Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not routinely provide financial support for the repatriation of historical artefacts.

Due to the unique circumstances and complex logistics as a result of the size of the House of Ni’isjoohl memorial pole, funding was provided to National Museums Scotland to facilitate the pole’s removal from the museum and enable its transport to Leuchars Airfield.

Marine Directorate staff participate in the ICES Scallop Assessment Working Group (WGScallop) and work closely with national and international research institutes and universities to understand recent advancements and changes to scallop fishing practices. Further details, terms of reference and a link to last year’s report can be found on the ICES community groups pages – when selecting “WGScallop”.

The working group will meet 10-12 October 2023 and a report will be made publicly available.

Scottish Government’s Marine Directorate are in regular communication with stakeholders we established a Fisheries Management and Conservation (FMAC) Scallop sub-group earlier this year. This forum brings together a broad range of scallop sector interests and is the ideal forum for developing stakeholder led solutions, including relating to gear technology, to help deliver sustainable fisheries. Marine Directorate staff are also involved with the Project UK Scallop Fisheries Improvement Projects and with Heriot Watt University and the Scallop Innovation Gear Projects.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21623 on‎ 29 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21623 on‎ 29 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The National Elective Coordination Unit (NECU) does not directly remove patients from NHS health board waiting lists. As part of the agreed pathway to support national waiting list validation, and to ensure a patient’s appointment requirements are accurately recorded, NECU’s digitally supported waiting list validation methodology collates the information provided by patients, before returning it to the NHS Board of residence for update within patient administration systems.

To ensure any removals from waiting lists are appropriate, the NECU system records patient responses and their reason for removal. NECU follow-up directly with all patients who have not responded or have not left a comment explaining why they wish to be removed. Similarly, for patients who are unsure of the nature of their appointment, NECU follow-up with the patient directly. Where there is a clinical query from the patient, this is highlighted and the clinical team within the NHS Board of residence are asked to follow-up with the patient. To action a removal, Health Boards review both the patient response and the comment to ensure the reason for removal is appropriate.

Throughout the waiting list validation activity, patients remain on their respective waiting list until the NHS Board agrees it is appropriate to remove the patient.

NECU’s validation process is digitally supported, however, it is not a digital only process. Although all patients are contacted by text message and invited to access a patient portal to record their response, patients who may be unable to access the digital platform are followed-up by the NECU patient coordination team by telephone. If the patient is unable to be reached by both text message and telephone, a recommendation is returned to the NHS Board of residence to send a letter to the patient asking them to contact their Health Board directly. No amendment to the patient’s waiting list entry is actioned until confirmation is received from the patient.

NECU will publish its first annual update in October 2023.

Waiting List Validation is not new. Local Health Boards routinely validate patients on waiting lists to ensure patient requirements are correctly recorded. The establishment of a national approach is based on existing principles. By adopting these principles, a patient would not be removed from a waiting list without contact either by text or phone call, and if required, a clinical consultation.

After a consultation, it may be agreed no treatment is required at the time of referral. However, if the clinical team believe that a further referral for the same condition is likely in the future, or if it is felt that treatment will be required but the patient is not quite ready for this, or if the patient wishes to defer a decision on treatment, the patient will have the ability to make an appointment for the same condition at a future time.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21623 on‎ 29 September 2023. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers

The Scottish Government last met with representatives of the Society of Chief Officers of Environmental Health as part of the ETC (Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers Group) on 25 August 2023. Officials from the Scottish Government provided an update on the New Deal for Business Group (NDBG) recommendation report published on 29 June 2023, its acceptance by Scottish Ministers and work planned to consider the cumulative impact of regulations.

There was specific discussion of the Subgroup for Regulation recommendations, including the role that Local Authority regulators will play in the re-established Regulatory Review Group (RRG) and in the development of the policy cycle and Business Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) processes.

Scotland’s Health Board’s operate their own escalation policy for the management of whole system capacity that includes well established processes with locally agreed trigger points. We believe Health Boards are best placed to judge what reasonable measures should be taken to maintain a safe service and ensuring patient safety.

The Winter Plan for 2023-24 seeks to provide a whole system approach to mitigate pressures that will be experienced over the course of winter. We know that this winter will present a sustained period of pressure for Health and Social Care services and we are committed to supporting local systems to ensure that appropriate levels of care are delivered at the right time.

It also reflects and recognises the complex landscape of Health and Social Care and articulates the actions that are being taken now to create capacity within the system and support resilience over the course of winter 2023-24.

The Scottish Government will continue to work with health boards and partners to support preparations for this coming winter.

The annual local government settlement will continue to be distributed in full using the needs based formula, which is discussed and agreed each year with COSLA on behalf of all their local authority members. The Scottish Government is always open to any suggestions on how to make the formula fairer, however any such requests must, in the first instance, come from COSLA.

The Scottish Government has noted with interest the recommendations made in the publication by Camurus - A primary care solution to Scotland’s drug deaths crisis and is working with local partners to address the challenges highlighted.

We are working with local Health Boards and Integration Authorities to ensure as many primary care providers as possible are actively implementing the MAT standards, including MAT standard 7 which seeks to ensure that people who choose to will be able to receive medication or support through primary care providers. We will ensure that Health Boards appropriately disperse the annual £10 million ring-fenced under the Enhanced Service contract to support the provision of drug services in primary care settings.

Healthcare Improvement Scotland has established a learning system for sharing best practice between local services which will include existing models for implementing MAT standard 7. Public Health Scotland will publish further information on potential best practice models which local areas may wish to consider.

The Scottish Government is supporting Health Boards and local practices to adopt multidisciplinary shared care arrangements wherever appropriate and we remain committed to tackling stigma across all drug services