Chamber and committees

The National infertility group’s report was published on 13 June 2016 at http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/06/9960. The group was asked to look at a number of areas, including widening access criteria and increasing the number of full IVF cycles from two to three. The Scottish Government has accepted all recommendations in the report from the national infertility group, except the recommendation to remove eligibility for couples where the woman is aged between 40 and 42. The existing criteria in this area will remain. Work will now begin to develop a sustainable implementation plan, including timescales for the introduction of the criteria changes in the group’s report.

Our national agency for sport, sportscotland, invests Scottish Government and National Lottery funding in recognised Scottish governing bodies of sport. Scottish disability sport (SDS) is the coordinating body for all sports for people of all ages and abilities with a physical, sensory and learning disability and has the lead role for developing the quality of disability sport for disabled people in Scotland. Sportscotland is investing up to £2,601,400 into SDS for the period 2013-17, an increase of 26% from the previous investment cycle (2009-13). sportscotland reviews its investment into Scottish governing bodies on an annual basis.

The following table sets out the number of additional support for learning teachers in each authority since 2007. These figures only represent the number of teachers in Scotland’s schools who have additional support for learning as their main subject. In 2015, 95 per cent of children and young people with additional support needs were recorded as learning within a mainstream school and received support from a wide range of teaching staff across a range of subjects.

Teachers with additional support needs for learning as their main subject, 2007 to 2015

	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015
Aberdeen City	191	184	192	174	161	167	147	116	115
Aberdeenshire	209	227	279	292	286	277	265	242	263
Angus	94	105	97	97	102	93	82	79	82
Argyll and Bute	29	36	41	42	42	43	41	40	45
Clackmannanshire	29	33	35	30	30	26	24	30	30
Dumfries and Galloway	83	125	121	130	124	132	124	120	104
Dundee City	182	169	159	159	148	148	137	138	131
East Ayrshire	55	64	115	110	109	111	111	107	107
East Dunbartonshire	46	66	55	53	50	58	60	53	58
East Lothian	41	44	60	56	58	55	49	50	46
East Renfrewshire	43	46	43	36	34	43	42	42	41
Edinburgh City	166	176	169	168	165	153	150	138	125
Eilean Siar	15	19	25	22	22	21	23	15	14
Falkirk	112	122	148	131	133	124	124	116	108
Fife	233	235	248	236	209	208	211	173	194
Glasgow City	235	240	214	245	236	260	245	220	194
Highland	225	208	216	190	171	163	150	129	161
Inverclyde	49	55	53	47	43	47	46	36	40
Midlothian	44	40	43	40	38	40	60	57	51
Moray	79	96	98	99	99	100	92	87	87
North Ayrshire	104	117	118	116	121	119	125	124	126
North Lanarkshire	186	200	189	185	175	162	140	147	130
Orkney Islands	19	22	20	22	26	27	32	29	29
Perth and Kinross	39	79	70	73	61	68	83	90	89
Renfrewshire	85	78	62	53	57	54	57	52	49
Scottish Borders	78	80	80	65	88	87	81	86	83
Shetland Islands	40	45	52	50	44	41	41	37	41
South Ayrshire	83	76	77	106	101	109	106	103	100
South Lanarkshire	119	146	151	156	158	152	150	137	130
Stirling	27	34	35	43	40	36	38	41	42
West Dunbartonshire	28	45	52	48	51	50	48	60	55
West Lothian	92	90	87	88	76	76	73	71	66
Scotland	3,062	3,301	3,402	3,363	3,258	3,249	3,157	2,963	2,936

This includes teachers in primary, secondary, special schools, and centrally employed teachers, with their main subject recorded as: Learning Support Secondary; Learning Support, Primary; SEN (primary) non-recorded pupils; SEN (recorded pupils); SEN (Secondary) non-recorded pupils; SEN Behavioural Support; SEN Learning Difficulties; SEN Physical Disabilities; Hearing Impairment; or Visual Impairment.

