Chamber and committees

In December 2019 we published a Neurological Care and Support – a National Framework for Action . Over five years we will invest £4.5 million to implement the Framework’s commitments, including the development of sustainable workforce models.

The Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group makes recommendations to Ministers annually on training numbers across all medical specialties. The group undertakes an annual assessment of the medical trainee establishment and the factors influencing recruitment fill rates. This process aligns with medical workforce modelling and is intended to achieve a planned and sustainable medical workforce. In each year since 2016,100% of advertised Neurology posts have been filled, indicating that new trainee doctors already consider a career in neurology to be an attractive one.

Work is being taken forward on education and training opportunities for Clinical Nurse Specialists in Neurology (and MS specifically) by a group including Scottish Government, NHS Education Scotland, MS Clinical Nurse Specialists representatives and the NHS Centre for Sustainability Delivery. It will support Health Boards in recruiting and succession planning regarding these roles. The Scottish Government provides £2.4 million to enhance clinical nurse specialist provision and care.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-03564 on 25 October 2021. 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 .

Aspiration is not recommended in Scotland and the rest of the UK for the administration of intramuscular COVID-19 vaccines. The clinical recommendation that trained COVID-19 vaccinators work to in Scotland and the UK is to administer the vaccine to the deltoid muscle and not drawing back before injection.

As outlined in the Green Book, Chapter 4, the Chief Nursing Officer recommends the deltoid muscle for COVID-19 vaccine administration and, as there are no large blood vessels in this area, it is not recommend to draw back.

The Green Book, Chapter 4 contains further information on this and is published here: Immunisation procedures: the green book, chapter 4 - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) .

A representative may support someone with the process of accessing proof of COVID-19 vaccination status. However, the person requiring a certificate will ultimately need to confirm their identification either via the App or by calling the Covid Status Helpline on 0808 196 8565.

To support accessibility, we have created Easy Read, Audio and British Sign Language versions of the guidance explaining what information the Certificates contain and how to use them. These can be found on NHS Inform. Translations of the guidance into community languages have now been completed and are available.

The shift to electric vehicles is an important part of responding to the climate emergency and improving air quality in our cities. To help incentivise this shift, we have, since 2011, provided loans valued over £140 million to the people and businesses of Scotland to make the transition to ultra-low emission vehicles. Last year our interest free loan scheme that supports the purchase of electric vehicles was extended to include used electric vehicles.

Since 2011 the Scottish Government through Transport Scotland has funded the Low Carbon Transport Loan (LCTL) this interest free loan has supported almost 5500 individuals and businesses in Scotland.

The breakdown between individuals and businesses receiving the LCTL is listed in the following table.

The £15 million of funding announced on 15 October 2021 for a Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for Adults is a new fund. The Fund is part of the £120 million Recovery and Renewal Fund announced in February to ensure the delivery of the commitments set out in the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan in response to mental health needs arising from the pandemic. This funding is separate from the commitment to double funding for community mental wellbeing services for children and young people.

The £15 million Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund aims to support adult community-based initiatives across Scotland which promote good mental health and wellbeing and early intervention for those in distress and tackle the impact of social isolation, loneliness and the mental health inequalities made worse by the pandemic. Grass roots community groups and organisations will be able to benefit from the funds to deliver activities and programmes to people to re-connect and revitalise communities building on examples of good practice which have emerged throughout the pandemic.

This year we have provided local authorities with an additional £15 Million to fund over 200 new and enhanced mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children and young people. The Scottish Government and Scottish Green Party shared policy programme commits to doubling the budget for community based mental wellbeing services for children and young people to £30 million per annum. Ministers are currently considering options to take this forward and will be informed by the work of the Children and Young People’s Mental Health and Wellbeing Joint Delivery Board.

The £15 million of funding announced on 15 October 2021 for a Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund for adults is a new fund. The Fund is part of the £120 million Recovery and Renewal Fund announced in February to ensure the delivery of the commitments set out in the Mental Health Transition and Recovery Plan in response to mental health needs arising from the pandemic.

This funding is separate from the £15 million currently allocated to local authorities for the provision of mental health and wellbeing services for 5-24 year olds.

The £15 million Communities Mental Health and Wellbeing Fund aims to support adult community-based initiatives across Scotland which promote good mental health and wellbeing and early intervention for those in distress and tackle the impact of social isolation, loneliness and the mental health inequalities made worse by the pandemic. Grass roots community groups and organisations will be able to benefit from the funds to deliver activities and programmes to people to re-connect and revitalise communities building on examples of good practice which have emerged throughout the pandemic.

In addition we have provided local authorities with an additional £15 million this year to fund over 200 new and enhanced mental health and wellbeing supports and services for children and young people.

NHS health boards lead on the local delivery of the vaccination programme. Vaccination centres have frequently changed throughout the programme, with some facilities being repurposed, and drop-in clinics being made available as we have had to exercise flexibility.

As such, the Scottish Government do not hold the requested level of information.

Information regarding the number of vaccination centres operating in each health board area, and their opening hours can be found on NHS inform.

The vaccine offer is universal in Scotland. For asylum-seekers who have received COVID-19 vaccines in Scotland, they can request their record of vaccination be sent to them by calling the Freephone COVID-19 Status Helpline on 0808 196 8565.

These paper certificates are fully equivalent to the certificates provided via the app, and can be used for access to domestic venues and will also permit smoother inbound entry to the UK. The Scottish Government have published ‘ Vaccine certification scheme – information for business and event organisers ’; ‘ Vaccine certification scheme – information for customers ’; and a ‘ toolkit ’ which provides guidance and example certificates, so venues are fully aware that they should be accepting the certificate issued to medically exempt individuals for entry to their venue or event.

Security features of the COVID Status Certificate App includes an automated user identification and verification process to allow access to sensitive personal medical information. If a user does not have the required photo ID they cannot use the app.

The installation of electric vehicle charge points is supported through a number of funding schemes. Funding supports a number of charging activities: charging by households at home, by business (public and private sector) to support fleet decarbonisation and public charging by EV owners. The date of installation for all supported infrastructure is not routinely collated. The following tables set out details of domestic and workplace charging infrastructure and information on chargepoints commissioned onto the ChargePlace Scotland network.

The ChargePlace Scotland table sets out figures for new chargers installed and commissioned onto the network, this includes charging units that are publicly available and those for public sector and business use. Up to 2014 these figures have been recorded in August of each year, from 2014 this has been recorded as total installs commissioned within each financial year. Over this period some chargers may have been upgraded, replaced or decommissioned meaning the total number of chargepoints currently available will be less than the total commissioned since 2012.

We do not hold information that details the number of private sector charge points installed on other networks from 2012, online platforms such as ZapMap do provide details of publicly available electric vehicle charge points across Scotland, including those on the ChargePlace Scotland and other networks.

Domestic and business use electric vehicle chargers (not on ChargePlace Scotland)