Chamber and committees

All NHS Scotland health boards have fully delegated powers in relation to employment issues including staff rostering. The Scottish Government expects NHS Boards to plan their facilities and workforce to meet patient needs and maintain high standards of care with services delivered by the right professionals, at the right time.

We understand that recent changes to rostering arrangements for some locum hospital staff are being trialled to promote service continuity, including a more settled rostering pattern. The board has advised that these changes reflect rostering patterns that were introduced for primary care staff some time ago.

In line with our existing national policy approach and position, where any mandatory changes are made to local rostering arrangements, we would expect the relevant board to consult with affected staff groups and undertake appropriate impact assessment to ensure that staff are not adversely affected.

Since the Crofting Agricultural Grants Scheme commenced 1 January 2015, Scottish Government has received,

One of Lord Bonomy’s recommendations in the Post-Corroboration Safeguards Review was that research was required to better understand the dynamics of jury decision making in the unique Scottish jury system. The Scottish Government agreed with Lord Bonomy that key components of the Scottish jury system (including the simple majority required for conviction, the three verdicts (including the not proven verdict), and the size of the jury) are inextricably linked.

This research is now underway and it is expected to complete in Autumn 2019. Any changes to the Scottish jury system, including the “not proven” verdict, should be made on an informed basis so require to await the findings of the jury research before considering further.

The Cabinet Secretary for Justice and the Lord Advocate meet regularly. However, there have been no recent discussions on the “not proven” verdict pending the outcome of the research.

The funded establishment of consultants has increased by some 46.1% under this government (September 2006 – June 2018). The Scottish Government remains fully committed to a sustainable NHS and its workforce, which continues to deliver a consistently high quality health service to the people of Scotland.

We recognise the recruitment challenges faced by NHS Scotland boards in certain shortage clinical specialties and we are supporting a range of initiatives to promote recruitment and retention across our clinical workforces, including investing over
‎ £4 million in NHS Scotland recruitment campaigns over the next three years. A component of this investment will support activity to recruit further consultant grade specialists. Additionally, I have recently commenced discussions with the British Medical Association in relation to on-going workforce needs and future workforce supply; further discussions are planned.

We encourage all NHS Boards, as employers, to exercise discretion to offer flexibility within the consultant terms and conditions of service, in particular on job planning and programmed activities, to help attract staff in areas of clinical shortage.

The available information is provided in the following tables by financial year, which have been produced from the Scottish Government’s criminal proceedings database . The Criminal Proceedings in Scotland 2017-18 will be published in late January 2019.

Number of people proceeded against in Scottish solemn courts with result 'not proven', 2014-15 to 2016-17.

Please see the following table with the requested information. Please also note, the Crofting Agricultural Grants Scheme commenced 01-01-2015 and the requested information is recorded by Financial Year not by calendar year.

Please see the following table with the requested information. Please also note, the Crofting Agricultural Grants Scheme commenced 01-01-2015 and the requested information is recorded by Financial Year not by calendar year.

We are currently working with the Chief Officers of Integration Authorities on the development of this commitment. This includes obtaining detailed workforce plans which provide information on workforce allocation, location of workforce (which will include the settings of prisons and police custody suites) for 2018-19 and details on the trajectory toward the 800 total by 2021-22. We expect to receive these plans for further analysis by the October recess.

The Scottish Government has committed to extending 100% superfast broadband access across Scotland by 31 December 2021 reflecting the complex nature of the rollout and its geographic focus.

Procurement for the initial phase of the reaching 100% or R100 ,programme - for which we have announced the investment of £600 million - Scottish Government 96.5 % of the funding is now well underway. We will award contracts in 2019.

The introduction of biometric identification systems is a matter for education authorities and schools. The Scottish Government published guidance to support them in their decision-making about the introduction and implementation of biometric systems in Scottish schools.

The guidance makes it clear that information collected through a biometric system must, like all personal data, be processed fairly and lawfully in line with data protection laws.