Chamber and committees

The Scottish Government has been increasing the number of available specialty training places for junior doctors in clinical interventional radiology training programmes. Since 2014 we have funded the creation of 10 additional posts in Clinical Interventional Radiology. The 2025 expansion process is currently underway and will conclude later this year. This will consider the need for expansion in all medical specialties, including clinical radiology and clinical oncology, with the overall aim of ensuring Scotland has a sufficient supply of trained doctors coming through the system to meet anticipated future demand.

More junior doctors are joining NHS Scotland than ever before, with more than 1,100 recruited throughout 2023, according to data from 26 March 2024. A total of 1,231 posts were advertised during the 2023 recruitment cycle and 94% filled successfully.

The situation in the Solway Firth and Northern Channel was unique, as those areas were not covered by our crab and lobster assessment areas. Therefore they did not benefit from the robust evidence base we have used to underpin our decision making.

After listening to concerns, officials met with fishers in that area over concerns of disproportionate impacts on their businesses. In response we adopted a co-management approach that put these fishers in the front seat of a bespoke scientific trial aimed at improving the evidence base and, longer term, developing a time series of data. Vessels participating in this initiative have now been issued with relevant permissions to continue to land, sell and consign berried lobsters.

Our prohibition on fishing vessels landing berried lobster hens from Scotland’s waters is a short-term measure designed to deliver benefits for stock health ahead of this fishing season, and that will be monitored and kept under review. This kind of prohibition is a common fisheries management tool that is already in place across England and the Shetland isles.

As stated previously in answer to S6W-28153 on 25 June 2024, there has been an expansion of 68 posts in Clinical Radiology specialty training since 2014. Clinical Radiology is a competitive specialty which has historically filled at 100%. The 2025 expansion process is currently underway and will conclude later this year. This will consider the need for expansion in all medical specialties, including clinical radiology and clinical oncology, with the overall aim of ensuring Scotland has a sufficient supply of trained doctors coming through the system to meet anticipated future demand .

An Oncology Task and Finish Group was established in May 2024 to improve access to safe, quality oncology services by planning, on a population basis across Scotland, a safe and sustainable operating model for NHS Scotland Oncology Services .

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

There has been an expansion of 15 specialty training posts in Clinical Oncology (and an additional 6 in Medical Oncology) since 2014. The 2025 expansion process is currently underway and will conclude later this year. This will consider the need for expansion in all medical specialties, including clinical radiology and clinical oncology, with the overall aim of ensuring Scotland has a sufficient supply of trained doctors coming through the system to meet anticipated future demand .

Consultant oncologists have increased by 50%, from 102 headcount ten years ago (March 2014) to 153 headcount in March 2024 .

Internal Medicine Training is a pre-requisite for Clinical Oncology. The Scottish Government has provided funding for the creation of 64 additional Internal Medicine Specialty Training posts since 2021 in order to bolster the front-end supply into oncology.

The Scottish Government is also working with NHS Education for Scotland to increase visibility of careers in clinical oncology.

The Framework sets out a longer-term approach on how we will engage with homeowners, tenants and landlords over the next decade. In addition, we have outlined a number of shorter-term actions over the next three years to help build a strong foundation of public awareness. As follows:

? Continued and expanded marketing and communications activity.

? Exploring options for extending the reach of platforms like the Greener Homes Network so that people can share experiences and learn from each other.

? Streamlining customer journeys and ensuring people and organisations know where and how to access advice and support available.

We have committed to undertake a review and evaluate the impact of the strategic framework during 2026.

SOWEC routinely discusses skills and jobs as part of its agenda. During the SOWEC meeting of 13 May, it was agreed that SOWEC would issue a letter of support for the Skills Passport. A letter has been drafted and this will be issued in due course once approved by SOWEC. It is important to note that SOWEC is not delivering the Skills Passport and is not directly involved in its development.

