Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government continues to invest in the registered nurse role across community, social care and primary care settings. We have introduced in partnership with NHS Education for Scotland a funded scheme to enable former nurses and midwives to complete a Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) approved Return to Practice (RtP) programme and to re-enter the professional register across all fields of practice.

We have also invested over £45m since 2021 to train and introduce into the workforce an additional 375 nurses within the district nursing service. This investment supports the shift in balance of care into community settings by delivering more care in homes and reducing rates of admission to the acute hospital service.

The Scottish Government launched a national marketing campaign in November 2021 to attract more people with the right skills and values to the social care sector including nurses for social care settings. This campaign concluded in February 2022. In addition, the Scottish Government is working with the Department for Work and Pensions to host a series of sector-specific job fairs across Scotland during April and May to support recruitment efforts to all role types, including nurses, within the sector.

We have been working with NHS Boards to increase the use of international recruitment to alleviate pressures and fill key roles by supporting a number of measures. We have already provided £1m across NHS Scotland to build capacity within recruitment teams and a further £1m to fund International Recruitment Lead Posts. We are also recruiting at least 200 registered nurses from overseas with funding of £4.5m available to Health Boards to take forward this recruitment.

The Welcome desk at Glasgow airport is staffed to coincide with individuals from Ukraine arriving who may require assistance and my officials continue to work in partnership with the local authority to provide support and services for all arrivals. The welcome desks are staffed during daytime hours, outwith these hours, they can phone the Scottish Refugee Council helpline number who can give advice based on the appropriate visa route.

Fireworks can currently be used by the general public on any day of the year, subject to existing rules about the time of day that they can be used. The Bill includes a provision proposing to restrict the permitted days of use of fireworks by the general public, as well as restrictions on the permitted days of supply to the general public, to broadly align with what are already considered traditional firework periods, when fireworks are used to celebrate certain religious festivals or cultural events. A strong message to come from both the 2019 and 2021 public consultations was that the unpredictable and sporadic use of fireworks was increasingly seen as problematic and disruptive to many people and animals.

The Bill proposes that the permitted days of use of fireworks by the general public over the bonfire period is restricted from 27 October to 12 November. This broadly aligns with the proposed permitted days of supply of fireworks to the general public, however it is considered appropriate to include an extra two days where fireworks can be used to mitigate for circumstances such as poor weather conditions. Following careful consideration and taking into account the feedback received on Bill proposals through the 2021 public consultation and engagement with stakeholders, the Scottish Government believes that the proposed period of use is a proportionate balance between enabling the use of fireworks over traditional firework periods while allowing those impacted by fireworks to be aware of when they are likely to be used and put appropriate safeguards in place to minimise that impact.

While there are no current plans to reduce the days of use further the effectiveness of the measures introduced will be monitored following implementation, and the Bill includes a regulation making power that can be utilised to amend the permitted days should evidence show that this is required.

The Scottish Government does not hold this level of information, however, I can assure you that the Glasgow airport welcome desk is staffed to coincide with individuals from Ukraine arriving who may require assistance. Outwith daytime hours, signage providing telephone numbers is set up at both the domestic and international arrivals area. A welcome hub has also been established at Glasgow Airport, where displaced people will be fully supported, including an immediate needs assessment. The Welcome Hubs are multi-agency and local authority led. In addition to this, our national contact centre reaches out to people we know have received their visa before they travel to Scotland. Through this we are able to offer travel advice and obtain planned arrival information, including where and when someone is planning to arrive in Scotland.

The Bill includes a provision proposing to restrict the permitted days of supply of fireworks to the general public, as well as restrictions the permitted days the general public can use fireworks, to broadly align with what are already considered traditional firework periods when fireworks are used to celebrate certain religious festivals or cultural events. A strong message to come from both the 2019 and 2021 public consultations was that the unpredictable and sporadic use of fireworks was increasingly seen as problematic and disruptive to many people and animals.

