Chamber and committees

Together with the Minister for Zero Carbon Buildings, Active Travel and Tenants’ Rights, I recently invited the COSLA President, Vice-President, and Resource Spokesperson to join a working group to consider meaningful short-term changes to Council Tax, reflecting the current circumstances created by the cost crisis; and approaches to longer term reform including the development of effective deliberative engagement on sources of local government funding. The creation of this Working Group was set out in the Shared Policy Programme between the Scottish Government and the Scottish Green Party and will see Ministers working with local government to consider reforms, rather than this being remitted to a newly created body separate from either central or local government.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-11835 on 8 November 2022. 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.

Over the extended-period we have seen significant improvements in child oral health in Scotland. The first year of the National Dental Inspection Programme in 2002/03 showed that 45% of primary 1 children had no obvious decay experience. Despite the unique challenges of the pandemic this figure has increased to 73% in 2021-22.

This is a demonstration of the success of prevention-based oral health programmes such as the Childsmile Programme - a flagship programme at the leading edge of prevention-based oral health care provision - where nursery and schoolchildren receive regular tooth brushing instruction and fluoride varnish application.

We recognise that oral health inequalities in children continue to present a considerable challenge, and have been exacerbated by the pandemic restrictions on NHS dentistry during the pandemic.

Which is why as part of the recovery of NHS dental services we have increased funding to child dental services by introducing for the first time an enhanced examination fee from 1 February 2022. The latest monthly activity statistics from Public Health Scotland show that 330,000 child examinations have been provided this year with almost 60,000 in the month of August alone.

The Scottish Government recognised in 2021 that partial implementation of the pharmacotherapy and community treatment and care services, on a national level, meant that general practice was facing a difficult winter without all of the support Scottish Government and the BMA had agreed it should have in 2018. £1,765,382 and £823,388 were allocated to GP Practices in Lanarkshire and Forth Valley GP Practices as sustainability payments in 2021-22.

This year, GP practices in Lanarkshire and Forth Valley will receive £1,172,236 and £549,074 in Sustainability Payments this year in addition to their regular funding (Global Sum and Income & Expenses Guarantees) of £81,651,926 and £38,245,691 respectively, to which an uplift will be applied backdated to April 2022.

We also now have more than 3,220 healthcare professionals recruited to support general practice and are committed to investing at least £170 million a year on growing primary care multi-disciplinary teams.

The Scottish Cancer Network (SCN) has engaged collaboration from clinical staff across Scotland to draft a National Clinical Management Pathway for all breast cancer patients, to achieve consistent care across Scotland. The CMP is currently in draft and out for consultation and is expected to be launched in 2023.

The Scottish Cancer Network is hosted by NHS National Services Scotland. The Network is a dedicated national resource to support and facilitate a ‘Once for Scotland’ approach to cancer services which will assist in enabling equitable access to care and treatment across Scotland.

£10 million of funding has been directed to support Cancer Waiting Times improvements in our NHS across 2022-23, targeting the most challenged specialties, including breast. Significant funds are going towards up-skilling nurses and investment to support extended working days and weekend working to increase capacity and treat patients as timely as possible.

The Scottish Cancer Network (SCN) has engaged collaboration from clinical staff across Scotland to develop a clinical management pathway for breast cancer to ensure patients achieve consistent care across Scotland, expected to be launched in 2023.

The Scottish Government funds health and care research through the Chief Scientist Office. We are not currently funding any inflammatory breast cancer clinical trials.

Researchers can apply directly to the Chief Scientist Office for funding. The CSO’s Translational Clinical Studies Committee and the Health Improvement, Protection and Services Research Committee each meet twice per year to consider funding applications. Details of the application process are published on the CSO website and the role of these committees is well-known across the health and care research community in Scotland

https://www.cso.scot.nhs.uk/grant-funding/response-mode-funding-schemes/

Applications to the CSO funding committees on the underlying causes, diagnosis, treatment and management of Inflammatory Breast Cancer are welcomed. In common with all other applications, these would go through the CSO’s standard independent peer review process to enable funding decisions to be made.

We are working with all NHS Boards to support them to implement the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care , including working with NHS Lanarkshire through regular engagement.

NHS Education for Scotland CAMHS Workforce data, published 6 September 2022, showed an increase of 17% in CAMHS community staffing in NHS Lanarkshire compared to March 2021. This CAMHS workforce data includes Neurodevelopmental staffing.

The Scottish Government is aware that those experiencing poor mental health are more likely to smoke, and to smoke more, than those with good mental health. Reducing the inequalities caused by higher rates of tobacco use among this group is an important area of consideration and one is being looked as part of our revised Tobacco Action Plan due to be published in Autumn 2023.

Our vision is to have a Tobacco-Free Scotland through lowering smoking rates in our communities to below 5% by 2034 and to create a generation of young people who do not want to smoke, with all the health and economic benefits that follow. We are developing an expert group that will be reporting on smoking cessation services early next year. We are also committed to working with our NHS cessation coordinators and pharmacy colleagues across Scotland to refocus and remobilise these services to ensure we are reaching those in our communities who are in most need of support to quit.

Work is also ongoing to develop a new Mental Health and Wellbeing Strategy. We have received a broad range of evidence and views through our engagement to date, including through our public consultation, which closed on 9 September and received around 500 responses. These will be carefully considered over the coming months as we continue our work with stakeholders to shape the Strategy and Delivery Plan.

Making the Future contains two substantive references to the Land Reform Bill.

One (under “Strategic Priorities) welcomed the publication of the consultation on the Bill https://www.gov.scot/publications/land-reform-net-zero-nation-consultation-paper/ published 4 July 2022).

The second was a recommendation: that “An ambitious Land Reform Bill should tackle concentrations in ownership and enshrine transparency, equality and public good into the future of Scotland’s land use.”

The measures put forward in the consultation for inclusion in the Bill aim to achieve these objectives. They will do so within the context of Article A1P1 of the European Convention of Human Rights, and the devolved settlement.

The consultation closed on 30 October 2022. Responses to the consultation, and the views of the Just Transition Commission, will be carefully considered as the proposals set out are developed.