Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland have a shared vision for a culture that values openness and learning and supports continuous improvement. Health Boards are responsible for delivering safe, effective and person-centred care at a local level, which includes identifying and monitoring instances of patient misdiagnosis and adverse events. The Scottish Government has legislated and has implemented procedures to support this:

• The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 provides a specific right for people to make complaints, raise concerns, make comments and give feedback about their care, and places a duty on Boards to thoroughly investigate and respond to concerns raised, and to monitor all feedback with a view to improving the services they provide.

• The NHS model Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) was revised in 2017 to support a more consistent, person-centred approach to complaints handling across NHS Scotland.

• The Duty of Candour Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2018make it a legal requirement for all care providers, including Health Boards, to review certain types of adverse events, meet personally with those affected, offer an apology and consider how the learning from these events can be applied.

• Since 2020, Health Boards have been required to notify Healthcare Improvement Scotland of any Category 1 Significant Adverse Event Reviews commissioned. These reviews support NHS Health Boards to improve services by learning from adverse events, reducing the risk of them happening again, and providing public assurance that adverse events are effectively managed.

• In addition, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), which is independent of Scottish Government,looks into complaints about most organisations providing public services in Scotland, including Health Boards. The SPSO will create reports following an investigation, which will include their decision, any recommendations to put things right, and the deadline by which the organisation must carry out these recommendations.

The Scottish Government and NHS Scotland have a shared vision for a culture that values openness and learning and supports continuous improvement. Health Boards are responsible for delivering safe, effective and person-centred care at a local level, which includes identifying and monitoring instances of patient misdiagnosis and adverse events. The Scottish Government has legislated and has implemented procedures to support this:

• The Patient Rights (Scotland) Act 2011 provides a specific right for people to make complaints, raise concerns, make comments and give feedback about their care, and places a duty on Boards to thoroughly investigate and respond to concerns raised, and to monitor all feedback with a view to improving the services they provide.
  
• The NHS model Complaints Handling Procedure (CHP) was revised in 2017 to support a more consistent, person-centred approach to complaints handling across NHS Scotland.
  
• The Duty of Candour Procedure (Scotland) Regulations 2018make it a legal requirement for all care providers, including Health Boards, to review certain types of adverse events, meet personally with those affected, offer an apology and consider how the learning from these events can be applied.
  
• Since 2020, Health Boards have been required to notify Healthcare Improvement Scotland of any Category 1 Significant Adverse Event Reviews commissioned. These reviews support NHS Health Boards to improve services by learning from adverse events, reducing the risk of them happening again, and providing public assurance that adverse events are effectively managed.
  
• In addition, the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman (SPSO), which is independent of Scottish Government, looks into complaints about most organisations providing public services in Scotland, including Health Boards. The SPSO will create reports following an investigation, which will include their decision, any recommendations to put things right, and the deadline by which the organisation must carry out these recommendations.

We are supporting people who want to self-build through the extension of the Self-Build Loan Fund for up to five years from November 2022, with a further £6m recyclable loan funding available to borrowers.

National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4), adopted and published by Scottish Ministers on 13 February 2023, also supports new homes that improve affordability and choice, and address gaps in provision, including self-provided homes.

The Planning (Scotland) Act 2019 introduced a requirement for planning authorities to prepare and maintain a list of persons who have registered interest with the authority with the intention of acquiring land in the authority's area for self-build housing. A planning authority is required to publish the list and have regard to this list in preparing their local development plan. Subject to Parliamentary approval, these requirements will come into force from 19 May 2023. We are preparing further guidance on these requirements, informed by stakeholders, as part of the Local Development Plan guidance to be published shortly.

To support delivery of the National Islands Plan, through the Islands Heritage and Culture Project the Scottish Government has supported the delivery of the following six projects:

• The Orkney Digitisation Project, delivered by Orkney Islands Council;
• The Angus Og Project, delivered by the Highland Archive Service and High Life Highland;
• The Shetland Culture and Heritage Hub, delivered by Shetland Amenity Trust;
• Outer Hebrides Heritage Trails, delivered by Comhairle nan Eilean Siar;
• The Aspiring UNESCO Global Geopark, delivered by Arran Geopark; and
• Opportunities for the Argyll Islands and Increased Visitor Footfall, Culture, Heritage and Arts Assembly

Each project received a grant allocation of £40,000 with the exception of the Orkney based project, which had a slight overspend, taking their allocation to £42,000.

20 projects were funded through the 2022 Islands Programme resource funding to support delivery of the National Islands Plan. These can be found in the following table:

I have asked Historic Environment Scotland to contact the member directly with an answer to his question. I can confirm that Historic Environment Scotland would be happy to arrange site visits for the member to discuss matters with its experts.

The majority of civil servants are not allocated to work directly for individual Ministers as part of their roles in supporting and delivering the Scottish Government’s priorities. Work related to my responsibilities is no different.

I have one member of staff allocated to work in my private office.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-16876 on 25 April 2023. All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Small Producers Pilot Fund will launch later this year to support smaller producers increase the proportion of food grown and processed by small farms and small holders for their local community.

In the Financial Year 2023-24 up to £1 million is allocated for the Pilot Fund. This will support small producers and design the Pilot Fund. Further annual budgets up to 2025 will be informed by its uptake. From 2025 onwards there is no funding commitment due to the loss of multi-annual certainty caused by EU Exit, and the failure of the UK Government to collectively engage in future rural budgets as they publicly committed to.

Co-design of the Pilot Fund is through an industry-led Small Producers Pilot Fund Steering Group. Working in partnership with the Scottish Agricultural Organisation Society (SAOS), agricultural, small holding and food industry stakeholders; this Steering Group will design a flexible funding approach that supports local food supply chains, improves access to the right training opportunities, and helps link together small producers into existing abattoirs.

Once the Steering Group’s work is concluded, Scottish Ministers will consider their recommendations before further information on the number of producers the Pilot Fund will support and eligibility criteria will be released. We are fully committed to publicising the launch of the Small Producers Pilot Fund throughout Scotland.

No civil servants have been redeployed as part of my appointment.

In 2022-23, the Croft House Grant budget was £1.9m, with £1,675,837 distributed to successful applicants.

As a result of a high proportion of house builds being delayed due to material and labour supply issues, officials invited successful applicants to submit their grant claims earlier in the build in order to help crofters complete the work. No CHG application has been refused due to a lack of budget.

Funding under the Croft House Grant is provided retrospectively in up to three stages. Funding committed in any financial year can be claimed by applicants over a three year period.