Chamber and committees

All NHSScotland Health Boards report directly to the Independent National Whistleblowing Officer (INWO) on the recommendations from investigation reports. The Scottish Government do not become involved in INWO investigations, instead we will seek assurance through regular contact with Board officials and through the annual Staff Governance Monitoring exercise that actions are taken in line with the report.

We published a Statement of Intent in September 2023 and this is currently being tested through wider engagement. This is a crucial step in gathering wider views on whether the draft vision and priorities are the right ones, ultimately for inclusion in the strategy.

Following this current engagement, the strategy will be drafted, and we aim to launch a formal public consultation in Spring 2024. We plan to publish a summary of all the responses to show what people have said, before publishing the final National Transitions to Adulthood Strategy.

The Scottish Government supports and encourages an environment where those working in our health service feel confident to raise any concerns they may have, in the knowledge that these will be treated seriously and, where appropriate, fully investigated. Boards are expected to investigate concerns fairly and appropriately in line with national policies.

The Scottish Government expect NHS Forth Valley to work closely with trade unions to address and resolve concerns.

An Assurance Board was established in December 2023 to monitor and scrutinise NHS Forth Valley against an agreed Improvement Plan. The Assurance Board has met 13 times and continues to meet monthly to review progress.

The Scottish Government does not hold estimates of how many people are not currently registered with a GP. Health Boards make arrangements for patients who are unable to find a practice which will register them.

Transport Scotland has contracted Hagar Environmental & Atmospheric Technologies (HEAT) to deploy remote sensing equipment on both local and trunk roads in 2021, 2022 and 2023.

Remote sensing equipment uses laser spectroscopy to measure the real-world emissions of vehicle exhaust plumes as the vehicles pass underneath.

This equipment has been deployed in the Glasgow City Council, City of Edinburgh Council, Aberdeen City Council and Dundee City Council areas.

HEAT have partnered with the ICCT (International Council for Clean Transportation) and Element Energy to deliver this project.

We are working in collaboration with key stakeholder groups, including representatives of parent carers; local authorities; the third sector; health; social care; education; and employment, to share the Statement of Intent and promote completion of the questionnaire amongst relevant stakeholders with a role or interest in supporting disabled young people’s transition to adulthood. In addition, we are working with a number of organisations to seek feedback on the Statement of Intent from more young people.

The Scottish Government does not provide guidance to local authorities on offering temporary contracts to newly qualified teachers, as the recruitment and employment of teachers including recruitment practices are matters for individual councils.

All newly qualified teachers in Scotland must complete a period of probationary service to show that they meet the standards for full registration. Meeting this standard means that they can take on the demands and responsibilities of teaching.

Newly qualified teachers are not provided with 'temporary' contracts - they are provided with a probationary contract to ensure they complete the required training. This can be completed via the Teacher Induction Scheme (TIS) or via the Flexible Route and is financially supported by the Sottish Government.

We are supporting councils with an additional £145.5 million in this year’s budget to protect teacher numbers, which provides assurance of funding and removes this as a barrier to employing staff on permanent contracts.

Kindred Advocacy provide independent advocacy, advice, one-to-one support and support groups for families raising children with complex needs. Kindred Advocacy currently supports 800 – 900 families a year. Most of these families are from Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife, however Kindred Advocacy supports families from across Scotland.

In 2022, Kindred Advocacy received funding through the Children, Young People and Families Early Intervention Fund and Adult Learning and Empowering Communities Fund (CYPFEI and ALEC).

Kindred Advocacy’s objectives for this funding were:

• Parents will feel less isolated and better able to cope.
• Parents will feel better informed about their child’s diagnosis or medical condition.
• Parents will feel more confident about caring for their child.
• Parents will report that there is less impact on family life of caring for a child with disabilities.

NHSScotland supports and encourages an environment where those working in our health service feel confident to raise any concerns they may have, in the knowledge that these will be treated seriously, and where appropriate, fully investigated. This includes concerns about staffing levels and any compromise to patient safety. Boards are expected to investigate concerns in line with the NHSScotland Whistleblowing Policy.

The Independent National Whistleblowing Officer (INWO) was set up to provide a mechanism for external review where there are concerns of how a Health Board, primary care or independent provider has handled a Whistleblowing case.

Additionally, the Scottish Government seek assurance of the whistleblowing support in place for staff, as well as the process in Boards through regular contact with Board Executives, the Board Whistleblowing Champions, and via the annual Staff Governance Monitoring exercise.

In recognition of long waiting times for dental surgery which have been exacerbated due to the pandemic, the Scottish Government published the NHS Recovery Plan in August 2021. The £1 billion backed plan will support an increase in outpatient and inpatient activity to reduce waiting times through the implementation of sustainable improvements and new models of care.

Key actions of the plan include creating a network of National Treatment Centres (NTC’s) which will provide and create capacity nationally. This additional capacity will free up space for other specialties locally to address waiting times.