Chamber and committees

Colleges are responsible for their own operational decisions. College Principals’ pay and conditions packages are for individual colleges to determine. Whilst Public Sector Pay Policy does not apply directly to colleges, the Scottish Funding Council’s Financial Memorandum states that colleges must have regard to it. The Scottish Government expects colleges and their Boards to be mindful of Public Sector Pay Policy Public sector pay policy 2024 to 2025 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) and demonstrate restraint when determining senior staff salaries.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28357 on 23 July 2024. 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 .

Contractual terms and conditions of Principals is a matter for individual colleges to determine. The Scottish Government therefore does not hold this information.

The Scottish Government believes that Citizens’ Assemblies are an important and effective method to involve the public in policy and decision making.

The Scottish Government is currently engaged in developing the prospectus for independence through the Building a New Scotland papers, in order that people have information about the opportunities of independence and what it would mean for them. At this stage there are no plans for Citizens’ Assemblies on Scotland’s route to independence.

The Building a New Scotland paper on Scotland’s constitution makes a commitment to a legally mandated Constitutional Convention that would create the permanent constitution of an independent Scotland.

The Scottish Government does not routinely collate pay and rewards package for college principals, however the information is publicly available through the colleges published accounts. The Scottish Funding Council, in its role, is responsible for monitoring Scotland's colleges financial accounts. To be clear, pay and rewards packages of College Principals are for individual colleges to determine.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-28359 on 23 July 2024 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 .

The Scottish Government is aware of the situation regarding the withdrawal of the advanced doctor-led Medic One prehospital critical care service (PHCC) within NHS Lothian, which forms part of the wider Scottish Trauma Network (STN) for the Southeast of Scotland.

It is the responsibility of NHS Boards to make appropriate operational decisions to ensure a high level quality of emergency medical care for the members of their communities and we are aware that NHS Lothian and the Scottish Ambulance Service have interim emergency arrangements in place while they develop a business case for a replacement service.

The national Centre for Sustainable Delivery (nhscfsd.co.uk) has undertaken significant work over the past year to diagnose the key challenges within Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh.

Along with each local board across Scotland, NHS Lothian has a set of bespoke action plans which will bring about the greatest opportunities to create capacity in the system, resulting in lower occupancy and increased flow through the hospital. The Scottish Government will work with NHS Lothian to determine what support is required to embed these plans into business as usual that will allow sustainable improvements.

In terms of assessment of any impact of A&E pressures at Edinburgh Royal Infirmary on the provision of pre-hospital critical care, the Scottish Government receives weekly performance reports which include details on response times to the most critical calls to the Scottish Ambulance Service and times for turnaround of ambulances at A&E departments throughout Scotland, including the Royal Infirmary. Clear escalation plans are in place for all Boards should pressures on A&E be impacting on any level of patient care and mechanisms in place for any escalation to be reported to us.

The Scottish Ambulance Service is responsible for the harmonisation and provision of consultant doctor-led Emergency Medical Retrieval Services across NHS boards which are implemented through the Scottish Trauma Network. They work collaboratively with pre-hospital trauma teams and boards across the country to deliver consistent high-quality person-centred and equitable critical care to the most seriously injured patients.

Whilst the Scottish Government meets regularly with the Scottish Ambulance Service on operational matters, we have had no recent discussions with them regarding advanced, doctor-led, pre-hospital critical care capabilities in NHS board areas, including NHS Lothian.