Chamber and committees

The commitment in the Scottish budget is that in future years investment in mental health will grow at a rate above the overall growth in the frontline budget. No specific percentage rate has been agreed. NHS Boards will report on mental health expenditure through the normal route in due course.

The University of Edinburgh’s new two-year postgraduate teacher education course is a new form of initial teacher education that will result in the award of a full Masters degree and teachers being able to work across both the primary and secondary sectors. The higher academic qualification and increased flexibility in terms of employment will be attractive to graduates considering teaching as a career.

The University of Edinburgh’s new two-year postgraduate teacher education course is a new form of initial teacher education that will result in the award of a full Masters degree and teachers being able to work across both the primary and secondary sectors. The combination of a higher qualification, the development of strong core teaching skills and the ability to work across both primary and secondary schools will allow teachers who study through this route to positively impact on Scotland’s schools.

Further to the answers to questions S5W-07053 on 22 February 2017 and S5W-07499 the Scottish Government has not carried out a review of the 14 individual Protection Orders made under Schedule 3 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation)(Scotland) Act 2003. The wider Protection Order system was considered as part of the Wild Fisheries Reform proposals, and is currently being reviewed. We do not, therefore, hold the evidence requested. Further information about Protection Orders and Wild Fisheries Reform is available from the Marine Scotland website: www.gov.scot/Topics/marine/Salmon-Trout-Coarse.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

The Scottish Government does not hold any information of Scottish construction workers working in Qatar and is not aware of the injury or death of any workers from Scotland working on the stadia for the 2022 World Cup.

Prof Russel Griggs OBE is the Chair of the independent Regulatory Review Group (RRG).

Prof Griggs undertakes work in his role of RRG Chair and as such has been invited to chair groups with Scottish Government officials preparing papers and reports.

Prof Griggs has chaired groups in relation to the Energy Directorate in:

Carbon Capture and Storage

Off shore Energy Consents

Onshore Energy Consents

Geothermal Energy Expert Group and Sub Group

Opencast Coal Task Force – Joint Convener with Fergus Ewing MSP and chaired other sub committees from it

The First Minister has recently announced that Prof Griggs will chair a group to look at the Scottish Government's approach to greening and to make recommendations for a profitable, sustainable and environmentally friendly industry. The Directorate for Environment and Forestry will be the lead directorate for this work.

As RRG Chair, Prof Griggs produces an independent annual report on RRG activities which is submitted to Ministers and available on the Scottish Government website.

The Scottish Government does not hold any information regarding work commissioned by other public bodies in relation to Prof Griggs. Public bodies and agencies publish annual reports on their activities including work with key partners and stakeholders.

Tackling health inequalities and the 'inverse care law' is one of our primary care outcomes, as published in a joint memorandum with the British Medical Association Scottish General Practitioner Committee (BMA SGPC) [http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/11/7258]. One way of delivering on this outcome as part of contractual change would be to adjust the Scottish Allocation Formula (SAF), which weights general practice funding by various factors that affect workload, including deprivation, rurality and age. The Scottish Government are clear that we need to look beyond the GP contract to other interventions and ways of supporting general practice in areas of high deprivation. Changes outwith the contract such as multidisciplinary working and the manifesto commitment to introduce 250 Links workers will be vital for supporting patients in deprived areas.

The Scottish Government and the SGPC agree, in principle, that we need better information and evidence to inform both accurate recompense of expenses and options for the long term overall development of GP pay in Scotland. To this end, we have agreed jointly to commission a review of general practice funding, pay and expenses to provide a proper, robust evidence base for improved decision making. This will take place in 2017, and inform options from 2018.

I refer the member to the answer to question S5W-06766 on 28 February 2017. In particular, the sentence “While we have consistently made the case to the UK Government about the lack of evidence to support the need for this legislation, the Scottish Government, as a public services employer, must comply with the relevant duties which are compulsory within the Act.”

All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx

There has been no requirement that a look back exercise be carried out on a national basis, as medical evidence does not suggest that such action would be beneficial. The Scottish Government does not therefore hold the information requested. However, it is open to individuals to request a clinical review of their case, and where women wish to exercise this right, they should contact their GP or surgeon. The mesh helpline is available to any woman that wishes advice.

The Scottish Government has no plans to review the 14 Protection Orders made under Schedule 3 of the Salmon and Freshwater Fisheries (Consolidation)(Scotland) Act 2003. Protection Orders have no end date and the Scottish Government's current policy is that they remain in place unless an application is made by the protection order area to vary or revoke their order.