Chamber and committees

As part of the Scottish Diabetes Group, we have a Scottish Diabetes Foot Action Group (SDFAG) which is comprised of clinicians from across the country with an interest in diabetic foot complications. We have also funded a part time role of National Diabetes Foot Co-ordinator.

SDFAG has worked closely with the SCI-Diabetes team to develop an Ulcer Management System to record and manage all episodes of Foot Ulceration occurring in individuals with Diabetes. The SDFAG supports teams to record all episodes of new foot ulceration , by completing a series of mandatory fields.

These mandatory fields must be completed, as a minimum requirement, for every new diabetic foot ulcer at first presentation. Standards across Scotland ensure that every individual with diabetes who develops a new foot ulcer should be seen within a multidisciplinary foot clinic or by a Podiatrist within 2 working days and must be recorded on the SCI-Diabetes system. This pathway is known to reduce the risk of major amputation.

As part of the Scottish Diabetes Group, we have a sub-group working specifically on pregnancy related projects. The pregnancy group are working closely with SCI-Diabetes leads to develop specific measures for the dashboard. These will help us to identify where and when improvements are being made and ensure we utilise the data to identify future opportunities or risks.

There are three types of tribunals which operate in Scotland. Scottish tribunals which deal with devolved issues and have specific jurisdiction in Scotland (such as the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland) and tribunals which deal with reserved issues but have specific Scottish jurisdiction and structures (such as the Pensions Appeal Tribunal for Scotland), these are administered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service. Other tribunals exist which deal with reserved issues and have Great Britain wide structures administered by His Majesty’s Courts and Tribunals Service (such as the Employment Tribunal). The Scottish Government can only comment on those administered by the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service.

As at 1 February 2023, the Scottish Courts and Tribunal Service administer the Scottish Tribunals (consisting of the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland and the Upper Tribunal for Scotland), the Mental Health Tribunal for Scotland, the Lands Tribunal for Scotland, and the Pensions Appeal Tribunal for Scotland. The First-tier Tribunal for Scotland is split into six Chambers.

The respective funding, staffing and year established for each of these tribunals is listed in the following table.

While the BBC is operationally and editorially independent, the Scottish Government recognises and shares the music sector’s disappointment with the decision to decommission some cultural music programming on Radio Scotland.

We acknowledge the challenging financial position the BBC is in, which has been exacerbated by the UK Government’s decision to freeze the licence fee, and shift responsibility for funding free licences for over-75s onto the BBC’s shoulders.

However, any reduction in the breadth of BBC Scotland’s offering, including its cultural music content, is a matter of concern. Certain musical forms, such as piping or jazz, are not traditionally thought of as mainstream musical offerings so the BBC coverage is essential to ensure people are able to access them.

It’s important that the BBC listens to these concerns. We engage with BBC Scotland on a regular basis, and will continue to do so, to ensure that the music sector’s concerns are fully recognised. We will also continue to press the BBC to deliver on its commitments to commission high-quality, distinctive Scottish output for audiences.

Raising awareness of Type 1 diabetes in Primary Care is a commitment within the Diabetes Improvement Plan. The Scottish Diabetes Group (SDG) has a sub-group focusing on Type 1 Diabetes and this group has representation from Primary Care clinicians. The sub-group will focus on development of a Diabetic Ketoacidosis (DKA) prevention campaign across primary care, using the well-established ‘Think, Check, Act’ communications material.

Various other strands of the Diabetes Improvement Plan programmes will influence the delivery of this commitment, including the development of a ‘Once for Scotland’ education pathway, which will highlight diagnostic routes and risk factors that clinicians in primary care should be aware of.

This information is not held centrally.

As part of the implementation of the Diabetes Improvement Plan, we funded a Diabetes Improvement Lead post. The primary aim of this role was to support the sub-group chairs and key stakeholders to utilise data from the diabetes dashboard and implement quality improvement methodology across their programmes of work.

One example of this is the development of the quality index scoring system to enable teams to share learning and make best use of the SCI-Diabetes data. Other examples include mapping of current education processes across Scotland and ongoing tests of change to identify ‘Once for Scotland’ pathways for the delivery of diabetes education.

The information in the format requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Diabetes Survey records the number of people who have attended structured diabetes education at any time and can be found at: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/publications/#survey-docs.

Some of the information requested is not held centrally. The Scottish Diabetes Survey records the information requested from 2015 onwards and can be found at: https://www.diabetesinscotland.org.uk/publications/#survey-docs.

The Scottish Diabetes Survey 2021 is due to be published this month, February 2023.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-14412 on 9 February 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