Chamber and committees

As I set out in Parliament on 18 December during the statement on implementing the medication assisted treatment we are preparing for changes to the drug supply with synthetic opioids becoming more prevalent. At the National Mission Oversight Group meeting on 14 November 2023 Dr Sharon Stancliff, Associate Medical Director of Harm Reduction in Healthcare New York State, and Professor Thomas Kerr, Director of Research with the British Columba Centre on Substance Use, gave presentations on their experiences of fentanyl and the impact this has had since becoming prevalent in the drug supply in New York State and British Columba respectively. An overview of fentanyl was given, the differences between opiates and synthetics and the differences in overdose presentations were covered. The use of naloxone and fentanyl testing strips, along with the need for buprenorphine and harm reduction practices generally, were discussed. The presentations also covered use of safer drug consumption facilities, drug checking and the decriminalisation pilot which took place in British Columbia. They shared their views on what is needed here in Scotland, based on their respective experiences with fentanyl epidemics in their countries, to help address the risks that synthetics pose.

Officials recently met with stakeholders who are involved in the delivery of drug and housing services to discuss the roundtable event taking place this year on synthetic opioids and those areas they would want to cover. Planning is continuing for this to take place at the start of 2024, the event will cover all synthetic opioids including nitazenes.

The Scottish Drugs Forum have launched resources on synthetic opioids and nitazenes to get information out to people that they are in the illegal drug supply Resources — Stop The Deaths . Public Health Scotland have also recently issued an update to their alert via RADAR to healthcare staff and the public to highlight the increased dangers associated with the drugs ( RADAR Nitazenes alert 2023 ).

Scottish Government officials from the Gaelic and Scots team met with senior education officers of North Lanarkshire Council on 6 December to discuss matters relating to the recent consultation involving both Condorrat and Baird Memorial primary schools. Along with the meeting, the Scottish Government has also received correspondence from parents on this matter and officials have been following the consultation closely. There was an agreement to meet again in the new year.

The Scottish Government will draw on a range of experiences in the development of refreshed Guidance on Developing Policies to Promote the Safe and Responsible Use of Mobile Technology in Schools. This will include the experiences of schools like Gordonstoun, and others, who have introduced limitations on the use of mobile phones in schools.

The current guidance which is available from Guidance on Developing Policies to Promote the Safe and Responsible Use of Mobile Technology in Schools (www.gov.scot) remains in place at this time.

All children and young people should receive the support that they need to reach their full potential. Local authorities are under a statutory duty to identify, provide for, and review the support that they provide for pupils with additional support needs.

The Scottish Government has continued to invest an additional £15m per year since 2019-20 to help local authorities respond to the individual needs of children and young people. This investment is monitored via information collected through the annual school staff census. The latest figures show that this funding has helped contribute to the highest recorded number of support staff in schools, 16,606 in 2022.

We are committed to supporting the education workforce, and we are providing local authorities with £145.5m in this year's budget to protect increased teacher numbers and support staff.

An analysis of data from the Scottish Procurement Information Hub and Public Contracts Scotland, covering financial year 2017/18 to date, has not identified any spend or contracts with contractors in categories (a) to (c). We do not routinely capture information about which other clients contractors engage with, so do not hold information in relation to (d).

The Scottish Government understand the importance of sport and physical activity and the positive impact that it has, not only on physical, mental, and social health, but also on wider social outcomes.

We are committed to ensuring that all children in primary schools receive at least two hours of physical education each school week, and all young people in secondaries 1 to 4 receive at least two 50-minute periods of physical education each school week. Local authorities and individual schools also have the flexibility, under Curriculum for Excellence, to decide upon the content of their own lessons at the local level, since we believe they are best placed to understand the needs and circumstances of the children and young people in attendance.

Alongside opportunities to be physically active in physical education, sportscotland works in partnership with all 32 local authorities to invest in and support Active Schools. Active Schools is dedicated to developing and supporting the delivery of high quality sport and physical activity opportunities to all children and young people, taking an inclusive approach and providing targeted opportunities where there is a need. Data published by sportscotland shows significantly increased participation levels across the past academic year (2022-23), with 4.6 million visits to Active Schools sessions, a rise of 34% on 2021/22.

