Chamber and committees

<>The Scottish Government has previously made clear that it believes that the negotiations must be as transparent as possible. We welcome the steps the commission has taken to publish position papers and negotiating texts and encourage further steps in this direction in line with the recommendations of the EU Ombudsman.

The government has consistently said that the findings of the Standards, Procedures and Public Appointments Committee’s inquiry would be key to determining the best way forward. We have taken the time required to give the committee’s extensive report the careful consideration it deserves, and have also consulted Scottish party leaders on its content.

The government remains committed to introducing a Lobbying Transparency Bill during the current parliamentary session and is publishing its relevant consultation paper at 10am on 29 May 2015 setting out its policy proposals.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body’s assessment of workload implications will include any additional demands on members.

The organisation and performance of committees is not a matter for the Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body. However, the Presiding Officer’s reform agenda has as its focus the capacity of committees, which includes taking into account the impact of new powers for the Parliament.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body has been assessing the scrutiny and other parliamentary workload implications of the draft clauses, published in Scotland in the United Kingdom: An Enduring Settlement by the previous UK Government. It will closely monitor the passage of the new Scotland Bill through the UK Parliament, which will include taking a particular interest in tabled amendments and planned implementation dates. Evidence led during the legislative consent process should also be of assistance.

The Scottish Parliamentary Corporate Body (SPCB) has a duty to provide the Parliament with the property, services and staff it requires. The assessments referred to in answer to question S4W-25543 will inform the SPCB’s budget strategy for future years as will the views of the Parliamentary Bureau and Conveners Group.

The information requested on how many specialist IBD nurses there are, broken down by NHS board and hospital, is not centrally held or published by National Services Scotland (Information Services Division).

The Scottish Government has a good working relationship with Crohn’s and Colitis UK. Using funds provided by the Scottish Government, Crohn’s and Colitis UK has established a Scottish IBD Steering Group, with a remit for designing a programme for improving the quality of clinical care and implementing new approaches to the management of IBD. The Scottish Government considers the IBD Standards 2013 to provide a blueprint for good quality IBD care. Results from the latest audit of the organisation and provision of IBD services in Scotland show a higher level of IBD nurse provision than the rest of the UK.

The Scottish Government is aware of the potential risks of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) for Scotland’s public services and has raised these concerns with the UK Government and the European Commission. However it is not possible to fully assess or review the potential impact of TTIP until the final legal text of any agreement is made available. We have not therefore published a report on these issues.

The Scottish Government has discussed the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) with the UK Government at a range of Joint Ministerial Committee meetings since March 2014. The First Minister discussed TTIP with the Prime Minister when they met on 15 December 2014 and the Minister for Europe and International Development raised TTIP when he met with Lord Livingston, the then Minister of State for Trade and Investment on 19 February 2015. The Minister for Europe and International Development also discussed TTIP with the Deputy Head of Unit, Directorate General for Trade at the European Commission at their meeting which was also on 19 February 2015.

Scottish Government officials are in regular contact with their counterparts in the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.

The difficulties faced by private agencies in attracting staff to work for them are not a matter for Scottish Ministers. Our focus is on ensuring we have the right numbers of staff in place to ensure high quality care. On that our track record is clear. Under this government, we have increased the number of qualified nurses and midwives working within the NHS by 5.6 per cent to a new record high.

I do, however, agree with ScotNursing’s suggestions that we should encourage more school leavers or former nurses to enter or to re-join nursing. Earlier in 2015, I announced £450,000 further investment over the next three years to attract 75 qualified nurses per year back into practice, and a further three per cent increase in pre-registration student nursing and midwifery intakes – a third successive rise, on top of a six per cent increase in 2014-15. In addition, we have taken forward initiatives to inspire future nurses and attract school leavers into the profession, including a Scottish Government funded pilot for pre-nursing scholarships. More generally, we continue to invest in a range of work to ensure we recruit and retain the right number of staff, and equip them with the skills they need to provide safe, effective and person centred care.