Chamber and committees

I thank Carol Mochan for bringing the debate to mark allied health professions day to the chamber. It is, sadly, slightly delayed but nonetheless highlights the vital role that our allied health professionals play in health, social care, education and the voluntary sector, their tireless commitment during the Covid-19 pandemic and the positive impact that they have on peoples’ lives—I think of my experience of the compassionate response of occupational therapists to my elderly father after he fell through a glass door and ended up completely losing his confidence, and I remember the radiographers who x-rayed my son’s broken arm, on three occasions, at the Royal Aberdeen children’s hospital and the physiotherapists who patiently supported my brother-in-law as he learned to walk again after a life-threatening stroke.

We know that people are emerging from the Covid-19 pandemic with increasingly complex health needs. The rehabilitation framework and the once-for-Scotland approach recognise the demand that is associated with pre-existing long-term health conditions and the needs of people living with those long-term effects of Covid-19. It is also important to acknowledge other pressures such as staffing and recruitment challenges, our ageing population, climate change and, of course, the health inequalities that were starkly brought into focus by the recent University of Glasgow report linking austerity measures with excess deaths in Great Britain. However, today is about recognition and appreciation of the contribution that is made by a skilled, experienced and committed allied healthcare workforce.

I welcome the additional funding for psychological therapies and interventions, the launch of the national conversation to improve support for people with dementia and their carers and this week’s announcement of £37 million of Scottish Government funding over the next four years to help future-proof our NHS against rising demand.

There is no doubt that we are experiencing radical changes in the delivery of healthcare, which mean that the knowledge and skills that are required by allied health professionals have changed, too. I will cite an example of a small-scale but innovative approach that supports students in their practice-based learning.

The school of health sciences at Robert Gordon University has been leading a contemporary, community-based education opportunity that brings tangible benefit to older people in the most deprived areas in my constituency of Aberdeen South and North Kincardine. The Thursday physio drop-in is a weekly, student led physiotherapy clinic, comprising an over-55s exercise class along with advice on mobility, posture and strength, all followed by a cup of tea in a familiar setting within walking distance of people’s homes.

Building on that, a new student-led law clinic, recently launched in a busy GP practice in my constituency, will offer law students the opportunity to gain experience through providing free legal advice to people on low incomes. Barriers to health and wellbeing are complex: housing, finance and negotiating consumer rights are all barriers to the basic requirements of a healthy life—our best life. A first in Scotland, the community law clinic connects justice and allied healthcare to tackle the root causes of issues that contribute to poor mental and physical health, which is particularly relevant during the on-going cost of living crisis. I commend Hannah Moneagle from Robert Gordon University, Dr Adrian Crofton, lead clinician at the Torry medical practice, and all those involved in establishing that truly multidisciplinary project.

I commend all our allied health professionals for their commitment and resilience and for their contribution to making life better for us all, and again thank Carol Mochan for bringing this important debate to the chamber.

Some members will ask specific questions about Lady Dorrian’s review later. On the back of Jamie Greene’s question, I will bring in Russell Findlay. Fulton, is there something that you would like to pick up, too?

You are very enthusiastic.

We are discussing correspondence that the committee has received. The first piece of correspondence relates to the update on the women’s estate. As there are no other queries, are we content to write back to the prison service to thank it for its correspondence and to take forward Jamie Greene’s suggestion in doing so? We will monitor developments around the benefits and evaluation of the unit.

Members indicated agreement.

I call Pauline McNeill, to be followed by Russell Findlay.

Last year, the committee visited a prison and saw for ourselves the challenges that exist around caring for the cohort of prisoners who have dementia and other physical medical conditions. From a capital budget perspective, what might be the implications for your ability to improve and reconfigure the prison estate to ensure that their needs are met?

We are discussing correspondence to the committee. If you do not mind, just park that thought and we will come back to it.

Good morning and welcome to the 27th meeting in 2022 of the Criminal Justice Committee. We have apologies from Katy Clark.

Our first item of business is pre-budget scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s forthcoming budget for 2023-24. I refer members to papers 1 and 2. We will hear from two panels of witnesses. I give a warm welcome to our first panel: Eric McQueen, chief executive of the Scottish Courts and Tribunals Service; and John Logue, interim Crown Agent with the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service.

We will move straight to questions and I will kick off with a general opening question. Before we get into more detailed questioning around the specific implications of the indicative flat cash settlement, I am interested to hear your initial reaction to the Scottish Government’s proposal that there may be a flat cash resource settlement for the next few financial years.

Thanks. We will move straight to members now.

What would be the potential impact of that recruitment freeze?

Before we move on to other areas of questioning, I will stay with Mr Logue and pick up on Mr McQueen’s point that the bulk of the budget is taken up with staff costs. I assume that the position is similar in the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service. I am interested in the options or scenarios that you are looking at in the budget, however difficult they may be. Are there implications of maintaining staff costs but having to adjust things such as recruitment, or having a pay freeze or that type of scenario?