Chamber and committees

The controlled target intake for funded places for Academic Year 23-24 has been maintained at 4,837 overall, comprising 4,536 nursing places and 301 midwifery places. However these figures are subject to annual review with key stakeholders as previously agreed by the then Health Secretary, Mr Humza Yousaf.

Ministers are required by the Community Empowerment Act (2015) to review the National Outcomes within five years of their previous publication, and the next review is currently underway. The Scottish Government intends to lay the statutory document in Parliament in early 2024. This will outline the work undertaken during the review, including any proposed changes to the National Outcomes.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19389 on 4 July 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-answer.

The responsibility for the balancing of grid costs lies with the National Grid ESO, not the Scottish Government. Information on their work on this can be found here: Balancing Services Use of System (BSUoS) charges | ESO (nationalgrideso.com) .

How many (a) medical and (b) clinical oncologists are (i) currently employed (A) across NHS Scotland and (B) in each NHS board and can be found in this link to TURAS - NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence .

We do not hold the information for question (ii) how many medical and clinical oncologists are expected to retire in the next five years within NHS Scotland, however this link to TURAS shows the % of the workforce over the age of 55 - NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence .

The Scottish Government is committed to supporting and developing rural and island primary care and continues to meet regularly with NHS Western Isles to review all aspects of the Board’s service delivery.

The Scottish Government are investing in a range of initiatives to assist Boards in recruitment, so that being a GP or dentist remains an attractive career choice in Scotland.

Boards are able to access funding support including the Golden Hello scheme to attract new rural GPs, Rediscover the Joy that aims to recruit experienced GPs to provide resilience for remote and rural practices, SCOTGEM, a scheme that provides a graduate-entry medical degree with a rural focus, and a recruitment and retention allowance, allowing health boards, such as Western Isles, to pay a new qualified trainee dentist up to £37,500 over a three year period.

The Scottish Government allocates a budget to the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service as part of the annual Budget Act process. Decisions on how that budget is spent in order to deliver a balanced budget is a matter for the SFRS Board and Chief Officer as the Accountable Officer.

It is appropriate that SFRS continues to review its operations to ensure it is effective and delivering value for money and that includes taking decisions on the number and location of fire appliances. The Scottish Government does not hold information on the potential cost or savings from individual operational decisions made by SFRS.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19307 on 4 July 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’s Chief Scientist Office (CSO) invests through NHS Research Scotland in a range of research infrastructure to support Health Boards host and participate in clinical research, including to support the development of new medicines. CSO also supports a range of funding opportunities for applied health research, including for research on the development of new therapeutic approaches.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-19355 on 4 July 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 .