Chamber and committees

The National Mission Oversight Group met for the first time on 30 June 2022. The next meeting is scheduled for 22 September 2022. The Group will meet every three months and dates of meetings will be agreed in advance for the following year. The National Mission Steering Group will advise accordingly.

In the lead-up to Scottish Canals’ formal recognition as a Non-Departmental Public Body (NDPB) in April 2020 and continuing since then, the Scottish Government has sought to provide as much assistance as possible to assist the Organisation in familiarising itself with the financial reporting processes and accountancy practices that all NDPBs have to follow. In addition to providing advice on a number of related areas, Transport Scotland officials facilitated meetings with the Office for National Statistics, Audit Scotland and Scottish Government finance colleagues to assist in this process.

Support was mainly provided around how NDPB status would impact on Scottish Canals preparing its annual accounts, the authority delegated to its Accountable Officer, the change in the Organisation’s ability to carry across reserves from one year to the next and its investment strategy. Officials also highlighted the need for Scottish Canals to familiarise itself with the requirements of the Scottish Public Finance Manual, the Government Financial Reporting Manual (FReM) and the HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting guidance.

The Scottish Stroke Improvement Programme report, published on 28 June, includes data from the Scottish Stroke Care Audit (SSCA). The SSCA measures quality of care of stroke services in each acute hospital, grouped by NHS board against the Scottish Stroke Care Standards.

Like all Non-Departmental Public Bodies, Scottish Canals has to comply with the requirements of the HM Treasury Consolidated Budgeting Guidance Framework which does not allow for underspends to be carried over financial years.

Scottish Canals is allocated a Grant in Aid budget for the year based on expenditure forecasted by the Organisation and balanced by the income it expects to generate. Any operating surplus that the Organisation generates should be used to reduce the Grant in Aid requirement.

Scottish Canals has benefitted from significant increases in Grant in Aid awards in recent years. Since 2019, the Organisation’s capital grant from the Scottish Government has increased by 87% and it has received an annual uplift in resource funding. In addition, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Scottish Canals benefitted from additional funding of £1.7m to meet a reduction in its revenues.

The National Mission Oversight Group is supported by many areas of expertise including; academics, lived and living experience representatives, international expertise, clinicians and third sector organisations

Three members of the group are specifically appointed as lived and living experience representatives, but we should not presume that other members of the Oversight Group do not have their own lived and living experience alongside their professional expertise and experience they are bringing to the group.

The Group will link in to lived and living experience networks such as the National Collaborative to ensure that the perspective and experiences of living and lived experience are embedded in the work of the Group.

In line with the principle of producer responsibility, Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) is a private company, established by industry to lead on delivery of Scotland’s DRS as scheme administrator. As such, it is not for the Scottish Government to participate in the calculation or verification of the proposed retail handling fees.

The review of the Scottish Government patient travel guidance is a substantial exercise for the Scottish Government and NHS Boards and, regrettably, has been delayed due to prioritisation of our ongoing response to Covid and remobilisation of services. The review will take full account of the matters raised by Members, and will be taken forward as soon as possible.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-10433 on 20 September 2022. 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 retail handling fee is intended to ensure that the obligation to operate a return point is cost neutral for retailers. It is for Circularity Scotland Ltd (CSL) to manage this in a way that meets the needs of obligated businesses across Scotland.

Throughout the pandemic, a UK-wide approach to the procurement of therapeutics has been vital to allow the UK to have the buying power to secure significant numbers of therapeutics in a competitive global market. This approach has ensured patients across the UK have had equal access to safe and effective medicines.

Evusheld ® was developed and tested before the emergence of the Omicron variant, and the UK Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency’s (MHRA) conditional marketing authorisation outlined some remaining questions, including how effective Evusheld ® is against Omicron and the duration of its effect against current circulating variants. As a result, there is currently no established supply arrangement for Evusheld ® in the UK. The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) is carrying out further testing on the effectiveness of Evusheld ® against the Omicron variants which involve “live virus” tests taking place in the lab (“in vitro”). These tests are important because they provide certainty of the effectiveness of Evusheld ® against circulating variants and avoid the risk of introducing new variants through viral mutations.

The Scottish Government continues to closely monitor the outcome of further research to ensure that any decisions to make Evusheld ® available to patients in Scotland in the future are based on the best available evidence.