Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government does not hold a central assessment of Third Sector healthcare provision. We do however recognise the role of the Third sector in areas such as palliative care and published the draft Palliative Care Strategy – Palliative Care Matters for All – for public consultation on 2 October 2024. The consultation will close on 10 January 2025, and the responses will inform the development of the final Strategy, which we aim to publish in 2025.

The majority of taxation powers – including over National Insurance Contributions – remain reserved to the UK Government.

At times of peak demand callers may have to wait longer for their call to be answered. Because of this, the Scottish Ambulance Service utilises the Intelligent Routing Platform (IRP) where, after waiting for 180 seconds, a caller is transferred to the next available call handler at another UK ambulance service.

The IRP is utilised by all other UK ambulance services.

The call is then sent back through a digital gateway to the appropriate regional Scottish Ambulance Service Ambulance Control Centre, who have local knowledge, and will dispatch the most appropriate resource.

Below is the number of calls between November 2023 and October 2024 that were transferred to another UK ambulance service from Scotland. It is important to note that over the last 12 months the Scottish Ambulance Service has answered 1,066,121 calls so the number of patients whose calls are answered by an ambulance service outwith Scotland is incredibly low.

November 2023 – 137

December - 28

January 2024 - 10

February - 6

March - 10

April - 4

May - 16

June - 13

July - 27

August - 12

September - 84

October - 183

Data on underemployment and its causes is collected for Scotland by the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS).

The Scottish Government publishes its own analysis on underemployment in Scotland based on the ONS LFS and APS data. The most recent publication including this data is Scotland’s Labour Market Insights: July 2024 publication. This can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/scotlands-labour-market-insights-july-2024/pages/people-in-work. The report highlights that an estimated 5.9 per cent of those in employment in Scotland were underemployed, the joint lowest in the series.

The Scottish Government is working with Welsh and Northern Irish Governments and our colleagues in ONS to better understand and to guide improvements in the collection of this data.

Data on economic inactivity and its causes is collected for Scotland by the Office for National Statistics’ (ONS) Labour Force Survey (LFS) and Annual Population Survey (APS).

The Scottish Government publishes its own analysis on economic inactivity in Scotland based on the ONS LFS and APS data. The most recent publication including this data is the Labour Market Trends: November 2024 publication. This can be found at: https://www.gov.scot/publications/labour-market-trends-november-2024/

The Scottish Government also recently published an evidence review on Economic Inactivity in Scotland: Supporting those with longer-term health conditions and disabilities to remain economically active. The report can be found here: Economic inactivity in Scotland: supporting those with longer-term health conditions and disabilities to remain economically active - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The Scottish Government are working with Welsh and Northern Irish Governments and our colleagues in ONS to better understand and to guide improvements in the collection of this data.

No One Left Behind, our shared approach with Local Government to delivering devolved employability services, has a key role to play in meeting our commitment to halving the Disability Employment Gap by 2038. Whilst we have seen positive progress to date in the number of people with learning disabilities accessing support, we are committed to going further. That is why our Programme for Government sets out that we will have Specialist Employability Support in place across all 32 local authority areas by Summer of 2025.

Additionally, as outlined in the refreshed Fair Work Action Plan, we are working with partners to develop a central resource hub for employers. Feedback from surveys of a range of employers and engagement with key stakeholders is being used to inform the design of the resource in an accessible way to help ensure that organisations of all sizes and sectors across Scotland can access advice and support to better implement Fair Work.

The Scottish Government is committed to using all levers at our disposal to extend Fair Work First conditionality with clear standards and minimum requirements to cover all forms of Scottish Government support within the limits of devolved competence. We are currently focussed on implementing Fair Work conditionality in public sector grants and will be undertaking an evaluation which will inform options for future focus and further strengthening of Fair Work First.

The Scottish Government holds or has access to multiple datasets relating to land use. However, these datasets are not exhaustive and are not held in a compatible format that would enable us to provide the information requested.

Environmental Health Officers are a core part of the public health workforce in Scotland and the Environmental Health function is key to protecting and improving the health of the Scottish population.

The Scottish Government set up the Environmental Health Policy Co-ordination Group in 2022. The group works collaboratively with the Society of Chief Officers in Environmental Health, COSLA and other relevant stakeholders, including the Royal Environmental Health Institute of Scotland (REHIS) to seek solutions in issues affecting the sector, such as the difficulties in filling vacancies and improving the route into the profession.

Since 2023, REHIS have offered an alternative route into the Diploma in Environmental Health for people who have a science related degree. This has helped attract more people into the profession from different backgrounds.

The wider impact that the shortages in Environmental Health Officers is having nationally and in island communities varies across the country and should be advised by the relevant local authority.

The Agriculture and Rural Communities (Scotland) Act 2024 requires Scottish Ministers to publish a five-year Rural Support Plan. The plan will build upon for the Vision for Scottish Agriculture and the Agricultural Reform Route Map and outline the phased transition from legacy EU CAP schemes to the new four-tier framework. The 2024 Act sets out the requirements for the plan including for engagement. Meeting these requirements is integral to the operation of the Agricultural Reform Programme, including through the co-development of future support with our rural partners and in the developing secondary legislation that will introduce changes. The Rural Support Plan will collate this information into a single strategic and coherent package, provide programme level input and ensure that the totality of measures is considered. Once the 2024 Act is commenced, the initial plan is intended to be drafted through 2025 and laid in Winter 2025, to reflect the published Route Map. The 2024 Act requires that the plan is laid before the Scottish Parliament, and published.