Chamber and committees

It is the responsibility of individualhealth boards to support staff during the implementation of Agenda for Change, andto keep them up to date with progress.

Health boards are achieving thisin a number of ways, such as presentations with  Q & A, drop in sessions, postercampaigns, updates in staff newsletters and regularly updated internet and intranetsites. Staff will be notified individually as to the outcome of job matching/localevaluation in their particular case, and will be advised and supported should theyseek a review of that outcome.

Developments with Agenda forChange at a national level are intimated to health boards by way of bulletins fromthe Scottish Pay Reference and Implementation Group (SPRIG), who are the partnershipbody overseeing implementation of Agenda for Change in NHSScotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-23100 on 28 February 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

It was agreed in partnership with trades unions and professional organisations at a UK level as part of the overall Agenda for Change agreement that the outcomes of the job evaluation scheme would be checked for consistency and accuracy.

There are two strands to this process in NHSScotland, both performed in partnership. Local systems ensure that there is consistency in outcome across the individual matching panels within their area. A national monitoring group ensures that job evaluation outcomes are accurate and consistent across the whole of NHSScotland. Approval from the national monitoring group is required before staff groups can be assimilated to the new Agenda for Change paybands.

NHSScotland has made significant progress in the implementation of Agenda for Change. In terms of job evaluation, over 85% of posts which have been submitted to matching panels have been matched against national profiles, with around 53,000 staff having passed through the local consistency and national monitoring process in readiness for assimilation. Health boards have also made progress in locally evaluating those posts which do not fit national job profiles. It is anticipated that all staff, either job matched or locally evaluated, will be paid on the Agenda for Change paybands by October 2006.

In common with NHSScotland generally, significant progress has been made in implementing Agenda for Change in the Scottish Ambulance Service. The majority of staff within the Scottish Ambulance Service have now been through the job matching process and the National Monitoring Group are currently monitoring outcomes. The process of notifying staff of job matching outcomes commenced on 17 February 2006.

A consultation paper will be published in the spring. A national strategy for youth work will be developed following the consultation.

Through the child protection reform programme, we have undertaken a pilot awareness raising media campaign in the north east of Scotland and are considering the evaluation from this. We have also issued almost 240,000 leaflets, “Protecting Children and Young People: What you can do to help if you are worried about a child or young person” for distribution across Scotland through Child Protection Committees (CPCs). In strengthening the role of Child Protection Committees through guidance issued in February 2005, we have made clear that a key function is the provision and dissemination of public information about protecting children and young people through developing, implementing and regularly reviewing a communications strategy. Protecting Children and Young People: Framework for Standards also requires agencies to work in partnership with members of the community to protect children.

Before commencing the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003, we issued some 6,500 leaflets to approximately 360 organisations across the country reminding them of the need to safeguard children and the duty they have under the act if someone harms, or risks harm, to a child and is dismissed, moved away from working with children or leave before this can happen. This was supplemented for the voluntary sector by the production of additional guidance, a training pack and the running of a series of workshops.

The List of Those Disqualified from Working With Children was established by the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003. In accordance with the provisions of that act an individual can be placed on the list either when the courts have deemed this should be the case at the time of a conviction or when an organisation has referred them for consideration. The tests applied to referrals by organisations are that the person was working in a child care position, the referral is not frivolous or vexatious, the person harmed a child or put them at risk of harm and has been dismissed, moved away from working with children or left before that action could be taken. If these criteria are met, a Determination Panel considers the information provided by both the referring organisation and the individual as to whether they are unsuitable to work with children. The full determination process is set out in the Protection of Children (Scotland) Act 2003 Determination Regulations 2004 (SI 2004 No. 523).

As part of the work to be done in taking forward our proposals for a new vetting and barring scheme outlined in the consultation paper Protecting Vulnerable Groups: Scottish Vetting and Barring Scheme published on 8 February 2006, we will be considering the criteria for barring under the new scheme and will make clear the process and criteria upon which decisions will be made.

The current criteria are:

to deliver better outcomes for vulnerable and deprived children and young people;

to protect children – through effective early intervention with children and families and/or support when they need protection;

to improve the health, education and care of children and young people who are affected by disability and/or who have special educational needs/additional support needs;

to assist in meeting the health needs of children and young people by engaging in health initiatives complementary to those required by statute;

to deliver better outcomes for children, young people and families from ethnic minorities;

to promote the rights and reflect the views of all children and young people – especially those who are vulnerable or deprived;

to enhance the physical, mental and emotional development and well-being of all children and young people by promoting healthier, more positive lifestyles through social inclusion, lifelong learning and active citizenship, and

to provide mediation and counselling services for families/couples experiencing stress or in transition.

The parliamentary question was answered on 27 January 2006.

Volunteer Development Scotland (VDS) is an independent voluntary organisation. Accordingly, there are no duties that can be imposed on it by the Scottish Executive and its work is not directed by statute. However, in 2003‑04, the Scottish Executive negotiated a three year funding package for VDS to deliver a range of activities designed to implement the Volunteering Strategy. These activities support organisations, including youth organisations, to recruit, support and train volunteers and includes: delivery of the Millennium Volunteers programme; skills development and training for those who manage volunteers; making best use of ICT through working with the Volunteer Centre network to operate the www.volunteerscotland.org.uk website which allows organisations to publicise their volunteer opportunities, and improving Quality Standards, for example through delivering the Investors in Volunteering UK quality standard which aims to recognise organisations which provide high quality volunteer opportunities.

I refer the member to the answer to question S2W-22201 on 23 January 2006. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.