Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government meets regularly with UK Government and UK Health Security Agency in response to Mpox.

The 1,152 reported is the Whole Time Equivalent (WTE) fall in the NHS Scotland Nursing and Midwifery establishment over the six months to 30 June 2024. Care should be taken when comparing workforce data over a six month period as it will be influenced by seasonal patterns. The NHS Scotland Nursing and Midwifery establishment fell by 99 WTE in the year to 30 June 2024.

The Scottish Government sets the strategic policy direction for the NHS in Scotland. However, operational matters, including staffing, are in the first instance the responsibility of each NHS board. Health Boards will set their establishment depending on the service needs, taking account of national, regional and local priorities, and we expect NHS boards to plan and provide safe, effective and high-quality care, in line with their statutory service provision and workforce planning responsibilities.

The Scottish Government is taking a range of steps to promote awareness of ADHD, often targeted at professionals in healthcare and education settings in order to maximise impact.

The Scottish Government published the National Neurodevelopmental Specification: Principles and Standards of Care for Children and Young People in 2021. This specifies the standards that all children’s services should follow to ensure access to support is effective and consistent across Scotland. Whilst aimed at service providers, it nevertheless serves to promote general awareness of the needs of children with ADHD across NHS Health Boards and Local Authorities.

Additionally, last year, resources on ADHD were published on Education Scotland’s website. These cover the common features, positive traits and challenges of ADHD. This was accompanied by a webinar, attended by over 300 individuals.

As part of our work on implementing Adult Neurodevelopmental Pathways, the Scottish Government is working with the National Autism Implementation Team (NAIT) to ensure that Health and Social Care Partnerships across Scotland are equipped to support adults with ADHD.

The Scottish Government provides funding to NHS Education for Scotland (NES) to deliver neurodiversity training resources for staff across agencies, including health and social care, and education. This training is delivered both in-person and via an online learning hub. It equips staff to deliver for neurodivergent individuals, including those with ADHD, across the lifespan. In 2023, at least 1,243 individuals attended webinars that dealt specifically with ADHD across the lifespan, and at least 2,189 individuals accessed the recordings of these sessions at a later date.

As part of our consultation on potential provisions within a future Learning Disabilities, Autism and Neurodivergence Bill, consideration is also being given to the possible introduction of mandatory training on neurodivergence, including ADHD, for public-facing staff in some public services.

(a) There are no exemptions to the Fair Work First conditions in public sector grants. There is provision in the Fair Work First policy for limited exceptions where a potential grant recipient cannot afford to pay the real Living Wage to all or part(s) of its workforce and so is unable to accept the standard grant conditions regarding payment of the real Living Wage. There is no provision for an exception to meeting the effective voice condition. Funders may apply flexibility to recognise the different forms of voice that are appropriate for different organisations. The Fair Work First guidance is available here: https://www.gov.scot/publications/fair-work-first-guidance-2/.

(b) For information on the number of contracts including Fair Work First considerations, I refer the member to the answer to questions S6W-28739 on 29 August 2024 and S6W-28738 on 23 August 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 does not currently provide dedicated funding to organisations and services providing post-diagnostic support for adults with ADHD.

However, we know that ADHD often co-occurs with autism. Accordingly, through the Adult Autism Support Fund, we are funding 14 organisations that are providing post-diagnostic support to autistic adults, some of whom will also have ADHD. One organisation, Lochaber Hope in the Highland council area, specifically provides online workshops on Autism and ADHD, as well as a Neurodivergent group for women and non-binary people.

We are also working to ensure that local diagnostic pathways for adults adopt a stepped care model and a neurodevelopmental approach, inclusive of ADHD.

The Scottish Government has provided funding to National implementation Team (NAIT) to support the Health and Social Care Partnerships to develop action plans to introduce adult neurodevelopmental pathways. NAIT will also provide ADHD professional learning workshops and establish adult neurodevelopmental professional networks.

The Scottish Government and NatureScot have been focused on the development of the final draft of the Scottish Biodiversity Strategy and supporting Delivery Plans, which will be published later this year. The Scottish Biodiversity List remains an important part of this framework. NatureScot has already undertaken some preparatory work which will help inform this task, and we will continue to work together to produce a revised list in due course.

The primary responsibility for flood resilience rests with the individual property owner, and then it is for Local Authorities to develop Local Flood Risk Management Plans. Effective mechanisms to support response and recovery during and after extreme weather events are already in place, including regional resilience partnerships, and through the Scottish Flood Forum. Various lessons learned exercises were carried out by the responsible authorities following the responses to different storm events last year.

Later this year, the Scottish Government will publish a Flood Resilience Strategy which will aim to set Scotland on a long-term course towards a sustainable level of flood resilience in the face of increasing flood risks associated with climate change.

The Scottish Government’s Primary Care Improvement Fund (PCIF) provides funding for the implementation of multidisciplinary teams in primary care, including Community Link Workers. The PCIF was not subject to reductions announced in the Pre-Budget Fiscal Update so there has been no assessment of impacts.

The latest data that the Scottish Government holds on CLW numbers (to 31 March 2024) shows that CLW programmes in the six integration authorities within the Highlands and Islands region were funded (except for one post in Argyle and Bute) from integration authority PCIF allocations. These figures are published – please see the supplementary tables that accompany the summary report: Primary care improvement plans: implementation progress summary - March 2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot).

Funding for flood resilience is distributed to local authorities through the general capital grant. The allocation mechanism is agreed by Ministers and COSLA Leaders on a national basis, rather than bespoke to each local authority, and as such there was no discussion around increasing flood resilience funding for local authorities within the Highlands and Islands region at the meeting on 5 September.

The current distribution agreement is that 80% of available funding is allocated to a list of prioritised flood protection schemes, and 20% allocated to local authorities to fund other actions within Flood Risk Management Plans.

Individual local authorities have responsibility for the development and delivery of flood protection schemes. Every location at risk is unique and therefore the business case for improving flood resilience will reflect this.

Where a flood protection development may have a significant impact on a European site, then under the Habitats Regulations an appropriate assessment must be carried out by the Local Authority to determine whether an impact on the integrity of the designated site is likely. Should the appropriate assessment conclude an adverse impact on integrity then the Local Authority must apply for a derogation from Scottish Ministers to allow the development to proceed. One of the three tests which must be satisfied under the Habitats Regulations before a derogation is granted is that the development is of imperative reasons of over-riding public interest.