Chamber and committees

This question was answered in the Chamber. The answer can be viewed in the Official Report using the following link:

http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/officialReports/meetingsParliament/or-09/sor0430-01.htm

Only Scottish Government amendments 1 to 4 have been identified as having any financial implications. The total estimated cost of these amendments is £9,000.

The Scottish Government has estimated the total cost of all of the amendments to the Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Bill to range between £10,539,161 and £32,029,744.

To facilitate the reduction in hours NHS boards are continuing to implement service modernisation and new ways of working including rota and service redesign and the introduction of new roles for non-medical staff who are being trained to undertake areas of work formerly carried out by doctors. Additionally, over the last 10 years, although not directly related to Working Time Regulations, the number of consultants has increased by 52% whole-time equivalent (WTE) and there has also been an increase of 45% WTE in staff and associate specialist grades. These measures are helping to significantly reduce the service gap created by the reduction of hours worked by junior doctors.

NHS boards are required to report to the Scottish Government on current and projected compliance with the WTR 48 hour target for training grade doctors together with details of any rotas which are predicted not to meet the requirements of WTR by 1 August 2009.

The Scottish Government continues to work with NHS boards in identifying and reviewing action plans for gaining and sustaining compliance with Working Time Regulations (WTR). These plans identify the impact on the reduction in hours on all medical staff and identify solutions to enable the continued safe and sustainable delivery of services.

Information about the NHS workforce in Scotland is routinely monitored by NHS boards, who are responsible for their own workforce planning, and by the Scottish Government.

Data on consultant vacancies are available from the Information Services Division (ISD) of NHS National Service Scotland at www.isdscotland.org/isd/796.html. Those data show that the overall consultant vacancy rate fell from 6.7% at 30 September 2007 to 4% in September 2008. As at 30 September 2008 there were 192 consultant vacancies compared to 290 in September 2007 “ a drop of 33.8% over the year. The number of consultant posts vacant for six months or more fell by 58.9% over the same period, from 168 to 69.

Junior doctor posts fall into two categories: two year Foundation Programmes (following graduation from medical school) followed by Speciality Training Programmes of various durations depending on speciality. Recruitment to all training programmes is coordinated by NHS Education for Scotland (NES) and vacancy data are not held centrally by ISD. Information from NES is that all Foundation Programmes across Scotland, a total of 801 posts, were filled in January 2009. Recruitment to Specialty Training Programmes is on-going and the outcome will not be known until May 2009. If there are any vacancies at that stage a second recruitment round will be held.

In the light of this, the Scottish Government does not see a need to carry out a separate assessment of vacancies for doctors or junior doctors and has no current plans to do so.

The Modernising Medical Careers (MMC) programme was a UK-wide initiative and was subject to an independent inquiry led by Professor Sir John Tooke in 2007. The inquiry report can be found at www.mmcinquiry.org.uk.

Although many of the report''s recommendations were specifically directed at the UK Government and its handling of both UK-wide and England specific governance of MMC, the Scottish Government consulted on Sir John''s report in January 2008 and we sent a formal response on 27 June 2008. We agreed with Sir John''s recommendations about the governance of MMC and about developing a clearer understanding of the roles of doctors in contemporary healthcare teams. The issues behind those recommendations were being taken forward in Scotland before Sir John''s report was published and we already had robust and inclusive governance arrangements in place for both policy development and delivery in Scotland. We had also already launched a fundamental review of the shape of the medical workforce in Scotland, which is continuing. Any issues arising from MMC in Scotland are therefore being assessed and considered within the context of those governance mechanisms and of the on-going medical workforce review.

Report: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/01/07144119/0.

Response: www.scotland.gov.uk/Publications/2008/06/26153637/letter.

The Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth hosted a meeting in St Andrew''s House for Scotnom directors and their advisers on 24 February 2009.

Officials have met with the same directors and advisers on two other occasions.

The Scottish Government supports the aims of the dotSCOT Campaign as the successors to the original dotSCO Campaign which submitted a petition to the Scottish Parliament in 2008.

Those aims are to establish a generic top level domain (gTLD) that will reflect Scottish identity, culture and economic promotion among a worldwide community of Internet users.

It is right and proper that ministers should have the power to give direction to Creative Scotland over its general functions, as with all public bodies. However, we will enshrine in legislation the arms length principle which is rightly valued by the arts community because it guarantees autonomy in respect of Creative Scotland''s artistic and cultural judgement.