team to identify opportunities and further enhance digital services to support people with multiple and complex digital needs. The digital lifeline programme aims to connect individuals and support services to prevent drug related deaths, or reducing the risk of harm.

The Scottish Government works closely with the Scottish Prison Service and last year attended the Veterans in Custody Support Officer (VICSO) gathering at HMP Castle Huntly to discuss how we can better support their work, including future attendance at a Breakfast Club event. Officials will again attend a VICSO gathering in February. Furthermore, the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey now includes a question on former Service in the Armed Forces. We are considering analysis proposals from this survey and findings will be available at varying points during mid-to late-2023. Having a veterans question in this national survey will improve our understanding of the profile, circumstances and needs of veterans in Scotland which in turn will help inform policy and services.

We also support Police Scotland’s pledges under the Armed Forces Covenant to support the Armed Forces and veterans community, including pledges to review and refresh the Veterans Champion role across local policing divisions and to introduce Veterans Champions within its custody and criminal justice environment.

The Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF) funds Community Link Workers (CLWs) as part of primary care multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs). At March 2022, 249 WTE CLWs had been recruited to support GP practices.

The Scottish Government published information on the number of CLWs recruited broken down by Integration Authority on 21 June 2022 as shown in the table below. Further information, including the location, by Integration Authority, of CLWs by both headcount and whole time equivalent, since 2018, can be accessed at: Supporting documents - Primary care improvement plans: summary of implementation progress - March 2022 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) .

The Scottish Government has been pursuing a number of analytical projects in relation to veterans within the justice system and we will continue to consider how evidence on this cohort can be improved going forward.

We have also identified sources of regular data collection where a marker can be added to improve the evidence we hold on veterans. For example, we have included the question on former service in the UK Armed Forces from Scotland’s 2022 Census into the Scottish Crime and Justice Survey (SCJS), the Scottish Health Survey and the Scottish Household Survey. The SCJS asks people about their experiences and perceptions of crime, in addition to a range of issues related to crime, policing and the justice system. The first results are expected in mid-late 2023.

We have also improved the utility of the Official Statistics on Scotland’s prison population, through introducing an interactive analysis tool in 2022 which provides a number of options for analysis of prisoner characteristics – including on a veteran marker (derived from prisoners self-declaring on arrival). Furthermore, we have utilised the findings from the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) Prisoner Survey for self-declared veterans, which includes questions on views and experiences of prison, services and support and are engaging with SPS about their ongoing redevelopment of the prisoner survey.

We have worked with the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Office for Veterans’ Affairs (OVA), and the other devolved administrations to develop and promote the first UK-wide Veterans’ Survey. This online survey is collecting information from veterans of the UK Armed Forces to help us understand their experiences and circumstances, including questions on interactions with the justice system and awareness and use of support services. It is also being made available to all veterans in prison to ensure the views and experiences of this cohort are captured. The first findings are expected by summer 2023.

Finally, we remain in contact with stakeholders, including the SPS, academics, the third sector and colleagues in England and Wales (such as Ministry of Justice, Office for Veterans Affairs, Ministry of Defence) to keep abreast of research developments and emerging evidence on veterans and the justice system.