Chamber and committees

All fourteen territorial NHS boards across Scotland are actively participating in the quality and cost-effectiveness review, which focuses on the specifications for the stoma appliances service in the community. The review is being led from within the NHS on behalf of the Scottish Government to gauge whether the existing arrangements, first introduced in 2007 and updated in 2011, remain fit for purpose and cost effective.

Views are currently being canvassed from all interested parties, including patients, NHS staff working in stoma care services, dispensing appliance contractors, manufacturers and community pharmacies. The results will be considered in due course on how arrangements for provision of stoma appliances in the community should develop.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that all people who live with long term conditions and disabilities are able to receive the best possible care and support wherever possible and benefit from healthcare services that are safe, effective and put the patient at the centre of their care.

It is fully committed to providing the people of Scotland with the NHS services which meet their needs and maintain high standards of care. While the government provides the policies, frameworks and resources for high quality health care in Scotland, it is for each NHS board to decide how best to deliver those services to meet the needs of the population to ensure they can provide safe, effective care for their patients. This includes the provision of stoma care services.

All fourteen territorial NHS boards across Scotland are actively supporting the quality and cost effectiveness review of the stoma appliances service in the community and are participating in the process.

The focus of the quality and cost effectiveness review are the specifications for the stoma appliances service in the community against which dispensing appliance contractors, manufacturers and community pharmacies deliver these services.

The Scottish Government expects NHS board’s to plan and deliver services, including specialist nursing services, taking account of national priorities and local needs. To help with this, we are equipping boards with tools to identify how many specialist nurses they require now and for the future.

On 7 January 2015 First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced that an extra £2.5 million will be invested in specialist nursing and care. The first allocation of the new funding package, £700,000, will go towards nursing care and support to those with motor neurone disease (MND).

The allocation of these funds in 2015-16 will be informed by a review of specialist nursing services currently being carried out by the Scottish Government. We will work closely with MND Scotland, the third sector, social care, NHS boards and other partners to ensure the use of these funds is maximised and based on population health and need.

NHS boards review their winter performance every year. Cold related ill health is a significant factor in winter pressures. We work with NHSScotland to revise the winter planning guidance throughout the year and issued final guidance to NHS chief executives on 23 September 2014.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-23772 on 13 January 2015. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

We have recently developed a data set with partners which NHS Information Services Division will be starting to collect data on in 2015 to track progress in developing intensive community treatment teams and other tier four Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS) activity and how the adolescent inpatient units are working. This should provide us with a comprehensive picture of how services are functioning nationally. This data is currently only available at a regional level used for managing and planning services locally.

In the south of Scotland where the new approaches are most advanced there has been a significant reduction in the need for unscheduled and temporary admissions of under-18s to adult psychiatric hospital beds.

Data from the South of Scotland region demonstrates the variance and the potential benefits of newly created capacity, arising from the new model. In the six month period April – September 2011 it was shown that the South of Scotland region had 25% of the population but only 5% of admissions to adult wards. During the same period almost half of all admissions to CAMHS specialist units occurred in the south, though this is also the product of shorter admissions, increasing the number of young people accessing the service.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-23772 on 13 January 2015. 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/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

New entrants in Pillar 1 of the common agricultural policy will fall into two categories, those that started in 2013 or later and those who can provide verifiable evidence they were already actively farming in 2013.

Those starting in 2013 or later will be able to apply to the National Reserve for an allocation of payment entitlements that will be paid at the regional average value.

The others will be able to apply for payment entitlements in the new basic payment and receive an allocation based on the amount of land they declare in 2015. If the value of those entitlements is below the regional average and the farmer is eligible to apply to the National Reserve, they may request the value to be topped up to the regional average.

The categories for the National Reserve are:

New entrants and young farmers who start farming in 2013 or later;

Farmers not allocated entitlements to the single farm payment (SFP) or only allocated SFP entitlements through new entrant or investor categories of the previous National Reserve in 2005;

Farmers who have been subject to force majeure.

In order to receive Pillar 1 payments the criteria for all farmers is that they meet the active farmer requirements.

Under Pillar 2, the new Scottish Rural Development Programme will include assistance mainly through two dedicated funding schemes.

First, there will be start-up aid of up to £55,000 to support new entrants who have set up as head of a holding in the 24 months before submitting an application. Applicants will also need to comply with the European Regulation definition of a young farmer:

Less than 41 years of age;

Have set up for the first time as head of an agricultural business; and

Possess adequate occupational skills.

Second, there will be funding of up to £25,000 (for individuals) and £125,000 (for groups) over any two-year period for capital business improvement projects. This scheme will be open to new entrants of any age who:

Have set up for the first time as head of an agricultural business for up to five years before the application for support.

Our current plan is to launch the Agri-Environment Climate Scheme in January 2015 and customers will be invited to apply online from March 2015, with contracts issued from late 2015.

High level guidance was available on-line from 15 December 2014, and detailed scheme guidance will be available to customers for January 2015. We will also be running pillar 2 roadshows around Scotland from February 2015.

A final decision on the length of the application period has not yet been made.

We will need to take into account the time required:

a) For applicants to prepare their applications.

b) For our case officers to assess applications.

c) For the approving officer (or national expert panel) to approve or reject applications.

d) To create and issue contracts.

e) For applicants to return signed contracts.