Chamber and committees

Near patient International Normalised Ratio (INR) testing is currently not routinely available on the NHS. However, INR testing is available through primary care settings for those who require it. Individual NHS Boards are responsible for providing services that work best with the needs of their populations.

NHS Boards regularly assess continence patients' needs, with the assessments undertaken by dedicated Bladder and Bowel Teams or community nursing staff. This ensures that patients' needs are met, either through treatment or through provision of appropriate containment products. Referrals can also be made by patients' GPs where necessary, and also by a range of other healthcare professionals including pharmacists, consultants and care home staff.

Where a patient has been assessed as requiring continence products, they are provided by their local NHS Board's continence service on prescription.

We have not undertaken any assessments regarding the affordability of nappies in Scotland, however we will continue to work with partners to ensure that our financial supports, such as the Scottish Child Payment and the Best Start Grant, are maximising the support available for families to live dignified lives and meet their basic needs.

Our Best Start Grant Pregnancy and Baby Payment helps eligible low income families with expenses associated with pregnancy or with having a new child. Families are able to use this payment to best meet their needs which could include buying nappies.

Food banks do not currently publish data on nappies and other baby products, however, Scottish Government officials do meet regularly with both the Trussell Trust and the Independent Food Aid Network who share information about food bank use in general.

The Scottish Government, Scottish Forestry and NatureScot have worked with a range of partners to support and develop the South of Scotland Golden Eagle Project, including Scottish Land & Estates, RSPB Scotland, and The Southern Uplands Partnership and Scottish Power Renewables.

The Scottish Government has provided grant funding of £146,367.49 to the Project under the LEADER 2014-2020 Programme and £36,988 towards the satellite tracking of the golden eagles. NatureScot has also provided £43,300 funding and is actively involved in supporting all elements of the project work. The project has funding in place until Autumn 2023.

Other sources of public funding include:

Scottish Forestry (FCS)   £32,000

South of Scotland Enterprise £31,300

Scottish Borders Council £1,000

We are committed to improving the experiences of children and young people with additional support needs at key transition points.

The Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004 (“the 2004 Act”) requires authorities to plan for the transition of a child or young person when they are moving between provisions and when they are leaving school.

We provide statutory guidance to education authorities and schools on their responsibilities under the 2004 Act. This includes clear guidance on supporting transitions and the provision of flexible packages of support and learning for pupils. As part of our response to the Additional Support for Learning Review, we are working with partners to consider how to further strengthen guidance in this area.

We are also committed to introducing Scotland’s first National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy in this Parliamentary term to ensure there is a joined-up approach to supporting our disabled young people as they make the transition to adult life.

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

The Scottish Court Custody and Prisoner Escort Service Contract (SCCPES) provides the requirements of the service provider to ensure safe and secure transfer of prisoners between court appearances and mainland prisons.

1. The escort provider has clear processes and Standard Operating Procedures that have been agreed with SPS including:-

• the management of all transfers, regardless of location, including the use of public transport where the use of their vehicle fleet is not possible and other transport is required, such as Ferries, Boats and use of Aircraft.
• agreement of the protocols with Scottish airports for the facilitation of the movement of prisoners through the terminal buildings to facilitate the flight to and from all Scottish Islands where a flight is necessary, timeous and has been deemed to be required.

1. The current service provider has established a robust working relationship with all Scottish airports to facilitate the movement of individuals through the airport and terminal buildings.

In the scenario where an airport is unable to facilitate the transfer, the service provider will arrange, where possible, a flight to another Scottish airport and manage the ongoing movement via road transport if necessary, taking into consideration the impact of the person being escorted and the time spent in transit.

The Scottish Government has not been requested to research a headcount reduction in the Scottish civil service.

The Scottish Government regularly reviews its workforce numbers to ensure affordability, and that the organisation is delivering for the people of Scotland as efficiently and effectively as possible.

The UK Government has not provided details on how their plans to reduce the number of civil servants by 91,000 will affect their staff working in Scotland. There are around 24,800 [1] Civil Servants who are part of the reserved Public Sector in Scotland.

The UK Government plans do not have a direct impact on civil servants who serve the Scottish Government, as the responsibility lies with Scottish Ministers and the Permanent Secretary when it comes to determining our workforce size.

[1] Source: Public Sector Employment In Scotland Statistics For 1st Quarter 2022 .

SCVO estimate that the public sector as a whole invests around £1.8 billion each year to support the work of charities and social enterprises. Of that, around £500m comes from the Scottish Government via a broad range of programmes including those supporting community empowerment, mental wellbeing, children and families and health and social care.

The Scottish Government fund Third Sector organisations for specific projects or for core funding and these organisations often also attract income from other sources. That is a matter for those individual organisations and the Scottish Government do not keep a record of which organisations source additional funding from other sources and which do not.

In ‘A Fairer, Greener Scotland: Programme for Government 2021-22’, the Scottish Government committed to begin work on establishing a register of interests for the judiciary to increase public confidence and improve transparency.

To date, preparatory work on developing proposals for a judicial register of interests has been undertaken and my officials are currently developing options and next steps with the intention of engaging with stakeholders towards the end of 2022.

The UK Government has not provided details on how their plans to reduce the number of civil servants by 91,000 will affect their staff working in Scotland. There are around 24,800 1 Civil Servants who are part of the reserved Public Sector in Scotland.

For Civil Servants who serve the Scottish Government, the responsibility for determining our workforce size resides with Scottish Ministers and the Permanent Secretary.

The Scottish Government is committed to contributing to achieving the broad aim set out in the Resource Spending Review to return the total size of the devolved public sector workforce to around pre-COVID-19 levels by 2026-27. This will be achieved through effective vacancy and recruitment management, working in partnership with the Council of Scottish Government Unions.

The RSR also sets out how the wider decrease in the public sector workforce will not be achieved via a uniform approach due to varying trends in demand for different services and the recovery of services from COVID-19. Whilst we consider the longer term workforce requirements, and the impact of the Resource Spending Review on the Scottish Government's workforce size and cost for the future, we are already taking action and have enhanced recruitment controls in place, ensuring as much money as possible is directed onto the delivery of the policy priorities of the Government and improving the lives of the people of Scotland.

[1] Source: Public Sector Employment In Scotland Statistics For 1st Quarter 2022