Chamber and committees

I announced on 4 October that the Scottish Government would be devolving powers to NHS Boards to utilise local flexibilities within NHS Pension arrangements, and offer ‘pension recycling’. This means NHS Boards will have the ability to assist staff affected by annual and lifetime allowance pension taxation issues. This action is intended to support the retention of staff and support service delivery as we approach winter.

Wider issues relating to pensions are a reserved matter and the power to fully resolve deficiencies with the current system are a matter for the UK Government.

All NHS Scotland Boards are providing assessment and support for people with long COVID, delivered across the full range of services provided by our NHS.

In 2022-23, funding of £18 billion is provided for the health portfolio. This substantial investment is already benefitting a range of services that are supporting the needs of people living with long COVID.

In addition, we have established a £10 million ‘Long COVID Support Fund’ and are investing an initial £3 million from the fund over this financial year to enable NHS Boards to continue to develop and deliver the best models of care for their local populations.

For 2022-23, the funding allocations to thirteen of the fourteen territorial Health Boards (NHS Orkney did not request funding), I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-09934 on 23 August 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 .

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10043 on 24 August 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 is not aware of any practice by pharmacy chains offering work to Scottish locum pharmacists in other parts of the UK while agreeing to closures across the Scottish pharmacy network.

Neither the Scottish Government or Health Boards are responsible for the terms or contractual arrangements put in place between pharmacy businesses and those who provide a pharmacy locum service.

The Scottish Government welcomes continued engagement with health service unions in developing appropriate proposals on pension issues. We are currently modelling member contribution rate structures for the NHS Pension Scheme (Scotland) and will shortly be consulting with the NHS Pension Scheme Advisory Board before holding a public consultation on proposals towards the end of this year.

All payments as part of the national contractual framework are published annually. The latest iteration can be found at SHOW - Scotlands Health On the Web - Publications, including payments for non-activity based services delivered as part of the Pharmaceutical Services Remuneration Global Sum.

Health Boards can recover remuneration in line with the measures available as set out in the National Health Service (Pharmaceutical Services) (Scotland) Regulations 2009 and the National Health Service (Discipline Committees) (Scotland) Regulations 2006.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11011 on 4 October 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11011 on 4 October 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

Ministers’ charging policies and Objectives for the water industry are clearly set out in the key framework documents that can be found on the Scottish Government’s website. Current circumstances facing the industry, indeed the country at large, are undoubtedly challenging and the Scottish Government will maintain regular dialogue with Scottish Water to support the continued delivery of all of Ministers’ Objectives over the current regulatory period. The affordability of charges is a matter for Scottish Water’s Board to consider alongside the requirement to meet its other statutory obligations. WICS has no powers to require a particular outcome in the charge setting process beyond setting the charge caps which are established to protect customers.

NHS Scotland and the Scottish Government remains focused on delivering high-quality care in the safest possible way for patients of all cancer types, including blood cancers.

The National Cancer Plan, published on 9 December 2020, includes actions to improve access to treatments for all cancers.

The Covid-19 National Cancer Medicines Advisory Group (NCMAG) was established to oversee interim governance arrangements for cancer medicines in response to the impact of Covid-19 on the health service. These arrangements include two new medicines approved for use with patients with leukaemia, a type of blood cancer.

We have established the Scottish Cancer Network, which is a dedicated national resource to support and facilitate a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach to cancer services. Its aim is to enable equitable access to care and treatment across Scotland.

Lastly, an updated Framework for Effective Cancer Management was published on 3 December 2021. It supports clinicians and NHS managers to drive improvements in cancer pathways, including blood cancers, providing Health Boards with the tools to effectively manage cancer patients and ultimately recover waiting times.