Chamber and committees

The Alcohol and Drug Partnerships in Aberdeenshire and other rural areas were asked to submit structured assessments of how they are trying to overcome the challenges of rurality to the PHS MAT Implementation Support (MIST) team.

The assessment demonstrated the ways in which teams had maximised access and choice through technology, travel and different models of care, such as:

• Offering a choice of venues to be seen at; such as GP practice, home and community hubs,
• High use of self-referral and telephone, ‘tele-health’ technology such as NEAR ME;
• Wide use of bus passes, taxis and third sector volunteers to take people to appointments.

In 2024-25 NHS Grampian was allocated £10,469,033 for the ADPs in the region. Distribution of these funds is a matter for the local ADPs.

The Scottish Government does not hold this information centrally. Decisions around the provision of mental health services is a local responsibility, planned by Integrated Joint Boards and delivered through a mixture of NHS, local authority and third sector organisations. The availability of service, including via digital platforms, will vary depending the local population needs and will be guided by clinical decision making.

This is a matter for NHS Grampian. The information requested is not held centrally.

The Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) provides support to new entrants through the young fishers grant funding. Since 2021 the MFS has awarded 37 young fishers over £2.5m grant to enable them to purchase their first fishing vessel (or share in a vessel).

The Marine Fund Scotland (MFS) is focused on supporting projects that deliver outcomes relating to Scotland's Blue Economy Vision. This aims to support projects & investments that are innovative, entrepreneurial, productive and internationally competitive; resilient to climate change, contributing to climate change mitigation and adaption; to achieve marine sectors which are decarbonised, resource efficient and supporting Scotland's Net Zero commitments.

An example of the innovative circular economy approaches that this funding supports include projects such as Tiny Fish LTD, who won the Global Seafood Alliance 2024 Responsible Seafood Innovation Award. This project is finding unique markets for juvenile salmon that are removed from hatcheries prior to transfer of the best fish to sea pens. It received grant funding support via the MFS of over £118,000.

The use of corporate mobile phones is covered by our IT Code of Conduct and Mobile Services Employee Agreement.

Transport Scotland invests in a variety of transportation projects and initiatives aimed at improving Scotland's transport infrastructure and promoting sustainable travel. This will include supporting bus services, including investing in zero-emission buses, developing and improving ferry services and investing in active travel infrastructure like cycle paths and footpaths.

Further details on these investment plans are contained in the Strategic Transport Projects Review page on Transport Scotland’s website.

The National Transport Strategy, published in February 2020, sets out our long-term vision for a sustainable, inclusive, safe and accessible transport system in Scotland. The vision is underpinned by four interconnected priorities: Reduces Inequalities, Takes Climate Action, Helps Deliver Inclusive Economic Growth and Improves our Health and Wellbeing. In December 2024, we published our fourth Delivery Plan which outlines the actions being taken by the Scottish Government to deliver these priorities, alongside a Monitoring and Evaluation report.

These initiatives will help to improve access to hospitals, health centres, pharmacies and other key health facilities across Scotland, however we do not directly invest in transport infrastructure for patients travelling to medical appointments.

The Scottish Government recognises that more could be done to bring health planning and transport planning together, in order to support this closer working, we published the Transport to Health Delivery Plan on 30 October 2024. This plan includes Commitment 12: ‘Transport Scotland will encourage Regional Transport Partnerships to have appropriate stakeholder groups with a remit on Transport to Health, which includes appropriate representation from local NHS Boards. In reviewing Partnerships’ Regional Transport Strategies, Transport Scotland will seek appropriate consideration of Transport to Health issues in their strategies’.

All Scottish Government mobile phones are securely wiped and disposed of in line with National Cyber Security Centre guidance when they reach end of life.

All corporately managed Scottish Government mobile phones align with National Cyber Security Centre standards.

In an assessment of ways to overcome the challenges of rurality, submitted by Alcohol and Drug Partnerships in several rural areas to Public Health Scotland, a number of collaborative and innovative actions were described.

These included:

• Increased use of non-statutory services, informal local networks and peers to engage and support people, thus freeing up capacity to deliver rapid access and ensuring that staff can work at highest level within their banding
• Utilising generic primary and secondary care staff and settings to deliver care for example when weather disrupts usual access
• Development of more generic pathways for all drugs and alcohol referrals (given in many places the same staff deal with these issues)
• Some areas now have formal arrangements with other Health Boards to utilise 82 guidelines (Shetland and NHS Grampian), and to share expertise (Western Isles and Borders)