Chamber and committees

As I told Parliament on 3 September, this Government has consistently warned of the significance of the financial challenge ahead. In the face of this challenge, the Scottish Government has stepped in to support people and services where it has been needed most – on social security, health, and public services and as set out in our 2024-25 budget, we have delivered a real-terms uplift for the NHS.

However, given the circumstances, the amount allocated to external affairs was reduced in the Scottish Budget published for 2024-25, from £27.051 million to £26.283 million . The continuing uncertainty about additional funding and further in-year pressures have required that more action is taken now to ensure that we can balance the budget, which has required difficult choices. Regrettably, the amount allocated to mental health services has also been reduced. This reduction has been identified through programmes being adapted, or which have come to an end. However, we remain committed to taking forward our work across mental health, working closely with key partners. Through the overall 2024-25 budget, NHS Boards and the Scottish Government will continue to spend in excess of £1.3 billon on mental health.

Review of NHS Hyperbaric Medicine Services in Scotland is due to conclude in July 2025.

It is imperative adequate time is taken to review, due to the specialist nature of the facilities and services provided, to engage subject matter experts and consultants to participate in the review process. Assurance has also been provided that the Review Consultation Group includes contributions from a wide range of stakeholders including the British Hyperbaric Association, The British Sub Aqua Club (BSAC) and Scottish Sub Aqua Club (ScotSAC).

Whilst the review is on-going all NHS patients whom would have been treated at Oban are transferred to Aberdeen. It should be noted that the transfer of patients to Aberdeen is normal pathway for the sickest patients as Aberdeen hosts the only Category 1 chamber in Scotland.

Over 13,100 families have benefited from the Family Nurse Partnership (FNP) programme since it began in 2010 with, on average, over 81% of mothers offered the programme taking it up.

The information requested is not held centrally by the Scottish Government.

Public Health Scotland (PHS) uses the national waiting times datamart to collect electronic patient records covering the waits that patients experience waiting for treatment as an inpatient or day case under the Treatment Time Guarantee. This data source can be used routinely to identify the specialty of treatment. However, these records are unable to accurately capture procedural level data.

More detailed information on the procedure(s) that is planned or undertaken for a patient will be held locally by NHS Boards.

Although we are unable to provide procedural level data, the latest data for inpatient or day-case admission for ophthalmology is provided for reference.

Inpatient or Day case Admission: Waiting Times for Admissions

NHS Scotland, Ophthalmology, up to Month ending 30 June 2024

The Scottish Government supports Screen Scotland, our dedicated public agency for screen, through Grant-in-Aid funding, with £10.25m in Financial Year 2024-25.

As set out in our Programme for Government, we will continue to support Screen Scotland to deliver their Strategy to 2030-31, ensuring the screen sector can reach our goal of £1 billion Gross Value Added to the Scottish economy by 2030, up from £627m in 2021.

Screen Scotland will also continue their excellent work in skills and education, making a career in film and television more accessible for more young people in Scotland, and helping our sector to stay globally competitive for future generations.

Since it was first established in 2018, Screen Scotland, has been instrumental to the success of our screen sector. By nurturing locally-originated content as well as attracting international inward investment, Screen Scotland ensures that the sector continues to grow strongly and sustainably.

I met with representatives from Young Lives vs Cancer on 25 September 2024 to discuss their campaign.

Under the existing patient travel expenses schemes, financial support for travel to hospital is available for patients and authorised escorts, according to eligibility criteria and medical requirements. The families of patients with cancer aged under 18 who are receiving inpatient care can also already access financial support through the Young Patients Family Fund (YPFF).

Scottish Government has provided funding to Young Lives vs Cancer of £213,600 over two years (2023-2025) through the Children, Young People Families and Adult Learning (CYPFAL) fund. This funding supports the provision of advice on potential welfare benefits as well as direct grants to improve the emotional and mental wellbeing and reduce financial worries of young patients with cancer and their families.

There are no plans to expand the eligibility criteria for the YPFF at this time.

The Scottish Government is clear that there is no place for religious or racial intolerance, including Islamophobia, in Scotland’s schools.

Scotland’s Curriculum for Excellence aims to develop a society based on social justice, equality and respect, and provides opportunities for pupils to develop their understanding of various forms of discrimination and their intersectional impact, including Islamophobia. The curriculum is clear in saying that responsible citizens must understand different beliefs and cultures, and have respect for others.

Education Scotland provides teachers with a range of resources to help them navigate sensitive or controversial topics, including discrimination on the basis of religious belief, and to help foster good relations. Recently their online Inclusion, Wellbeing and Equalities Professional Learning Framework has been updated to specifically include a Developing Religious Literacy component.

In addition, by taking an intersectional approach, the work of the Scottish Government’s Anti-Racism in Education Programme addresses many of the issues at the heart of Islamophobia. Actions which have been taken forward include:

• Developing a set of Anti-Racist Principles for the curriculum;
• Providing racial literacy professional development, through the award winning Building Racial Literacy Programme;
• Publishing an Anti-Racist Action Guide aimed at empowering local authorities to better support their minority ethnic workforce;
• Developing guidance to address racism and racist incidents in schools, to empower the workforce to recognise and tackle racism and prejudice in all of its forms.

The recent reduction in mental health budget provision relates to the Scottish Government’s direct programme budget in 2024-25, not NHS Board baseline allocations.

Through the overall 2024-25 budget, NHS Boards and the Scottish Government will continue to spend in excess of £1.3billion on mental health.

The reduction in the Scottish Government’s budget has been identified through programmes being adapted, or which have come to an end. In some cases work has been re-profiled where this has been possible.

Whilst any reduction is regrettable, we remain committed to taking forward our work across mental health, working closely with key partners. Our collective focus has to be on making as much difference as possible with our funding.

As part of this, we have allocated £120million to NHS Boards and Integrated Joint Boards for the Enhanced Mental Health Outcomes Framework in 2024-25, which will be baselined from April 2025. This flexible funding stream means local areas have choices in how services are configured and organised in order to deliver better outcomes. This will enable mental health services to deliver the long-term services reforms required that will help us work towards a more sustainable and improved system.

The refresh of the Rail Services Decarbonisation Action Plan will examine how and when the traction elements of rail transport can best be achieved. The order and programme in which decarbonisation can be achieved is and remains dependent on business cases and available budgets.

The approval, construction and installation of Solar photovoltaic projects over 150kW is monitored through the Renewable Energy Planning Database (REPD). Information is provided both as a spreadsheet and as an interactive map which provides the location and capacity of all renewable energy projects within the planning system.

Renewable Energy Planning Database | DESNZ & Barbour ABI (barbour-abi.com)

The electricity capacity and generation provided by all grid-connected renewable projects is monitored through UK Renewables Energy Trends.

Energy Trends: UK renewables - GOV.UK (www.gov.uk)

Both these data sources are updated on a quarterly basis and summary data is provided within Scotland's quarterly energy statistics publication.

Quarterly energy statistics Scotland - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

Details of all small-scale renewable energy installations in the UK are available from the MCS data dashboard

About the MCS Data Dashboard - MCS (mcscertified.com)