Chamber and committees

Finally, with regard to surveillance and other data, I think that it is necessary that we look at the number of Covid cases and the behaviour that has, say, led to an outbreak. We hear about people who are, for example, against wearing face coverings. If we are looking at surveillance in different parts of the four UK nations, are we able to make good comparative decisions that show that one way might be better than another? Would that inform our search for the best way of dealing with the pandemic?

Sometimes all these budget lines, top lines and different figures just get thrown out there. I am interested in the idea of £15 per hour for care persons. That is what a band 5, three-year university-trained staff nurse makes. If we were going to make a challenge to move or increase that spend, that puts another burden on workforce planning, and that would be a concern for me. I am suggesting that social care staff should be supported and educated to have clinical expertise and progression, but £1.6 billion is an interesting figure that you have given us—if such a measure were to be taken—for a £15 per hour salary. It would be interesting to hear your additional comments on that.

Good morning, Dr Phin. I am interested in information sharing. Given that we now have different scientific advisory groups in each Administration, many of the members of which will, I am sure, know each other, we probably want to pursue a collaborative process using non-legislative measures rather than legislative approaches, which is part of the memorandum of understanding. I am interested in how good information sharing is between the four nations. You have said that there are three representatives from Scotland but 15 from England in the group, and only one from Wales and two from Northern Ireland. How is information currently shared if there is a top-heavy input from England compared with Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

I had one more question, about progress towards increasing primary care spend by 25 per cent—I think that the Government has a commitment to increase primary care spend by 25 per cent. I make that my final question.

At previous meetings, the committee has taken evidence on shifting the balance of care and moving spend to be more preventative, moving the focus away from hospital settings and more towards the community. The Scottish Government has committed to shifting the balance of care so that at least 50 per cent of front-line health spending takes place in community health services. That commitment is in the budget. Do we now need to be more ambitious, or is 50 per cent adequate for what we are planning?

I am pleased to be asking about sport and active living. We know that, during the first lockdown, people getting out for their daily mile or a walk was really important, including for their mental health. There is a proposal in the budget that investment in sport and active living will double to £100 million by the end of the parliamentary session, which is really good news. How will the additional funding for sport and active living be prioritised?

I have a quick question about social prescribing. In the previous session, the Health and Sport Committee produced a report on the benefits of social prescribing and said that it is an investment, not a cost. Social prescribing is good for physical and mental health. What needs to be done, or is being done, to demonstrate that social prescribing is really good? How will that work provide evidence that social prescribing could benefit from further investment?

My supplementary is similar to Sue Webber’s question about the “Hands, face, space” guidance. We have test and protect in Scotland, while England has had track and trace or test, trace and isolate. What collaborative work will be done on finding out whether TTI, test and protect or whatever worked, and on people’s understanding of and adherence to the guidance? It is important that what is contained in messaging is achievable in order to contain pandemics, so I am interested to hear whether there will be any collaboration on behavioural aspects with regard to such important messages.

Yes.

While we are talking about access, I want to highlight the challenges for rural areas. The minister comes from a rural area in the north-east and he will be well aware of the challenges. I am also thinking of the north-west and the south of Scotland. When women from rural areas access care, are we monitoring that and tracking the care and pathways associated with it?