Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has a responsibility to their staff and their right to privacy. Due to the small number of individuals involved, it is likely that staff could be identified, therefore we cannot disclose this information.

This is an operational matter for Skills Development Scotland (SDS). I will ask the Chief Executive of SDS to write to you with the information you have requested.

The Scottish Government is committed to improving the lives of people with autism through the Scottish Strategy for Autism. We are working in partnership to ensure that there is intensive support and training for modern apprenticeship applicants on the autistic spectrum and training for our managers.

Our diversity manager works with recruiting managers and applicants to ensure that no part of the process impacts disparately for applicants on the autistic spectrum. This includes specific support during the recruitment process for the applicant, adjustments to particular parts of the process and/or questions and specialist training for those undertaking the recruitment process.

One of the key outcomes for Scotland’s second three year national dementia strategy is that people with dementia are enabled to live a good quality, safe and dignified life at home or for longer. This includes ensuring that people will be admitted into specialist NHS dementia care only when their symptoms have advanced to the extent that they cannot be safely cared for in any other care setting.New guidance on Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care:http://www.sehd.scot.nhs.uk/dl/DL(2015)11.pdf was published on 28 May 2015, replacing previous guidance on NHS continuing healthcare. This reiterates that people should only be in hospital when they have complex clinical needs.

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting the delivery of safe, effective and person-centred dementia care for everyone with dementia in all care settings. These principles underpin the standards of care for dementia in Scotland and the national promoting excellence dementia workforce skills and knowledge framework (both published in 2011). The integration of health and social care will help enable services to provide more comprehensive and seamless home-based care and support for people with dementia.

The Scottish Government policy is to support people to live as independently as possible, for as long as possible, in their own homes. Anyone who needs NHS care will continue to have that care provided to them whatever the setting.

Our legislation to integrate health and social care provides a platform for health boards and local authorities along with third and independent sectors to work together to ensure people are supported to improve their lives and outcomes.

To support integration, an overall package over £0.5 billion is being invested across Scotland over three years to enhance care in the community capacity and quality.

I last met the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland on 10 June 2015. This was the second of two introductory meeting following my appointment as Minister for Transport and Islands, at which we discussed her role and responsibilities.

I have no plans to review the existing powers of the Traffic Commissioner for Scotland to take action against bus operators who fail to operate local services as registered.

Bus operators are legally obliged to register local services they intend to operate with the Traffic Commissioner and to run them in accordance with the registered timetable as submitted. The Traffic Commissioner can impose penalties of up to £550 per vehicle where a service is not so operated.

Operators are additionally obliged to notify local transport authorities before proposed services are registered or registered services changed and to notify the general public at least three weeks prior to any change or removal of a service.

Later in 2015, I will be introducing changes to the bus service registration process, including an increased period of up to 28 days consultation between local transport authorities and bus operators prior to registration with the Traffic Commissioner. This is intended to allow for discussion and action on potential issues before they arise, enhancing local bus planning and improving the stability of the bus network. I do not rule out further changes if these changes do not have the desired effects.

The Scottish Government is required to make Basic Payment Scheme payments by the end of June 2016. We are working hard to be able to start making payments before the end of 2015 but at this stage we cannot guarantee the timing of payments. The new common agricultural policy (CAP) that we are having to implement is more complex than the previous CAP and has been a significant challenge for administrations and farmers alike – right across Europe. Scotland, like 15 other member states, extended the single application form deadline in order to deal with the complexities of the new system, but this is likely to have downstream implications for processing. In addition to delivering the new IT system, there are also additional tasks to be completed this year such as greening inspections, regionalisation of land parcels, calculating and issuing entitlements. We will look at all the flexibilities available to us, such as paying in instalments or splitting up Basic and Greening payments, so as to get payments out to farmers as early as possible, and will keep the industry informed in the coming months.

The Scottish Government is continuing to take a cautious, evidence-based approach to all issues relating to unconventional oil and gas. Within this context, my officials are currently gathering further information and facts on these issues, and the Scottish Government will provide an update in due course.

The Scottish Government will ensure greater scrutiny of unscheduled care waiting times targets through the National Unscheduled Care Programme. This programme, which I launched in May 2015, focuses on six essential actions to improve unscheduled care nationally and will support joined up work across health boards to address wider issues of patient flow through hospitals and will ensure the whole NHS system works together effectively.

This approach is being supported centrally and locally with staff dedicated to improving patient care and flow. The national team will work closely with the local team in NHS Tayside to ensure any issues are addressed, including any concerns around waiting times, and ensure best practice is installed throughout the hospital system.

Additionally, the Chief Medical Officer visited Ninewells hospital at NHS Tayside earlier in June 2015 and met with a number of teams to examine the reassurances provided by the board that the models in place for these areas were effective, safe, and stood up to scrutiny. A full report of the visit, which was published in full on the Scottish Government website, found that the current emergency department model of care is safe and clinically appropriate and that the principles that underpin NHS Tayside’s emergency department model are patient safety and outcome focused and not target driven.