Chamber and committees

Circulars to enact the 4.5% pay uplift for NHS Medical and Dental staff were published on 5 August 2022.

This pay uplift will be backdated to 1 April 2022.

The Scottish Government is introducing the New Build Heat Standard from 2024 in direct response to the recommendation of the Committee on Climate Change on how to meet the net-zero obligation legislated for, and agreed by all parties, in the Scottish Parliament.

Heat pump operating costs will vary across properties, with the precise impact depending on factors such as the design and quality of the heating system, user operation, and the energy efficiency of the property.

We have commissioned two research projects which considered the running costs associated with zero direct emissions heating (ZDEH) technologies within new homes, including heat pumps, against a gas boiler counterfactual. A copy of these research reports is available here:

• Costs of zero emissions heating in new buildings (climatexchange.org.uk)
• Renewable and zero direct emissions heating systems in affordable housing projects (phase 2): evaluation - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

This analysis supports the reasonable assumption that the costs of an air source heat pump are generally comparable with gas in a new home. However, we would highlight that the analysis pre-dates the energy crisis, and that we do not have updated modelling available to reflect the current price cap. We also urge the UK Government to follow through on its commitment to publish proposals to rebalance energy bill costs by the end of 2022. Given the abundance of low cost renewables in the UK and the urgent need to decarbonise buildings, it should be cheaper to run an electrically-driven heat pump than a gas boiler.

A full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) will be published when these regulations are introduced, incorporating the findings from these research reports and other relevant information.

Our Heat in Buildings Workforce Assessment Project, published in June 2022, provided an analysis of the current scale of the existing workforce in Scotland trained to fit certain zero emission heating systems such as heat pumps. The report highlighted that there are no publicly available statistics regarding the total number of heat pump installers in the UK and Scotland, but estimated that there are around 500 trained heat pump installers currently active in Scotland, based on data from the Microrenewable Certification Scheme. The report highlights that other forms of zero direct emissions heating such as direct electric radiators can be installed by an electrician, without any specialist heating knowledge, and there were an estimated 22,000 electricians operating in Scotland in 2018.

We are working with industry to understand the capacity of the supply chain to deliver against the New Build Heat Standard from 2024, including the availability of trained installers. At the introduction of these regulations, a full Business and Regulatory Impact Assessment (BRIA) will be published and the findings of the research above, and any other relevant information will be incorporated into the assessment.

The Scottish Government does not collect this information but expects all NHS Boards to provide free incontinence pads where a patient has been assessed and deemed as requiring incontinence products. These products are provided by local NHS Boards continence service on prescription across Scotland.

The Scottish Government is committed to the recruitment of a minimum of 1,500 additional staff to support the operation of Scotland’s National Treatment Centres (NTCs) and is supporting a range of activity to achieve this.

This includes support for domestic and international recruitment activity, growth in domestic training pathways for registered medical professionals and new youth employment and apprenticeship opportunities in a variety of non-registered roles, designed to attract individuals who may not have originally viewed NHS Scotland as an employer of choice.

Work is also being undertaken to upskill existing NHS staff through bespoke in-house training programmes delivered via the NHS Scotland Academy, thereby directly supporting career progression and retention for existing staff, and providing access to a variety of new roles that the NTC programme will offer. Through these initiatives we are also supporting boards with backfill arrangements.

NTC Recruitment is the responsibility of each NHS Board. It is therefore for each NTC Board to provide details of recruitment activity planned for their Centre.

Since 1 May 2021, significant progress has been made on the National Treatment Centre (NTC) Programme.

The National Eye Centre at NHS Golden Jubilee, which opened in November 2020, has providing significant additional capacity cataracts procedures to patients across Scotland. This has been achieved through the accelerated opening of theatres ahead of the previous phasing plan in the final business case.

Construction work continued at NTC - Highland; NTC - Fife and the second phase expansion of the Golden Jubilee University National Hospital.

In June 2022,construction work started on the inpatient ward for NTC - Forth Valley at Forth Valley Royal Hospital.

These four centres will open on the following dates:

NTC Fife - January 2023

NTC Forth Valley - January 2023

NTC Highland - April 2023

NTC Golden Jubilee Phase 2 - June 2023

In addition, on 13 May 2022 NHS Ayrshire & Arran the purchased Carrick Glen Hospital in Ayr to be re-developed as NTC – Ayrshire & Arran, due to open in 2025.

The business cases for the remaining NTCs in NHS Grampian, NHS Tayside, NHS Lanarkshire and NHS Lothian, including in new Edinburgh Eye Pavilion, are under development.

There is no specific budget allocated for the National Treatment Centre Programme, instead the Health portfolio are required to manage this programme within the overall portfolio capital allocation. The spend to date is:

The Never Use Alone phone line is a number that an individual can call when they are about to use drugs alone. The staff will ask for some basic information before the person uses, including: what you want to be called; the number you are calling from, so the operator can call back if cut-off; an exact location and how emergency service could gain access; and what substance the individual is about to take. If that individual stops responding after they have taken the substance, the operator will notify emergency services of the location and possible overdose, so a medical professional can get to them as quickly as possible.

Additional information provided through the service includes: details about local drug services, including injecting equipment provision and information about accessing same-day prescribing; information about postal naloxone (provided through Scottish Families Affected by Drugs and Alcohol); and other support services such as mental health and housing. All callers are treated with respect and in a non-judgmental way.

The dedicated WAWY service co-ordinator has also conducted awareness raising, information and harm reduction sessions with a range of Alcohol and Drug Partnership services, prevention and overdose response teams, residential treatment services, homelessness services, needle exchanges and recovery cafes. These have taken place all across Glasgow, Paisley and the Ayrshires.

The Scottish Government did not receive any business cases for funding to host the 2023 Eurovision Song Contest from Glasgow City Council, the City of Edinburgh Council or Aberdeen City Council prior to the announcement of the final shortlist. As no business cases were received, the Scottish Government provided no funding for this to any of the three councils.

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 will reply in writing within 20 days