Chamber and committees

Transport Scotland carried out studies last year to assess the possibility of including Langholm on the existing A74(M) signage. As the motorway signs in question are relatively new, extremely large and expensive to replace, it was felt the most appropriate way to consider this opportunity was to address it when the sign needs replaced upon its serviceable life. Based on the expected lifespan of these type of sign, there are no immediate plans to amend the signs in the near future.

There are 21 Ministerial Working Groups that fall under the remit of the Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy Portfolio which are currently in operation. They are:

1. Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) Ministerial Forum

2. Community Wealth Building (CWB) Bill steering Group

3. Construction Leadership Forum

4. Fair Work Oversight Group

5. Financial Services Growth & Development Board (FISGAD)

6. Grangemouth Future Industry Board

7. Hydrogen Industry Forum

8. Industry Leadership Group Chairs Roundtable (ILG CRT)

9. Manufacturing Strategic Leadership Group

10. National Strategy for Economic Transformation Delivery Board

11. New Deal for Business Group (NDBG)

12. Non-domestic energy consumers working group

13. Oil and Gas and Energy Transition Short Life Working Group

14. Onshore Wind Strategic Leadership Group

15. Retail Industry Leadership Group [please note this group is economy related but chaired by the Minister for Local Government Empowerment and Planning]

16. Rural energy consumers working group

17. SEAB: the Scottish Energy Advisory Board

18. Tourism & Hospitality Industry Leadership Group

19. Trade Board

20. Vulnerable energy consumers working group

21. Wellbeing Economy Expert Advisory Group (WEEAG)

Please note these groups will be kept under review.

Yes. The budget for 2023-24 was set before the 2 year pay deal for firefighters was finalised. The Scottish Government provided an additional £4.4m to contribute to the cost of the pay increases and other inflationary pressures faced by SFRS. The £13.6m increase includes consolidating the £4.4m into the SFRS baseline budget.

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 15 posts were advertised in Emergency Medicine at ST4 level and 5 (or 33.33%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. It should be noted that recent uplifts in Emergency Medicine (10 posts in 2023) led to a greater number of posts being advertised. Another 12 posts will be added this year. Steps have been taken by NHS Education for Scotland to fill the 10 vacant posts: 5 are being filled through IDTs (Inter-Deanery Transfers), 1 has been converted to an ST1 post and the other 4 are have been converted to LAT (Locum Appointed to Training) posts.

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). 81.25% is still a high fill rate for Paediatrics ST1in rounds 1 and 2 of 2023 recruitment. Within that context there will always be a small number of posts that will not fill. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

The Scottish Government is strongly opposed to the current UK Government’s approach to immigration, which has failed to meet Scotland’s needs. The recent changes to the immigration rules are unacceptable. Increasing the Skilled Worker salary threshold by a third to £38,700 will limit the seafood and other sector’s ability to access the labour they require to grow and succeed.

We have consistently called for changes to Skilled Worker Visa provision to be made to ensure that route is genuinely proportionate and accessible to all parts of the fishing fleet. That includes ensuring that English language requirements – and associated costs for testing - are proportionate, whilst also recognising the importance of appropriate English language abilities to ensuring vessel safety and to reducing the risk of worker exploitation.

A range of legislation makes up the regulatory framework for the safety of grid scale battery energy storage systems (BESS). Health and safety is a reserved matter with applicable UK legislation including: the Dangerous Substances and Explosive Atmospheres Regulations 2002; the Electricity at Work Regulations 1989; and the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999. Relevant regulations are updated as and when deemed necessary, with input from all relevant authorities.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) is Britain’s regulator in this regard, and their remit includes health and safety in the workplace as well as public assurance on safety matters. HSE considers there to be a robust regulatory regime covering the fire risks associated with BESS.

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). Within that overall context there will always be a number of posts which do not fill. Oral and Maxillo Facial Surgery ST3 is a small specialty with only 2 posts advertised in 2023, therefore, as only 1 post has filled, the fill rate appears as 50%. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.

Overall, more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record. 14 posts were advertised in Geriatric Medicine at ST4 level and 7 (or 50%) filled successfully. These figures are accurate as of 25 July and pertain only to the initial recruitment rounds of 2023; end-year data for all UK nations and specialties will be published by NHS England in the coming weeks. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities. Examples in Geriatric Medicine include:

• Increasing the number of Internal Medicine Training (IMT) posts in the system. IMT is one of two primary routes into Geriatric Medicine. 22 additional posts will be created in 2024 to feed supply into Geriatric Medicine among other specialties.
• The Geriatric Medicine team within NHS Education for Scotland arranged a national teaching session in December for IMT trainees which focused on progression opportunities in the specialty, and a virtual ‘Geriatrics for Juniors’ conference was run in November which included career advice sessions.

Overall more trainee doctor posts have filled in 2023 than any other year on record, (data correct as at 25 July 2023). Within that overall context there will always be a number of posts which do not fill. Paediatric and Perinatal Pathology ST3 is a small specialty with only 1 post advertised in 2023, therefore, as this post has not filled, the fill rate appears as 0%. We continue to work closely with our partners in NHS Education for Scotland and Health Boards, to consider ways of improving fill rates across all specialities.