Chamber and committees

According to data acquired directly from the Scottish Library and Information Council (SLIC), in March 2023 Aberdeen City Council closed 6 libraries, Cornhill, Cults, Northfield, Ferryhill, Woodside and Kamhill. No other Scottish Libraries have permanently closed in the last 3 reporting years.

The Scottish Government do not hold information on numbers of libraries dating back to 2007-8. The earliest information on library numbers that SLIC are able to acquire from Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountability (CIPFA) begins from 2009-10.

This question relates to operational matters that are the responsibility of the Scottish Court and Tribunals Service (SCTS) corporate body. The question has been passed to the Chief Executive of the SCTS who reply in writing within 20 days.

The Scottish Government’s commitment to train 500 Advanced Nurse Practitioners (ANPs) by 2021 was met by August 2021.

A total of 734 nurses have completed their Postgraduate Diploma in Advanced Nursing Practice (PG Dip ANP).

The Working Group for Missing People continues to support the implementation of the National Missing Persons Framework across Scotland.

Key actions taken forward by the Framework so far include a standardisation of the national definition of missing persons; a standardised approach to risk assessment; and the development and delivery of return discussion training to ensure more consistency across the country. Building on this work, the Group will continue work with National Co-ordinators to engage with and support multi-agency partners in areas across Scotland to limit the likelihood of people going missing.

A comprehensive update on the Group’s work was published in 2020 – Working Group for Missing People in Scotland: National Framework for Missing Persons - implementation report - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) . A further update will be part of a refreshed Framework later this year.

Our £1 Billion backed NHS Recovery Plan aims to continually increase capacity for outpatients.

We have seen an increase in the level of activity for new outpatients in the latest quarter (May 2023), which was at the highest level of activity in any quarter since the start of the pandemic.

Last year there were over 1.2 million patients seen for an outpatient appointment, an increase of 8% compared to 2021, when over 1.1 million outpatients were seen.

Further statistics on additional inpatient and day case activity in 2022-2023 will be released alongside the NHS Recovery Plan update this autumn.

The Scottish Government is working closely with the Office of the Public Guardian (Scotland) (OPG) who have responsibility for registering powers of attorney in Scotland to highlight the concerns about recognition of these with UK financial institutions.

OPG have engaged directly with UK financial organisations when they have been made aware of common or recurring issues that require attention and on a case by case basis when needed.

OPG are planning a series of information based events later in 2023, aimed specifically at staff in UK financial organisations, with the aim of raising awareness of OPG’s role and of the financial provisions of the Adults with Incapacity legislation. The feedback will be raised at a meeting OPG is attending with Scottish banking representatives in August 2023.

OPG is also currently working in collaboration with colleagues from OPG England and similar departments in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, with the intention of delivering or preparing cross border training to highlight key differences in process and terminology across the jurisdictions as well as raising awareness of recognition issues. The aim of these efforts is to lead to a more cohesive and collaborative approach with the banks.

I have asked Teresa Medhurst, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

The information is not held in the format requested.

The following table provides information on the number of women who have disclosed on admission into custody that they consider themselves as disabled.

Scottish Government has not had any recent direct engagement with the UK Government regarding cross-border recognition of powers of attorney granted in Scotland.

However, in previous meetings both parties have agreed the existing legislation allows for automatic recognition of powers of attorney in both jurisdictions. Difficulty in recognition is an issue of the training and knowledge of those being presented with a power of attorney from a different jurisdiction.

The following table illustrates the number of boarding's in Scottish waters by Marine Scotland Vessels each year since 2009.

We are unable to provide the information requested as we do not have access to data on doctors entering training in parts of the UK other than Scotland, or who have left to pursue other careers or overseas opportunities.

From 2010 to 2019 the UK Foundation programme carried out a career destination survey of all F2 doctors. The UK F2 Career Destinations Reports used data collated from an annual UK-wide survey of outgoing F2 doctors. These reports helped to understand career aspirations and career destinations if known. This report was discontinued in 2020 due to Covid-19.