Chamber and committees

Today I am announcing up to £35.4 million in further funding to support bus operators maintain services between 28 June and 3 October. This is in addition to up to £61.4 million that the Scottish Government has already made available in 2021-22, and up to £191.3 million that was available in 2020-21. This funding is subject to regular reconciliation to ensure we are not over or under paying operators and actual spend in 2020-21 is forecast at £119.5 million. Funding only covers the gap between additional Covid-19 operational costs and lost fare revenue due to physical distancing.

Amending Regulations were made to the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 today.

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 to adjust the Levels allocation across Scotland as announced by the First Minister on Tuesday, 1 June 2021.

The Regulations also permit funfairs to reopen in Level 2 areas and adjust the rules on physical distancing and face coverings at marriage and civil partnerships to allow a party to the marriage or civil partnership to be accompanied down the aisle, or similar, by a friend or family member.

The Regulations have been published at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2021/227/contents/made .

Amending Regulations were made to the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 today.

These Regulations amend the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 to make an adjustment in relation to requirement to wear a face covering to allow the temporary removal of face coverings by a person receiving treatments around the mouth and nose. The Regulations also permit indoor organised activity in Level 2 for all ages.

The Regulations have been published at http://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ssi/2021/224 .

Amending Regulations were made to the Health Protection (Coronavirus) (Restrictions and Requirements) (Local Levels) (Scotland) Regulations 2020 today.

These Regulations move Moray to Level 2 from Saturday, 22 May. The Regulations also add the areas of Bedford Borough Council, Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council and Bolton Metropolitan Borough Council to the list of places in which the Common Travel Area travel restrictions apply from Monday, 24 May.

The Regulations have been published at https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ssi/2021/211/made .

Scottish domiciled students receive a non-means tested, non-repayable nursing and midwifery student bursary of £10,000 per year to eligible students. Eligible students may also be entitled to additional allowances for dependents, single parents and childcare costs and Eligible undergraduate students also receive free tuition.

From September 2020 students undertaking a nursing and midwifery course in England will receive a non-means tested, non-repayable bursary of £5,000 a year, in addition to the existing mainstream student loan support. Additional funding is also available for childcare and to support regional vulnerabilities which could add an additional £3,000 per year for some students. Nursing and midwifery students will continue to pay tuition fees of £9,250 per year.

Welsh domiciled students who commit to working in Wales for two years after graduation are eligible for an NHS bursary which covers the cost of tuition fees, a non-means tested, non-repayable annual bursary of £1,000 and a means-tested bursary up to £2,207 if a student is living in their parental home and up to £2,643 if living elsewhere.

For Northern Irish domiciled students, financial support covers tuition fees and a non-means tested and non-repayable annual bursary of £5,165.04 per year. This bursary is supplemented by a means-tested dependants allowance based on individual circumstances.

The 2021-22 Scottish Budget takes our total health portfolio funding in excess of £16 billion. For resource funding this represents an increase of £1.8 billion in real terms since 2016-17 – more than tripling the commitment to increase health funding by £500 million more than inflation.

Health and Social Care Analysis: Workforce, Pay and Resources: As at 31 December 2020:

(i) There were 148,636.7 WTE staff employed by NHS Boards. This is an increase of 21,574.8 WTE (17.0%) from 127,061.9 WTE in September 2006.

(ii) There were 45,896 WTE Qualified Nurses & Midwives (including Interns) employed by NHS Boards. This is an increase of 4,870.5 WTE (11.9%) from 41,026.2 WTE in September 2006.

(iii) There were 5,728.4 WTE Medical & Dental consultants (including director-level consultants) employed by NHS Boards. This is an increase of 2,091.9 WTE (57.5%) from 3,636.5 WTE in September 2006.

(iv) There were 1,069.0 WTE staff working in CAMHS services and employed by NHS Boards. This is an increase of 415.3 WTE (63.5%) from 653.7 WTE in September 2006.

(v) - There were 1,282.1 WTE clinical staff within Psychology Services. This is an increase of 647.7 WTE (102.1%) from 634.4 in September 2006.

- There were 1,157.1 WTE doctors working in Psychiatric specialties. This is an increase of 140.7 (13.8%) from 1,016.4 WTE in September 2006.

- There were 9,615.4 mental health nurses. This is an increase of 2,369.7 WTE (32.7%) from 7,425.8 WTE in September 2007. This information is not available prior to September 2007.

In addition, under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy, as at 1 January 2021, an additional 560 WTE mental health workers have been recruited to work in key settings such as Accident and Emergency departments, GP practices, police station custody suites and prisons. 129 mental health workers have also been recruited through the Primary Care Improvement Fund.

Data sources:

The most recently published NHS workforce statistics are available here:

https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/workforce-official-statistics/nhsscotland-workforce/publications/02-march-2021/

The most recently published NHS CAMHS workforce statistics are available here:

https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/workforce-official-statistics/camhs/publications/02-march-2021/

The most recently published NHS Psychology Services workforce statistics are available here:

https://turasdata.nes.nhs.scot/workforce-official-statistics/psychology/publications/02-march-2021/

Information on the progress of mental health worker recruitment under Action 15 of the Mental Health Strategy 2017-2027 can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/mental-health-workers-quarterly-performance-reports/.

It is not possible to provide an answer to the question as presented.  The numbers of items dispensed in Scotland for BNF chapters 2 - cardiovascular system and 3 - respiratory system for 2019-20 will take in a range of drugs not related to the conditions in question, similarly these may not take in all relevant medicines for these conditions.

There are more GPs per 100,000 population in Scotland than the rest of the UK, with 94 for every 100,000 people (Sept-20), compared with 76 per 100,000 people in England (Dec-20), 71 in Wales (June-20) and 72 in Northern Ireland (Mar-20).

The table showing the number of homes for social rent, other affordable rent and affordable home ownership delivered from April 2007 to end September 2020 by local authority area has been placed in SPICe under BIB number 62269.

The next set of quarterly affordable housing statistics (October to December 2020) are due to be published on 23 March 2021 as part of the Housing Statistics Quarterly Update.