The Bill proposes that permitted days of supply to the general public over the bonfire period is restricted from 27 October to 10 November. The proposed period is already a significant reduction from the current selling period at this time of year, which is from 15 October to 10 November. Following careful consideration and taking into account the feedback received on Bill proposals through the 2021 public consultation and engagement with stakeholders, the Scottish Government believes that the proposed period of supply is a proportionate balance between enabling the use of fireworks over traditional firework periods while allowing those impacted by fireworks to be aware of when they are likely to be used and put appropriate safeguards in place to minimise that impact.

While there are no current plans to reduce the days of supply further the effectiveness of the measures introduced will be monitored following implementation, and the Bill includes a regulation making power that can be utilised to amend the permitted days should evidence show that this is required.

I refer you to the answer of the aforementioned question S6W-07924, specifically:

"...We are, however, actively engaged with our partners, including local government, to understand what impact the increase in fuel prices is having across Scotland, and how social care providers can support their staff to ensure they can continue to deliver the invaluable support they provide."

In relation to this answer, I can reconfirm that my officials engaged with relevant officials at COSLA as early as 7 April, to consider the impact of rising costs, including fuel costs, on our social care workforce and are working together to better understand the situation.

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

To confirm, the Welcome desk at Glasgow airport is staffed and my officials continue to work in partnership with the local authority to provide support and services for all arrivals. I am aware of one incident where an individual arrived to an unattended desk, however there was signage in place directing them to contact a helpline number. The individual in question is being well supported and is safely housed, and has expressed gratitude to the Health and Social Care Partnership for all their support and assistance.

The Scottish Government has committed £6.2 million to genomics for the financial year 2022-23. This is in addition to the funding allocated to the 4 genetic laboratories in Scotland by NHS Boards through NHS National Services Division (NSD) commissioning arrangements.

The Scottish Government fully recognises the role of genomics in improving patient outcomes. We have provided funding to NSD to establish a Transformation Team led by a Lead Clinical Scientist alongside resource that specialises in transformative programme management and Data Analytics. The Team will be operational from June 2022.

This team will be responsible for delivering the rapid adoption of a number of genetic tests for cancer across the genetic laboratories as well as developing an action plan for the implementation of the recommendations from the Genetic Laboratory Major Service Review.

The transformation team will work within NSD and support the Scottish Government to develop our long term plans for genomics medicine in Scotland.

As committed to in the Genome UK: shared commitments for UK-wide implementation 2022 to 2025 document, the Scottish Government is committed to developing and publishing a Scotland specific Genome UK implementation plan by the end of 2022.

Article 26 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities ( Article 26 – Habilitation and rehabilitation | United Nations Enable ) sets out several obligations relating to habilitation and rehabilitation.

These obligations have the stated aim of enabling “persons with disabilities to attain and maintain maximum independence, full physical, mental, social and vocational ability, and full inclusion and participation in all aspects of life”, through timely access to “multidisciplinary assessment of individual needs and strengths” to “support participation and inclusion in the community and all aspects of society.”

The Scottish Government are committed to ensuring that people who have had a stroke receive the best possible care as quickly as possible. We know that early assessment of rehabilitation need following an acute stroke, and the delivery of rehabilitation by a multi-disciplinary team, are important elements of improving outcomes and these are priorities within the Scottish Stroke Improvement Plan (2014).

Through the Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme (SSIP), NHS boards are required to demonstrate their provision of access to acute therapy assessment, access to inpatient stroke therapy, access to community stroke therapy and the availability, by days per week, of community therapy input.

Article 26 also requires the provision of appropriate training for professionals working within habilitation and rehabilitation, as well as the “availability, knowledge and use of assistive devices and technologies, designed for persons with disabilities”.

Through SSIP reviews, NHS boards are also required to demonstrate that health and social care staff in hospital and community settings are trained to a level appropriate for their involvement in stroke care. Where appropriate, highly-trained specialist staff involved in the rehabilitation process are best placed to advise on the provision of assistive devices and technology that may be of benefit to people affected by stroke.