Chamber and committees

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 reply in writing within 20 days.

The Scottish Government published the Allied Health Professions (AHP) Education and Workforce Policy Review on 23 February 2023. A link to the report can be found below.

Allied Health Professions - education and workforce policy review: recommendations

An advisory board with representatives from a broad range of partners is overseeing the effective implementation of these recommendations.

The information requested on how much each NHS board has spent on temporary staff engaged through staff banks in each of the last 10 years can be found on the TURAS Public Services Delivery Scotland workforce statistics site at: NHS Scotland workforce | Turas Data Intelligence (Bank and agency tab).

A table containing the average daily traffic flows on the A96 in each year since 2020 has been lodged with SPICe, BIB number: 66727

The Scottish Government allocates funding to territorial NHS Boards based on the NRAC formula, rather than on a population basis. The NRAC formula takes into account factors including relative deprivation and need for healthcare in different NHS Board areas, as well as population.

NHS Board’s baseline revenue allocations are published annually in the Scottish Budget. In addition, resource and capital spending limits are reported in each Board’s annual report and accounts.

Between 2016-17 and 2026-27, NHS Boards’ overall resource budget increased by 24.5% in real terms and 71.6% in cash terms.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information. Public Health Scotland provide information through Drug and Alcohol Information System (DAISy) the national database that holds data about drug and alcohol services.

The DAISy initial assessments report tables, provide information on ketamine which is grouped into a larger ‘dissociatives’ category and presented at NHS Board of Residence level per financial year. Tables 4.4 and 4.5 relate to the drugs cohort and report on all drugs listed at assessment and main drug only; tables 5.9 and 5.10 are the same but for the ‘both drugs and alcohol’ cohort. These figures relate to the first assessment a person has had in each year, NHS Board and substance type, so do not represent individuals. Disclosure control has been applied so values are not available for every NHS Board. Data are available for financial years 2021-22 to 2024-25 inclusive.

The quarterly RADAR management information dashboard, presents monthly data for the main drug reported at assessment, by NHS Board of treatment, which includes specific data on ketamine (Chart 2: Main Drug). These data can be found on the ‘Service Indicators’ page and are for all assessments recorded in DAISy. The data include all assessments for drugs and both alcohol and drugs so are not equivalent to individuals. Data in the dashboard currently cover November 2020 – February 2026 and no data have been suppressed. Filters at the top of the page can be used to select the area and time period of interest, and there is a filter above the chart to select the drug of interest. To note that there is a minor issue with ‘Chart 1’ in the current version of the dashboard, which means that data for individual NHS Boards are not displayed. Chart 2 is unaffected and the issue will be corrected in the next release (July 2026).

There is currently no national collection of data on ketamine-induced bladder damage. The Scottish Government are ensuring that Alcohol and Drug Partnerships and specialist services take the needs of ketamine usage into account in commissioning and delivering acute care and aftercare services.

Data held by the Scottish Government on the number of NHS apprenticeships has been provided in the following tables. While this Management Information provides an indication of apprenticeship activity within NHS Scotland, the figures across years should be treated with caution because of the changes in collection method, coverage and definitions. The data records the number of individuals who have been recruited or started on an apprenticeship programme in the reporting year, rather than the total number of apprenticeships delivered.

Data for the total number of apprenticeships recruited is not held by the Scottish Government for 2016-2017 and there is no data for 2019-2020 to 2021-2022, as no annual Staff Governance Monitoring return was undertaken during COVID. Apprenticeship data is not yet available for 2024-25 or 2025-26 but will be collected via NHS Anchors Metrics.

The UK Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs (ACMD) recommended in their ketamine review of January 2026, that work on drug treatment should be collaborative with specialist urology, pain management, hepatology and gastroenterology services.

In Health Boards throughout Scotland, Urology departments have clinical guidance in assessment and multidisciplinary management of bladder symptoms related to ketamine use. Due to an increase in admissions of young people, Aberdeen Royal Infirmary Urology department has created a specialist 'ketamine bladder' clinic.

The Scottish Government are aware of a significant spike in ketamine harms - particularly among young people, and it is an integral part of our new Strategic Plan, to create further standards to ensure services can adapt to changing drug trends. It highlights the need for responsive and adaptive services, with improvement to treatment pathways in drug services, and connections to primary, acute and specialist settings.

Work is continuing at pace to establish the inquiry. Detailed Terms of Reference are currently being developed, informed by ongoing discussions with Professor Jay, and these will be published in due course.

I would also reiterate that it is not appropriate for Ministers to direct an independent inquiry Chair in relation to its duration or costs. Professor Jay has made clear her intention to deliver the inquiry at pace, while retaining the necessary flexibility to examine all areas within its remit. Decisions regarding the timing and frequency of the inquiry’s findings will be a matter for Professor Jay.