Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has not had any direct engagement with Natural Power regarding the Climate Neutral Milngavie project.

We did fund a feasibility study via our CARES (Community and Renewable Energy Scheme) programme, delivered by Local Energy Scotland. The feasibility study looked to determine what can be deployed to generate heat and power and related climate solutions for Milngavie. Natural Power was contracted by Local Energy Scotland in 2022 to undertake the study. The final report was delivered by Natural Power and presented to the MCC group at The Fraser Centre, Milngavie in April 2024.

Public Health Scotland have provided some limited information regarding those who have had an inpatient hospital admission which includes a diagnosis of ‘exposure to excessive natural cold’.

Table 1 below provides information on the number of hospital admissions within NHS Scotland for people aged 65 and over treated for “natural exposure to cold weather” since 2010. The code ‘exposure to excessive natural cold’ is only captured where this has been clearly stated by a clinician and is likely an underestimation of the number of people admitted to hospital who had been exposed to excessive natural cold.

Table 1: Number of people aged 65 and over admitted to hospital and treated for natural exposure to cold weather since 2010

For clarity, the Scottish Government has not suspended public health information marketing campaigns.

The Scottish Government is fully aware of the importance that campaigns have in communicating public health priorities, and essential public health marketing activity in 2024-25 is continuing, including Public Health Scotland targeted communications work for particular vaccine programmes, including Winter Flu, to encourage people who often do not get vaccinated to take up the offer this year.

Paid-for activity is also continuing where costs have already been committed, or where an essential need is identified, such as campaigns on Sexual Assault Response and Care Service; Abortion Safe Access Zones; dementia, and our Detect Cancer Early campaign, which launched last month.

Marketing activity will also continue across portfolio areas through low or no cost channels, such as social content, public relations and work with partner organisations.

I have instructed ScotRail to offer a 12 month 20% reduction on the price of weekly, monthly and annual season tickets also to amend the Flexipass terms so it offers 12 return journeys for the same price as 10.

Passengers will be able to make significant savings with these discounted products.

For example, in the Member’s constituency, if someone travels between Ayr and Glasgow at least 4 days a week, the equivalent of the daily return with an annual season pass would be £11.48, and £9.18, if they commute 5 days a week, which in both cases is lower than the off peak fare of £13.40 or £20.10 - the new all day fare. For those traveling less regularly, flexipass could be an option to consider, with this pass a return journey would cost an equivalent of £13.62.

It would be most welcome if the Member could help promote these discounts to her constituents.

In November 2023 Scottish Government statisticians identified technical issues with the automatic data processing and updating of some of the data sources on the Energy Statistics Hub. This affected the formatted display of some of the figures and charts on the hub. Work is continuing to resolve the issue and updates are being processed as quickly as possible.

Updates to the underlying data sources and publication of Scotland's quarterly energy statistics are unaffected and there has been no delay in the quarterly publication of any of the Scottish Government’s energy statistics. The next Energy Statistics Quarterly publication is on Thursday 26 September 2024.

Key energy statistics are published on the Scottish Government website.

A programme of evaluation of the Attainment Scotland Fund (ASF), of which Pupil Equity Funding (PEF) is a key part, has been ongoing since the inception of the Scottish Attainment Challenge (SAC). The evaluation aims to provide learning about the overall implementation of the ASF and to assess progress towards its long-term outcomes. Pupil Equity Funding is considered in all evaluation activity and reporting.

The current ASF Evaluation Strategy, which can be found here: Attainment Scotland Fund - 2022 to 2026: evaluation strategy, was published in 2022 and sets out plans for evaluation between 2022-23 and 2026-27. Alongside this, a detailed analytical plan outlining evaluation activity in support of the high level strategy will be published annually over the course of this parliament. The first two analytical plans can be found here:

• Attainment Scotland Fund 2022 - 2026 Evaluation: Analytical Plan Year 1 (2022/23) (www.gov.scot)
• Attainment Scotland Fund 2022-2026 evaluation: analytical plan - year 2 2023 -2024 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

The most recent publications that contribute to the ASF Evaluation Strategy are:

