Chamber and committees

No. This is an interim move phased over the next 12 to 18 months prior to the opening of the new Royal Hospital for Sick Children on the new south Glasgow hospital site in 2015. The decision is based on the explicit recommendation of an independent expert clinical body and it is important to note that, this interim move aside, the service would always have been located at the New Southern General site from 2015.

The cost of NHS National Services Scotland support to the Scottish Arthroplasty Project in the financial year 2010-11 was £51,000.

Quarterly data on the number of staff employed by the Scottish Government is published at (see tables 6a and 6b):

http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/Statistics/Browse/Labour-Market/PublicSectorEmployment/PSEwebtables/Q/forceupdate/on.

The latest time period for which data is published is Q4 2010 (end of December 2010). Data for Q1 2011 (end of March 2011) will be published on 15 June 2011.

I refer the member to the answer to question S4W-338 on 9 June 2011 All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/Apps2/Business/PQA/Default.aspx.

Information regarding the total number of civil servants taking voluntary redundancy in these years is not held centrally.

The following table shows the number of staff who have taken early retirement/severance in 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11 and whose costs will be paid for by the core Scottish Government. This may include some staff employed by Scottish Government agencies.

The costs do not represent the cash amounts actually paid out in the financial years specified as the Scottish Government is invoiced on an ongoing basis for staff who have retired in previous years. However all costs from the date of leaving the organisation to the normal retirement age are accounted for in the year the individual accepts an offer to retire. It should also be recognised that the cost does not represent what individuals actually receive by way of pension and lump sum as there are costs borne by the Scottish Government in relation to the costs of bringing forward the payment of early retirement/severance benefits which do not relate to payments made to individuals.

Scottish Government Funded Early Retirements/Severances

Ward 66 is not closing. NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has decided to move the paediatric neurological service to the Royal Hospital for Sick Children (Yorkhill) on an interim basis.

This decision follows a review of paediatric neurosurgery and craniofacial surgery at the Southern General and Yorkhill Hospitals carried out by The Royal College of Anaesthetists in November 2010. A key recommendation of the review was that it would be in the best interests of patients to consolidate the paediatric neurological service at Yorkhill as an interim move, ahead of the relocation of the children’s hospital to the new south Glasgow hospital site in 2015.

This move will see this group of young patients being cared for in facilities specifically dedicated for children for the first time, and will therefore allow NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde to deliver this highly specialised service in the most suitable environment. This ensures access to the full range of wider dedicated paediatric clinical specialties such as ITU, HDU and anaesthesia.

The National Scrutiny Group last met on 15 March 2011 and discussed some issues raised in correspondence from the Royal College of Nursing and the future of the group within a wider landscape of groups supporting the implementation of the Healthcare Quality Strategy. A copy of the minutes has been placed in the Scottish Parliament Information Centre (Bib. number 51640).

At its last meeting on 15 March 2011, the National Scrutiny Group concluded that while it had essentially fulfilled its initial remit, there continued to be a need for a group to set strategic direction at national level and to check operational delivery against that. How best to take that forward, is currently under active consideration in partnership between the Scottish Government, NHS Scotland boards and staff side representatives. In light of that, no date has yet been set for a further meeting of the National Scrutiny Group.

I am advised by SCSWIS that the last inspection it carried out at the Elsie Inglis Nursing Home took place on 16 May 2011. The results of this inspection form part of an ongoing police investigation.

Whilst the Scottish Government sets national direction of policy on mental health and provides funding to agencies, including NHS boards and local authorities, to support the implementation of policy, it is the responsibility of relevant local agencies to decide on local actions and spending priorities in the implementation of national policy.

Access to independent advocacy for people with learning disabilities continues to be a priority and the Scottish Government is working with key stakeholders to ensure disabled people have access to a range of structured, valued and accessible advocacy services to support their access to independent living in all aspects of day to day life.

The Scottish Government is providing local government in Scotland with almost £11.6 billion. The vast majority of the funding, including the funding for disability services will be provided by means of a block grant. It is the responsibility of each local authority to allocate the total financial resources available to it on the basis of local needs and priorities having first fulfilled its statutory obligations and the jointly agreed set of national and local priorities including the Scottish Government’s key strategic objectives.

The expenditure on disability benefits is a reserved issue and a matter for Westminster.