Chamber and committees

Staff deployment is an operational matter for ScotRail, as the employer and train operating company. The Member may wish to contact ScotRail directly.

Our commitment to reform is not a single programme; it is a cross system approach with a focus on strategic priorities which we set out in the Budget. This work is being progressed through multiple and interconnected work-streams and requires a whole-of-government approach.

There are 5.8 civil servants working in the team that is leading the core public service reform programme.

The core Scottish Government workforce has been following a strategy to reduce in size since March 2022, to adjust to the budgetary context and the change in the profile of its work following the Covid-19 pandemic. This direction accords with the wider work on medium term financial planning and in-year path to balance, as well as aligning with wider Public Service Reform ambitions. Enhanced recruitment controls were introduced at the start of the 2022-23 financial year to achieve this strategy.

In 2022-23 and 2023-24 the total Scottish Government workforce (i.e. directly employed and contingent workers) reduced by 0.4% and 3% respectively. This is the first time the workforce has reduced in consecutive years since SG began publishing workforce statistics in 2012. For the remainder of 2024-25, the presumption against external recruitment has been further strengthened in line with the spending controls announced in August 2024. Workforce planning for 25-26 will get underway across SG teams in early 2025. The size of the corporate functions within the Scottish Government, and the services they offer to wider public sector bodies, has been part of the consideration of the optimal size and deployment of the total Scottish Government workforce.

Ongoing assessment of the size of the corporate functions, both within the Scottish Government and across the wider public body landscape, is underway and opportunities will continue to be reviewed to ensure the those functions are as efficient and effective as possible to enable the delivery of public services.

The Scottish Government is taking action to support effective workforce planning in public bodies to, including providing guidance on redeployment.

The Scottish Government does not collate data on dog attacks. There is no central database within Scotland or the UK that provides data on dog attacks by type/breed of dog.

However, Public Health Scotland collects data provided by NHS Health Boards on the number of inpatient and day case admissions to hospital where a diagnosis of dog attack (bite or strike) was recorded.

I would refer you to the answer given to question S6W-24486 on 24 January 2024 for the available data from 2004 to 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 Scottish Government welcomes IBD UK’s latest report, Crohn’s and Colitis Care in Scotland: A Vision for Change, and is grateful to the organisation for its work in this area.

We are committed to ensuring that all people living in Scotland with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn’s Disease and Ulcerative Colitis, are able to access the best possible care and support. The 2025-26 Budget, if approved by Parliament, will provide £200 million to help reduce waiting times and improve capacity. This will help ensure no one waits more than 12 months for a new outpatient appointment or inpatient/day-case treatment by March 2026.

Our Endoscopy and Urology Diagnostic Recovery and Renewal Plan has so far delivered four mobile endoscopy units across Scotland, providing 5-6 additional endoscopy rooms, and a Dyce facility to provide additional endoscopy procedures for NHS Grampian (ceasing December 2024). The additional mobile endoscopy units have supported patients to be clinically prioritised for endoscopy, ensuring that a range of conditions, including IBD, are diagnosed and managed timeously. Additionally, the national endoscopy surveillance framework, introduced in February 2022, has been implemented in all Health Boards.

We have also funded the Modernising Patient Pathways Programme (MPPP) with a specific workstream continuing to promote improvements in IBD care which is being taken forward through the MPPP’s National Gastroenterology Speciality Delivery Group (SDG). They have developed a national IBD pathway for NHS Scotland which is due to be published imminently. The Gastroenterology SDG is also developing a lower gastrointestinal pathway which will provide primary care guidance about testing and diagnosis for people with IBD and Coeliac Disease in Scotland.

Scottish Ministers are considering all the available information on bovine EID and technology use across the UK. This includes the ScotEID pilot findings into UHF, the results and analysis of the consultation held on Cattle ID and Traceability earlier this year and ongoing close discussions with the livestock sector. All potential impacts, including those on trade, will be fully considered before a final decision is made.

The total estimated remaining unitary charge payments associated with PFI and PPP contracts including NPD (Non-Profit Distributing) across the public sector in Scotland from 2023-24 onwards are contained within the following table.

The total unitary charge payments associated with PFI and PPP contracts including NPD (Non-Profit Distributing) which were paid across the public sector in Scotland from 2006-07 to 2022-23 are contained within the following table.

As the latest associated published data remains unchanged, I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-26239 on 2 April 2024 and to question S6W-26655 on 15 April 2024. 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

Social Security Scotland routinely publishes information on Adult Disability Payment caseload, broken down by local authority.

As of 31 October 2024, statistics showed that there were 374,655 clients on the Adult Disability Payment caseload, of which 480 were classified as ‘Other’ rather than one of the 32 Scottish local authorities. 'Other' includes cases where there is an error in the postcode, and postcodes for a property within a new development. Residence in Scotland is checked for each case by Client Advisors during the application process to ensure that the applicant normally lives in Scotland, including asking for proof of address where appropriate.

The latest Adult Disability Payment official statistics publication can be found at: https://www.socialsecurity.gov.scot/publications/statistics. The next release of Adult Disability Payment statistics which will cover the period to the end of January 2024, is due to be published on 18 March 2025.