Chamber and committees

Throughout the development of the Scottish Government and COSLA’s Mental Health & Wellbeing Strategy, we engaged with NHS Boards, Integration Joint Boards, professional bodies, third sector and equalities organisations, and many other partners and stakeholders covering interests across the whole mental health system. This was invaluable in helping to shape the Strategy and subsequent Delivery and Workforce Action Plans.

As an example of feedback from professional bodies following the Strategy’s publication, the British Psychological Society issued a statement supporting the direction of the Strategy, saying they are encouraged by its focus on a promotion of positive mental health, early intervention and prevention, and provision of support. The BPS have welcomed our ‘mental health in all policies’ approach which recognises that factors such as poverty, housing and employment can all have an impact on people’s mental wellbeing. They state that looking holistically at the whole person, considering not just psychological factors but also the social determinants of health, is the right approach.

We will continue to engage widely with medical professionals and other stakeholder groups on future refreshes of the Delivery Plan. This will ensure that we continue to develop actions that make further progress towards the Strategy’s outcomes.

Due to the interruption of dental studies during the pandemic and the need for students to repeat a year of teaching, student places for academic years 2021-22 and 2022-23 were reduced in order to manage capacity within institutions.

Targets for the 2023-24 academic year reflect the resumption of full intake cohorts, aligned to pre-pandemic intake, and can be found here on the Scottish Funding Council website.

The Scottish Government is currently reviewing demand as part of intake modelling for the 2024-25 academic year, and targets will be published by Scottish Funding Council in June 2024.

We have been supporting Scottish Prison Service (SPS) and other partners in delivering an improvement in the GEOAmey contract which has resulted in early positive signs, with a slowdown in staff attrition and improved staff numbers.

SPS is continuing to monitor the performance of the contract carefully to ensure target thresholds are met and we see a level of service which properly meets the needs of the Scottish Justice system.

We fully recognise the importance of access to justice of all those who come into contact with the justice system. We are considering a range of practical options to support this, including increasing the use of virtual custodies. The Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service (SCTS) remain committed to returning business to the island courts and are engaged with their justice partners to achieve this.

As set out in the Climate Change Committee’s ‘ Adapting to Climate Change Progress in Scotland ’ November 2023 report, there is a need to develop our understanding of the effects of heat on population health and wellbeing in Scotland.

Public Health Scotland, an NHS National Board, and our national public health agency, committed in their 'Climate change and sustainability strategic approach 2023–2026: working together to build a greener, fairer, healthier future ', to carrying out a study to explore the feasibility of developing climate related health indicators for heat and cold for Scotland.

The work, which is underway, will examine the potential to use routine data to report excess heat related deaths and hospitalisations in Scotland. When available, the results of this study will be reviewed, and next steps agreed with Public Health Scotland.

National Records of Scotland (NRS) also publish an annual Winter Mortality report. The report and further background information is available here:

Winter Mortality | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

An analysis of the relationship between mean winter temperatures and mortality was last published by NRS in the 2020-21 report available here:

[ARCHIVED CONTENT] Winter Mortality in Scotland 2020/21 | National Records of Scotland (nrscotland.gov.uk)

We continue to work closely with NHS Boards to reduce long waits, which have been exacerbated by the impacts of the global pandemic. This includes targets to address long waits and delivery of the commitments in our £1 billion NHS Recovery Plan to support an increase in inpatient, day-case, and outpatient activity.

While we know there is more to do, we are making progress. The latest Public Health Scotland data shows that in the 12 months to September 2023, almost 1.24 million (1,237,657) New Outpatients were seen across NHS Scotland; 2.5% more than previous 12 months.

We are also working with the Royal National Institute for Deaf People (RNID) as a third sector partner to promote and deliver community-based support for hearing-aid users. RNID Near You is currently operating in three Board areas, with plans to extend to a further two areas this financial year, and provides after-care support including maintenance, battery replacement and peer support and advice.

Scottish Government officials engaged with the Energy Systems Catapult in online stakeholder workshops during development of the UK Electricity Networks Commissioner’s report. In addition, the Scottish Government’s Planning, Architecture and Regeneration Division (PARD) and Energy Consents Unit (ECU) attended a meeting with the Energy Systems Catapult on 28 February 2023 to discuss procedures around the consenting of electricity transmission infrastructure. A minute of the meeting was taken by the Energy Systems Catapult.

The Cabinet Secretary for Wellbeing Economy, Fair Work and Energy met the UK Government Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (Minister for Nuclear and Networks) on 21 November 2023 to discuss the UK Government’s response to the UK Electricity Networks Commissioner’s report, which was published alongside the UK Government’s Autumn Statement on 22 November 2023.

Following the publication of UK Electricity Networks Commissioner’s report, Scottish Government officials have engaged with the UK Government, and other key stakeholders, through the UK Government’s Transmission Acceleration Forum and Stakeholder Working Group. The Scottish Government does not publish minutes taken by other organisations.

Financial planning to address the significant challenges our public finances face took place in advance of the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Finance's update on the 2023-24 in-year budget changes on 21 November.

The difficult decisions which have had to be taken, have allowed us to help balance the Scottish Government's budget, while still progressing implementation of our mental health and wellbeing strategy from a revised direct budget of £260.3 million.

As set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual grant payments should not be made in advance of need.

The independent due diligence on Ferguson Marine’s initial capital investment request concluded that the initial business case would not meet the Commercial Market Operator test, which is a key legal requirement if we are to demonstrate compliance with the subsidy control regime.

The Scottish Government remains fully committed to enhancing community audiology services. We are continuing to work closely with NHS Boards, Independent Providers and the Third Sector to develop fully integrated and sustainable audiology care and treatment located closer to the local communities being served. Our approach will continue to be informed by holistic consultation with the audiology sector, as well as by outcomes from the recently published Independent Review of Audiology services in Scotland.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-22774 on 21 November 2023. 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.

I welcome the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA’s) recent extension to the licence for Kaftrio ® and Kalydeco ® to include children aged two to five years old which will help address the unmet needs of younger children with cystic fibrosis in Scotland. I can also confirm that, while the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence (NICE) multiple technology appraisal (MTA) is ongoing, all existing and new patients in Scotland who are on, or who are started on, a CF medicine, including Kaftrio ® , will continue to have access to that CF medicine after NICE and the SMC issue their final recommendations. This will be irrespective of the outcome of the appraisal and will cover any need to subsequently switch to a different CF medicine.