The Scotland total includes teachers at grant aided schools.

The National Infertility Group looked at capacity in the four centres that deliver NHS IVF in its 2016 report which was published on 13 June 2016: http://www.gov.scot/Publications/2016/06/9960. Work will now begin to develop a sustainable implementation plan, including timescales for the introduction of the criteria changes in the group’s report.

To assist in providing effective, evidence-based treatments, the Scottish Government provides funding to NHS Education for Scotland to host the ‘Matrix’, an evidence-based guide for NHS boards on effective psychological treatments for a range of mental health issues.

The ‘Matrix’ suggests that mindfulness may be considered as a treatment option for people with mental health problems. NHS Education for Scotland also support training in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

The concept of mindfulness is widely promoted in a variety of mental health settings as a therapeutic tool in enhancing mental health and wellbeing.

To assist in providing effective, evidence-based treatments, the Scottish Government provides funding to NHS Education for Scotland to host the ‘Matrix’, an evidence-based guide for NHS boards on effective psychological treatments for a range of mental health issues. The ‘Matrix’ suggests that mindfulness may be considered as a treatment option for people with mental health problems. NHS Education for Scotland also support training in mindfulness-based cognitive therapy.

While it is the statutory responsibility of each NHS Scotland health board to have in place workforce plans, the Scottish Government works closely with boards to develop better workforce intelligence through robust supply and demand profiles, capacity trends, patient acuity and other factors. We expect boards – including NHS Lothian – to include this intelligence to help project their needs forward, inform and develop their workforce plans, and combine it as appropriate with the workload and workforce planning tools we have mandated them to use.

NHS Lothian has accepted all the findings and recommendations made in the NHS Lothian hospital-based complex clinical care review.

The use of this guidance, along with the recommendations from the NHS Lothian review will be monitored by the Scottish Government officials who meet regularly with the board to discuss performance related issues.

I refer the member to the answer to questions S5W-00378 on 14 June 2016 and S5W-00380 on 13 June 2016. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at: http://www.parliament.scot/parliamentarybusiness/28877.aspx.

NHS Lothian has accepted all the findings and recommendations made in the NHS Lothian hospital-based complex clinical care review.

The Scottish Government introduced new guidance (DL (2015) 11) for all health boards on 28 May 2015 with objectives including:

Promoting a consistent basis for the provision of Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care.

Providing simplification and transparency;

Maintaining clinical decision making as part of a multi-disciplinary process;

Ensuring entitlement is based on the main eligibility question ‘can this individual’s care needs be properly met in any setting other than a hospital?’

Ensuring a formal record is kept of each step of the decision process.

Ensuring that patients, their families and their carers have access to relevant and understandable information (particularly if the individual does not need to be in hospital but rather an alternative setting in the community).

The use of this guidance, along with the recommendations from the NHS Lothian review will be monitored by the Scottish Government officials who meet regularly with the board to discuss performance related issues.

The Scottish Government is committed to delivering superfast broadband to 100% premises in Scotland by 2021 and we will work with the UK Government as we develop our proposals. Our £410 million Digital Scotland Superfast Broadband Programme is extending fibre broadband coverage to at least 95% of premises by the end of 2017 and the UK Government is contributing to that.

We are working with the UK Government on a number of aspects of the Digital Economy Bill, including discussing with them how the forthcoming universal service obligation for broadband can work effectively for Scotland. We have proposed that the UK Government set up a working group, involving the devolved administrations, to ensure shared strategic oversight as the scoping work develops.

Furthermore, we are working with the Home Office on the new mobile infrastructure that will be delivered as part of the GB-wide Emergency Services Mobile Communications Programme, to explore potential wider coverage benefits for the general public. The total cost of this GB-wide infrastructure is £4.9 billion over the next 16 years, for which Scottish Ministers have committed to providing a funding contribution of approximately £475 million over the period.