Chamber and committees

The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) will come into force on 1 January 2014. The scheme was agreed by the Department of Health in England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). Devolved Administrations requested inclusion in the negotiations but were refused.

The parts of the PPRS agreement that relate to Scotland are around pricing which is reserved to the UK Government. A large amount of the document relates to England only as the UK Government negotiate with the ABPI for matters that are reserved (pricing) but also for NHS in England.

The key aspect for the Scottish Government is ensuring that the mechanism in the scheme agreed by the UK Government and ABPI provides a fair return for Scotland.

The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) will come into force on 1 January 2014. The scheme was agreed by the Department of Health in England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). Devolved Administrations requested inclusion in the negotiations but were refused.

The parts of the PPRS agreement that relate to Scotland are around pricing which is reserved to the UK Government. A large amount of the document relates to England only as the UK Government negotiate with the ABPI for matters that are reserved (pricing) but also for the NHS in England.

The Scottish Government’s approach to access to new medicines is clear from our response to the Scottish Parliaments Health and Sport Committee, we want to see improved access within the NHS in Scotland to newly licensed medicines that represent the best in therapeutic value and are cost effective.

The parts of the PPRS agreement that relate to Scotland are around pricing which is reserved to the UK Government. A large amount of the document relates to England only as the UK Government negotiate with the ABPI for matters that are reserved (pricing) but also for NHS in England.

The key aspect for the Scottish Government is ensuring that the mechanism in the scheme agreed by the UK Government and ABPI provides a fair return for Scotland. Discussions are ongoing between the four nations and have not yet concluded.

The Pharmaceutical Price Regulation Scheme (PPRS) will come into force on 1 January 2014. The scheme was agreed by the Department of Health in England and the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry (ABPI). Devolved Administrations requested inclusion in the negotiations but were refused.

The PPRS and the statutory scheme will operate differently from the current voluntary and statutory schemes.

Companies will currently be deciding whether to join the voluntary scheme. We anticipate it will take some time until a judgement can be made about the financial implications of the scheme for Scotland.

The Scottish Government laid the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013 and the Council Tax Reduction (State Pension Credit) (Scotland) Amendment Regulations 2013 in February of this year to uprate the applicable amounts and premiums set out in the Council Tax Reduction (Scotland) Regulations 2012 for the period 2013-14. Discussions with our Local Government partners regarding developments beyond this period are on-going, final decisions will be confirmed in due course.

The number of local authority school centres which presented pupils for examinations for a national qualification in German in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table:

The number of pupils who were presented for a national qualification in German in Local Authority schools in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table:

The number of German-speaking foreign language assistants in Scottish schools in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table.

Scottish Government is encouraged to see that the overall number of Foreign Language Assistants (FLAs) has stabilised and increased (from 59 in 2011-12, to 70 in 2012-13 and 73 in 2013-14).

The number of pupils who were presented for a Higher in German in Local Authority schools in each of the last 10 years is shown in the following table:

Information on the valuations and recovery plans of UK defined benefit and hybrid pension schemes is published by The Pensions Regulator and is available on its website:

http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/scheme-funding-appendix-2013.pdf. Data held by The Pensions Regulator does not identify which of these schemes operates both in Scotland and in the rest of the UK.

Our paper on Pensions in an Independent Scotland clearly sets out the steps we think should be taken to agree pragmatic transitional arrangements to address the impact of the cross-border requirements on existing schemes and set out how schemes which become cross-border at the date of independence would be required to adjust.

The Scottish Government proposes that discussions with the UK Government and the European Commission on this issue should start immediately, with a view to agreeing appropriate transitional arrangements.