Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office invests through NHS Research Scotland in the Scottish Health Research Register and Biobank (SHARE) to support the recruitment of people into health research studies and clinical trials. People interested in participating in health research can register to SHARE in order to be contacted about studies to which they might be suited.

The Scottish Government recognises that the ability to attract and deliver innovative clinical research studies is vital to improving healthcare and patient outcomes. We therefore welcome Lord O’Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials in the UK. We will engage with partners across the UK in the coming weeks to understand how we can work together to ensure the review’s recommendations are considered for Scotland.

Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office engages regularly with UK Government and agencies directly, and through cross-UK fora, on streamlining the clinical trials system across the UK. These discussions cover a range of topics, recently including post-pandemic growth, clinical trial regulations, research ethics review, and commercial trial costing and contracting – where Scotland’s already existing single price model for commercial research is informing work to realise a streamlined, standardised, UK approach.

The Scottish Government’s Chief Scientist Office invests through NHS Research Scotland in the Scottish Health Research Register and Biobank (SHARE) to support the recruitment of people into health research studies and clinical trials. SHARE is an expanding register of over 300,000 people who have expressed an interest in participating in health research and have agreed to be contacted about studies to which they might be suited.

Data produced by SHARE shows ethnic and socioeconomic distributions supportive of inclusive recruitment to health research studies. CSO is also funding an ongoing project by the University of Aberdeen looking at ways to improve ethnic diversity in clinical trials and to help trial teams recruit and retain ethnic groups in studies.

In addition, In February 2023, the Scottish Government published an independent report on Equity of Access to Cancer Clinical Trials in Scotland. The report contains 51 recommendations, with an Implementation Board established to prioritise these and develop an implementation strategy. While the report focuses on cancer clinical trials, many of the recommendations are relevant across the clinical spectrum.

The Scottish Government recognises that the ability to attract and deliver innovative clinical research studies is vital to improving healthcare and patient outcomes. We therefore welcome Lord O’Shaughnessy’s review into commercial clinical trials in the UK. We will engage with partners across the UK in the coming weeks to understand how we can work together to ensure the review’s recommendations are considered for Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that people can learn as flexibly as possible fitting in with individuals' life circumstances. That is why SG provide funding through Scottish Funding Council (SFC) for the Upskilling Fund and the Part-Time Fee Grant (PTFG) to provide this flexibility to learners looking to study shorter courses or study in their spare time.

We are seeing good evidence of employer engagement across the country on the Upskilling Fund, currently in its fourth year, in a range of curriculum areas. Institutions are working with a large number of employers, including: Scottish Power, FirstPort, NUF Scotland as well as with local authorities and NHS Scotland. The SFC are planning a full evaluation of the fund’s effectiveness and the report can be expected in Spring 2024.

As part of the support package provided by Student Award Agency Scotland (SAAS), SAAS continue to actively promote this support through a combination of funding awareness sessions, online campaigns, and through both the Student Information Scotland website and the SAAS website.

Scottish Ministers issued National Directions on annual health checks, which state that the Scottish Health Check for Adults with Learning Disabilities documentation must be used in every health check. This documentation was tested and evidenced throughout the pilot phase and provides comprehensive best practice information and guidelines for practitioners, including on the specific health needs of people with Down’s Syndrome. This maintains the consistency and efficacy of each annual health check whilst also enabling practitioners to incorporate the specific health needs of each individual.

The Scottish Government has commissioned NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to support practitioners to complete annual health checks.

The Scottish Government continues to fund Down’s Syndrome Scotland to develop resources and accessible information about annual health checks for people with Down’s Syndrome, their families and carers, and for practitioners.

The Workforce Short Life Working Group set up through the Managed Service Network for Children and Young People with Cancer (MSN CYPC) has now concluded and no future meetings are planned.

As agreed by the MSN Board a Workforce Planning and Development Group will be established to review the pharmacy and Allied Healthcare Professional lead roles which were proposed as part of the 2020 workforce plan but have yet to be recruited to. This Group will also focus on education and training for the wider MSN CYPC community.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for workforce development with the NHS, it is up to the individual health boards on how to best undertake recruitment planning requirements.

Additionally, the National Oncology Coordination Group has been commissioned to support a coordinated and collaborative operational response to immediate service pressures, like retirees or moves.

We welcome opportunities to collaborate with UK partners on the safe and ethical use of AI in health and social care, and will continue our ongoing conversations with NHS England and other UK agencies on this topic.