Chamber and committees

Private Healthcare Information Network figures for the first quarter of 2023 show Scotland has a lower rate of take up of private healthcare compared to England and Wales. The rate of people self-funding for private inpatient/day-case care is 16% higher in England, 51% higher in Wales and 40% higher Northern Ireland than in Scotland. When people who fund private healthcare through insurance is included, the rate per head in England is 76% higher than Scotland. In Wales it is 15% higher and in Northern Ireland 31% higher than in Scotland.

Scotland has a world-class National Health Service we can all be proud of but people have the choice to pay privately for care if they choose. It is important that all healthcare is safe, effective and person-centred and Healthcare Improvement Scotland have stringent regulation of private healthcare, including private hospitals, to ensure that’s the case.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-21476 on 2 October 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

The Scottish Government does not hold information on the number of transition plans that local authorities have in place for children and young people as this is a matter for individual authorities.

Under the Additional Support for Learning Act 2004, when a young person is expected to leave school the education authority has a duty to request and share information within specific timeframes to help support their transition. Local authorities are responsible for meeting their duties under the legislation and there are a range of planning mechanisms used by local authorities to meet children and young people’s needs.

The recent Women’s Health Plan: Interim Progress Update 2023 produced for the Women’s Health Plan Implementation Programme Board and the quarterly blog by the Women’s Health Champion sets out progress made since the Report on Progress , which was published in January 2023.

There is now a Women’s Health Lead in nearly every NHS Board. It is for NHS Boards to determine the local role of their Women’s Health Leads according to local need and priority and with reference to the aims set out in the Women’s Health Plan .

The Women’s Health Plan Implementation Programme Board will next meet on 15 November 2023, at which the minutes from the previous meeting will be agreed and subsequently published online.

The total bid figures reflect bids made by local authorities in February 2023. The total allocation figures reflect the allocation of probationers in May 2023.

The Scottish Government has been working with a number of partners to support the training and recruitment of a social care workforce to deliver integrated healthcare, which can include palliative care.

In collaboration with NES, the Scottish Government worked with the Home Office to ensure Adult Social Care workers were included on the Shortage Occupation List in February 2022, and that they will remain on this when this is next reviewed. To support international recruitment efforts, we have also collaborated with NES and COSLA to create the NES Centre for Workforce Supply: Social Care.

Further to this, we have been working with The Prince’s Trust and regional Developing the Young Workforce teams to encourage more young people to enter the social care workforce, and we continue to work with DWP, empowering their Work Coaches to support service users into careers in adult social care.

We also launched the National Induction Framework to support the onboarding process for new workers in February 2022, recognising that access to good onboarding can support staff retention by developing skills and confidence early on.

Under the Strategy Steering Group for Palliative Care, we have established a Workforce Education, Training and Resources Working Group to support the workforce and ensure that care is delivered by a multi-disciplinary and multi-agency workforce that is trained, skilled, valued and supported.

The Scottish Government is facing the most difficult financial situation since devolution. I therefore wrote to the hospice sector on 17 August 2023 to let them know that, unfortunately, their request for funding of £15.5 million is currently unaffordable. However, the Scottish Government will continue to consider how best we can support independent hospices and Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs), which are responsible for planning and commissioning palliative and end of life care, including hospices, in their areas.

The following tables shows applications and homes formally approved prior to, and since 19 July, including grant offered split by registered social landlord and local authority in 2023-24. It should also be noted that discussions have taken place to support additional acquisitions with other providers but formal applications have either not yet been received or are in the process of being approved.

We have not been able to provide purchase price information at this stage as, although approved, many of the properties have not yet been purchased:

The Scottish Government is aware of the pressure that hospices are under. I am meeting with hospices and hospice leaders to better understand the challenges they face and my officials are exploring how the Scottish Government can support Health and Social Care Partnerships with local planning and commissioning of independent hospice care in their areas. I am hosting a roundtable that will bring all relevant parties and representatives together to consider the challenges and potential solutions in the round.

The Scottish Government will continue to press the UK Government to support organisations struggling with energy bills, and will specifically raise the issue of additional measures to protect hospices.

The Programme for Government commitment 2021 – 2022 to developing a new Palliative and End of Life Care Strategy is ongoing. We have established the leadership, partnerships and structures to develop and deliver a new strategy, and we have undertaken extensive evidence gathering to establish a robust evidence base, including current and projected data on palliative care needs, surveys of services and support across governance and delivery partners, and understanding user experience and priorities.