• Attainment Scotland Fund Evaluation: Process Evaluation - Scottish Attainment Challenge Local Authority Leads Survey Report, 2022/23
• Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: National Improvement Framework - attainment and health and wellbeing measures, 2023
• Attainment Scotland Fund Evaluation: Reporting on National Improvement Framework Attainment and Health and Wellbeing Measures, 2024
• Attainment Scotland Fund Evaluation: Reporting on Wider Evidence Sources, 2024
• Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: Thematic Evaluation Summary Report 2024
• Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: Families and Communities Thematic Evaluation Report 2024
• Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: Readiness to Learn Thematic Evaluation Report 2024
• Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: Voice of Children and Young People Thematic Evaluation Report 2024

Prior to 2022, the evaluation reported annually with an initial report on Year 1 and 2 (2015 to 2017) published in 2017 and found here: Evaluation of the Attainment Scotland Fund - interim report (Years 1 and 2) (www.gov.scot), and annual evaluation reports published from 2018 to 2022 which can be found here:

• Evaluation of the Attainment Scotland Fund - Interim Report (Year 3) (www.gov.scot)
• Evaluation of Attainment Scotland Fund - Third interim report - Year 4 (www.gov.scot)
• Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: Fourth interim report - year 5 (www.gov.scot)
• Attainment Scotland Fund evaluation: fifth interim report - year 6 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)

In March 2021, Scottish Government and Education Scotland published the Closing the poverty-related attainment gap: progress report 2016 to 2021.

In addition to the ASF Evaluation, Education Scotland publish a range of evidence detailing how the Attainment Scotland Fund programmes, including Pupil Equity Funding, are helping to close the poverty related attainment gap.

The latest national report, published in August, is a high-level evaluative summary drawn from Education Scotland Attainment Advisors’ reports on 32 local authorities for the period December 2023 to March 2024. The key theme for this reporting period was ‘Evidence-based approaches’. Case studies from each local authority focused on different aspects of equity. The national summary report contains links to all case studies. The report can be accessed here: National Summary Report March 2024 | Scottish Attainment Challenge | Learning in Scotland | Education Scotland

Complementing this work, officials are undertaking a PEF Sampling exercise with over 100 schools across Scotland to draw out key learning on how PEF is contributing towards improving the educational outcomes of children and young people and their families, impacted by poverty. Once completed we will seek to share the innovative work taking place in our schools and communities, supported by PEF, with other Headteachers, Local Authorities and key stakeholders.

We outlined our plans to reform and modernise mental health legislation in Scotland in our “Mental Health Capacity Reform: Delivery Plan” published in June 2024 (Mental Health and Capacity Reform: delivery plan October 2023 to April 2025 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot)).

The plan lists several actions under the priority of Mental Health Law reform. One of these is that we will consider whether the Mental Health Tribunal should have a role in appointing a named person and in what circumstances that provision might apply. Scoping work for this is well underway but further work is needed to inform that position.

Statistics on the employment status of post-induction scheme teachers, including counts and percentages of those in full-time and part-time permanent and temporary employment are published in Table 1.6 of the teacher census supplementary statistics, available here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/teacher-census-supplementary-statistics/

In line with the recommendation made in the Scrutiny and Assurance Review, we have been working with the Care Inspectorate, Mental Welfare Commission and Healthcare Improvement Scotland to develop a framework for scrutiny and assurance in mental health. We are in the process of agreeing this with scrutiny bodies and aim to publish shortly.

Our investment of £30 million is supporting significant targeted action across a number of specialities, including gynaecology, with around 3,500 additional New Outpatient appointments planned for the longest waiting patients.

NHS Scotland’s Centre for Sustainable Delivery (CfSD) also continues to work with Health Boards to accelerate implementation of high impact changes, including Active Clinical Referral Treatment (ACRT) and Patient Initiated Review (PIR), freeing up additional capacity in the NHS system and providing sustainable solutions for the future.

CfSD programmes have developed strong clinically-led Specialty Delivery Groups (SDG), including one for gynaecology, which was established to support, innovate and develop high quality gynaecology services across Scotland, reducing unwarranted variation, promoting a best-in-class and - where appropriate - a once-for-Scotland approach.

This is all part of our programme to drive up productivity and tackle waiting lists, supported by the CfSD. Together, our actions will further enable NHS Scotland to maximise capacity, build greater resilience and deliver reductions in the number of patients who have waited too long for treatment.