Chamber and committees

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-02957 on 12 October 2021 . 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 .

In 2022-23, funding of £18 billion is provided for health and social care. This substantial investment is already benefitting a range of services that are supporting the needs of people living with long COVID.

Health funding for 2023-24 will be confirmed through the forthcoming budget process.

We engage with NHS Boards on a regular basis regarding their capacity needs, and will continue to do so in order to inform the allocation of the long COVID Support Fund.

We awarded a contract through a competitive tender for independent VAT advice from Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP. AAB have been commissioned to provide advice and support to Scottish Government employees on VAT implications, to produce an options paper exploring the VAT implications of different NCS scenarios, and to produce a final report on the considerations of VAT and eventual outcome. This work is ongoing.

After competitive tender, a contract was awarded to Anderson Anderson & Brown LLP to obtain expert independent advice on the implications of VAT on the NCS and associated Care Boards. This work is ongoing. We will engage with the wider sector and HMT prior to any decision being taken which would have a VAT impact.

In March 2022, we published The National Workforce Strategy for Health and Social Care in Scotland . This Strategy sets out a new framework to shape Scotland’s health and social care workforce over the next decade and places training, wellbeing, job satisfaction and the principles of Fair Work at its heart. The strategy, the first of its kind, stresses the need to plan, attract, train, employ and nurture staff.

As part of this publication, and as announced in the 2021 Programme for Government, we have committed to increasing the number of medical school places by 100 per annum over the lifetime of this Parliament, whilst also doubling the number of Widening Access places over the same period. This will result in an additional 500 medical school places and 120 Widening Access places, ensuring a healthy supply of trainee doctors for further training at postgraduate level.

We have also committed to expanding the number of trainee doctor posts in line with medical workforce modelling intended to achieve a planned and sustainable medical workforce to meet current and future needs. We remain committed to increasing the number of GPs working in Scotland by at least 800 by 2027. In June of this year we launched our national GP recruitment campaign to promote working as a GP in Scotland as a good career choice.

The Institution of Fire Engineers provided a list of eleven chartered fire engineering firms that operate in Scotland. All UK chartered fire engineers are eligible to participate in the Single Building Assessment programme.

The single building assessment reports undergo a review by technical staff within the Cladding Remediation Unit.

The UK Government’s Child Maintenance Service (CMS) is reserved. Only the CMS has the power to take action to enforce payment of sums due under a maintenance assessment arranged through the CMS.

The Scottish Government recognises this is an exceptionally challenging and uncertain time for families and we are working across the public and third sector to ensure that support is there for anyone who needs it.

We are investing around £12.5 million this year to support the provision of free income maximisation, welfare and debt advice services.

We provide funding to One Parent Families Scotland, which operates an advice line and debt advice services for lone parent families.

We are currently working with six fire engineering companies in the pilot phase of the single building assessment. We are engaging with professional bodies in order to expand the number of assessors and firms involved in this work.

Scottish Government officials have spoken with the Victoria State Government on matters of mutual interest in fire safety and cladding remediation.