We have committed to ensure that the Active Schools programme is free for all children and young people by the end of this Parliament.

In addition we are funding the Active Play Development Project which provides children with the opportunity to develop physical skills in their early years and to encourage a long-term, positive relationship with physical activity. The programme targets areas of disadvantage and will support more children from areas of higher deprivation, to develop the skills and confidence to enjoy being more physically active.

The We Make Music schools initiative is led by the Music Education Partnership Group, which is an independent charity and network of music-based organisations.

Information on the We Make Music school initiative and progress with the programme is available via the MEPG website at: https://wemakemusicscotland.org/ or by contacting the Music Education Partnership Group at the following email address which is also available via their website: [email protected]

While Scottish Government is responsible for the strategic direction of the NHS, territorial Health Boards are responsible for delivering services in their areas, and providing appropriate community spaces for midwives and allied health professionals.

Community-based maternity services should have access to appropriate accommodation to provide face to face appointments. ‘The Best Start: a Five Year forward Plan for maternity and neonatal care’ outlines the expectation that Boards provide routine care and maternity services through Community Hubs.

We are also supporting development of primary care multi-disciplinary teams (MDT), including allied health professionals, with investment of £190 million in 2023-24 through the Primary Care Improvement Fund.

Integrated Authorities must work closely with local communities and other stakeholders to ensure that Primary Care Improvement Plans address specific local challenges and population need.

While making significant progress in these reforms, we recognise that implementation gaps remain, including around accommodation barriers.

We are now also introducing an additional ‘phased investment programme’ working with a small number of areas to demonstrate what a model MDT can look like in practice. The findings from this programme will build understanding of the national context for further implementation and inform future long-term Scottish Government investment.

A Flow Navigation Centre has been established in every mainland Health Board as part of the Redesign of Urgent Care Programme. They provide expert clinical advice, referrals to alternative services and, when necessary, schedule appointments at A&E. They play a key role in ensuring patients receive the ‘Right Care, in the Right Place’ by diverting patients to more appropriate pathways of care and reducing unplanned attendances to A&E departments.

The RUC Programme was introduced during the Covid-19 pandemic (December 2020), impacting on the comparability of statistics. However, in the 12 months to October 2023, A&E attendances where down by more than 11 percentage points compared to 2019 levels. Whilst we do not have comprehensive data available, we understand through discussions with Health Boards that the reduction in attendance is in part due to Flow Navigation Centre’s.

In order to realise the full potential of Flow Navigation Centres, the Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) have established a Flow Navigation Specialty Delivery Group to drive the development and delivery of high quality Flow Navigation services across Scotland. The group brings together key stakeholders to establish the optimal Flow Navigation Model and reduce unwarranted variation. Developing and capturing the relevant data to measure the impact of this work and to understand and evidence outcomes is part of the SDG workplan which is being taken forward over the next year.

HM Chief Inspector is committed to promoting openness and transparency in the inspection process. Educators and practitioners are kept well-informed about inspections, including the focus areas and methodologies employed by inspection teams.

HM Inspectors assess the quality of education in Scottish schools using various quality indicators from 'How good is our school? (4th edition).' This document outlines the evidence collected during school inspections. Additionally, briefings for headteachers, parents, and Parent Councils are provided and updated annually at the beginning of each academic year. These updates are available on Education Scotland’s website. Moreover, when specific or mid-year changes occur, separate advice notes are published on the website.

In November 2023, I requested that the interim Chief Inspector enhance the evidence collected about behaviour during inspections.

Consequently, HM Inspectors will place greater emphasis on gathering evidence about behaviour and strategies for promoting positive relationships during inspections. An Advice Note for schools outlining the approach will be published in early January 2024, and will apply to inspections notified from January 2024.

The interim Chief Inspector will continue to issue additional inspection advice notes as needed, ensuring the inspection process remains transparent.