Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not provide guidance to local authorities specifically about support for community radio stations. We are however clear that community radio is a valuable resource across many communities in Scotland and we will persist in championing the continuation and strengthening of these vital services for Scottish listeners through our engagement with relevant stakeholders, including the UK Government and the regulator Ofcom.

I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

Access to NRS Services is set out in our Public Access Policy - National Records of Scotland (NRS) .

For the range of services delivered by NRS, assessments including the EQIA, Island Communities Impact Assessment and Digital Scotland Service Standard Assessment are undertaken at the point of service change and improvement to help improve accessibility for citizens across all communities.

I have asked Alison Byrne OBE, Chief Executive of National Records of Scotland (NRS), to respond. Her response is as follows:

As a Non-Ministerial Department in the Scottish Administration, NRS receives its funding from the Scottish Government and its annual budget is approved and published each year, as part of the Scottish Government’s budget, by the Scottish Parliament.

Scottish Government marketing and advertising spend is published each year and can be found at https://www.gov.scot/collections/marketing-spend/ including a breakdown by media type, portfolio and individual campaign, including public health campaigns.

Details are provided in the following table.

The table referred to in PQ S6W-33144 on 21 January 2025, which is held in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (BIB number 65598), gives a breakdown of the numbers of specialty posts available for recruitment and vacancies after recruitment for the past 10 years.

NHS Education for Scotland, in collaboration with wider stakeholders, are taking action to support recruitment into underfilled specialties including cancer and psychiatry. These actions include initiatives to promote these specialties through recruitment campaigns; increase exposure to these specialties, particularly during medical school and early career stages through Foundation placements and programmes, careers fairs and training days and; supporting recruitment in specific regions.

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

Recruitment to specialty training is undertaken on a UK-wide basis and managed by NES in Scotland. The number of posts advertised by NES each year is determined by two factors: (i) individuals who have vacated their post and whose posts are therefore available for new applicants for apply for, and (ii) whether any additional posts have been created.

The Scottish Shape of Training Transition Group – membership of which includes the Scottish Government, NHS Education for Scotland, British Medical Association, Academy of Medical Royal Colleges and various Health Board representatives including regional workforce planners – undertakes an annual review of medical training establishments and makes recommendations to Scottish Ministers on the need to create additional training places in order to meet increased demand and future anticipated consultant need.

The data below shows that 1083 Foundation Year 2 doctors have returned to training in Scotland since 2020.

A copy of a table which shows how many NHS specialty training places have been available in each of the last 10 years, broken down by speciality, has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. Number 65598).

The number of established training places in each specialty is determined by anticipated future demand and workforce need for consultants and General Practitioners rather than foundation programme numbers.

While resident doctors are eligible to apply to specialty training after completing foundation training, other career routes are available and many choose deferred application or alternative routes including periods in locally employed doctor roles or periods of travel alongside options to develop their skills and experience through SAS grade roles. Data shows a trend of increasing proportions of Foundation Year 2 doctors delaying NHS specialty training in the whole of the UK and in Scotland. However, of all the cohorts from 2017 to 2021, only 8% of Foundation Year 2 doctors did not receive any offer of a training post after applying in the same year they completed foundation training.