Chamber and committees

As outlined in the Programme for Government 2021 – 22 A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) published in September 2021, the Scottish Government is committed to establishing a dignified and compassionate miscarriage service. As part of this, the Scottish Government wants to ensure that NHS Boards are able to provide dedicated facilities for women who are experiencing unexpected pregnancy complications.

A scoping exercise into the availability of services within NHS Boards for miscarriage and unexpected pregnancy complications is underway. The results of this exercise will be analysed over the summer and will inform improvements to miscarriage services.

NHS Employer and Staff Side representatives discussed the temporary increase at a meeting on 7 July and agreed to extend the enhanced rates for a further 4 months, until 30 November 2022. This was confirmed to the service on 12 July.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with epilepsy are able to access the best possible care and support, and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put people at the centre of their care.

That is why in 2019 we published a Neurological Care and Support – National Framework for Action 2020-25, which sets out a vision that everyone with a neurological condition, including epilepsy, can access the care and support they need to live well, on their own terms. Since October 2020, we have invested £324,500 in funding via the Framework to projects that specifically improve the health and wellbeing of people with epilepsy in Scotland.

The Scottish Government and COSLA published a National Workforce Strategy on 11 March 2022. The Strategy commits to publishing new workforce projections in the autumn, once we have had the opportunity to consider Health Board and Health and Social Care Partnerships' three year workforce plans. The staffing needs for services and professional specialities across NHS Scotland such as epilepsy care will be, in partnership with stakeholders, factored into the development of these projections. As part of this work, we are actively listening to colleagues to understand where the current pressures are, and what actions can be taken to mitigate their impact on staff. Decisions on local staffing requirements are, however, the responsibility of individual NHS Boards.

The following table shows the number of Full Time Equivalent (FTE) teachers with STEM subjects listed as their main subject as reported during the 2021 census of teachers in publicly funded schools in Scotland.

The figures exclude head teachers and deputy head teachers.

The recruitment and deployment of teachers is a matter for individual local authorities, as they are responsible for using available resources to provide a complement of staff which meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils based on local needs and priorities.

However, the Scottish Government has a number of ambitions to address the lack of women in STEM occupations and settings, such as schools. These ambitions start early: the Gender Pay Gap Action Plan examines how schools have a key role to play in helping young women make transitions into a broader range of more successful careers, as well as setting out measures which address occupational segregation, which can lead to fewer women accessing STEM careers.

The Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning is also considering how best to ensure that girls and young women are able to freely choose activities, subjects and areas of study including those traditionally dominated by boys and men.

We have provided £240 million of additional investment, over two financial years and a further £145.5 million of permanent funding from April this year to support the employment of additional teachers and support staff.

In addition, we will also fund 3,500 additional teachers and 500 support staff over this Parliamentary term – over and above the 1,400 teachers recruited during the pandemic. We will also continue to work closely with COSLA regarding the employment of teachers, to maximise the number of jobs available.

Since the start of the pandemic, the Scottish Government has provided £240m funding to local authorities to support the recruitment of additional teachers and support staff.

We have committed further permanent funding of £145.5m to support education staffing. This will ensure sustained employment of additional teachers, while meeting local needs and benefitting Scotland’s children and young people.

We will also fund 3,500 additional teachers and 500 support staff over this Parliamentary term – over and above the 1,400 teachers recruited during the pandemic.

We continue to work closely with COSLA regarding the employment of teachers to maximise the number of jobs available, including permanent posts.

The recruitment and deployment of teachers is a matter for individual local authorities, as they are responsible for using available resources to provide a complement of staff which meets the needs of each of their schools and its pupils based on local needs and priorities.

The Scottish Government has a number of ambitions to address the lack of women in STEM occupations and settings, such as schools. The Gender Equality Taskforce in Education and Learning is also considering how best to ensure that girls and young women are able to freely choose activities, subjects and areas of study including those traditionally dominated by boys and men.

The Scottish Government recognises challenges in STEM teacher recruitment and continues to offer 150 bursaries of £20,000 for career changers, wishing to undertake a one year PGDE Initial Teacher Education (ITE) course that leads to the award of registered teacher status in the hardest to fill STEM subjects.

Skills Development Scotland (SDS) seeks to equip each individual with highly effective Career Management Skills which will empower them to proactively direct their career, as well as give them the ability to manage key transition points throughout their lives. SDS has a network of Careers Advisers working in every school in Scotland, as well as at SDS Careers Centres across the country.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09259 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

Yes. The post was filled in 2021.

A Women’s Health Plan Implementation Programme Board has been established to ensure that progress is achieved against the actions within the Plan.

Good progress is being been made against the actions in the first year of the plan. A first progress report, which will update on these achievements, will be published in Autumn 2022.