As stated previously in answer to S6W-28153 on 25 June 2024, there has been an expansion of 68 posts in Clinical Radiology specialty training since 2014. Clinical Radiology is a competitive specialty which has historically filled at 100%. The 2025 expansion process is currently underway and will conclude later this year. This will consider the need for expansion in all medical specialties, including clinical radiology and clinical oncology, with the overall aim of ensuring Scotland has a sufficient supply of trained doctors coming through the system to meet anticipated future demand.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government does not hold information centrally on the grants, contract and payments made by public bodies. Contracts let by public bodies are held on public record and can be found at Public Contracts Scotland ( www.publiccontractsscotland.gov.uk/ )

Highlands Rewilding received a payment of £5,000 plus VAT on 24 February 2023 for their participation in the CivTech 8 cohort Exploration Stage after applying with a solution for CivTech Challenge 8.6. Highlands Rewilding did not progress further than the Exploration Stage and as such only received the Exploration payment of £5,000 plus VAT. This money was not grant funding and was for work carried out during the exploration stage to develop their proposal as per the contract.

Participants are selected for the Exploration Stage after an open procurement process followed by a thorough sift, selection and interview process. There is no specific financial due diligence required at this stage of the process due to the nature of the procurement.

More information on the CivTech process can be found here:

www.civtech.scot/process

More information on the CivTech Challenge 8.6 can be found here:

www.civtech.scot/civtech-8-challenge-6-simplifying-and-enabling-investment-in-scotlands-nature

Highlands Rewilding was offered a grant of £81,517 through the Scottish Government’s Nature Restoration Fund (NRF) for a project entitled Beldorney Pond Creation for Biodiversity and Resilience to Climate Change. The Scottish Government does not hold information on payments made further to that offer, which would be administered by NatureScot.

Further details about the NRF, including eligibility and other criteria for applicants, can be found here: www.nature.scot/funding-and-projects/scottish-government-nature-restoration-fund-nrf

Highlands Rewilding was offered a grant of £97,350 through the Facility for Investment Ready Nature in Scotland (FIRNS) in September 2023, administered by NatureScot, with match funding of £97,350 also provided by the National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project is titled Joint Ventures for Scalable Community Benefits from Rewilding. The Scottish Government does not hold information on payments made further to that offer.

Further details about FIRNS, including eligibility and information on successful applications, can be found here: https://www.nature.scot/funding-and-projects/firns-facility-investment-ready-nature-scotland

The NRF and FIRNS conform to the conditions for such schemes set out in the Scottish Public Finance Manual (SPFM). The SPFM is issued by Scottish Ministers and provides guidance to the Scottish Government and relevant bodies on the proper handling and reporting of public funds. It covers the relevant statutory, parliamentary and administrative requirements and promotes good practice and high standards of propriety.

Further information on the SPFM can be found here:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/scottish-public-finance-manual/

a) The Scottish Government recognises the need for active measures to improve retention across the health and social care workforce, which is essential to ensure confidence in longer-term modelling of a sustainable future medical workforce to meet future clinical service demand.

Retiring employees who wish to continue in employment that is suitable to them and the service are supported by the Retire and return provisions in the NHSScotland Retirement Policy . In addition, the NHSScotland Flexible work location policy and NHSScotland Flexible work pattern policy provide staff with a range of flexible working options to help them to balance their lifestyle whilst maintaining and promoting the best possible service to our patients and service users. We will continue to consider ways to increase staff retention alongside health boards.

b) As stated previously in answer to S6W-28159 on 25 June 2024, The Chief Medical Officer met with the Royal College of Radiologists on 14 December 2023 and the Deputy Chief Medical Officer met with them on 16 May 2024.

We will continue to engage with them through their representation on the Oncology Task and Finish group that is developing a sustainable operating model for NHS Scotland oncology.

All answers to written Parliamentary Questions are available on the Parliament's website, the search facility for which can be found at https://www.parliament.scot/chamber-and-committees/written-questions-and-answers .

The Scottish Government/Cancer Research UK funded Paediatric Experimental Cancer Medicine Centre (ECMC) in Glasgow has been involved in a number of initiatives aimed at maximising the number of opportunities for children and young people with cancer to participate in clinical trials.

The Glasgow Paediatric ECMC leads the Northern Paediatric ECMC Network that includes all Scottish Principle Treatment Centres (PTC’s), together with centres in the North of England and Northern Ireland. The Network holds weekly Regional Relapse Discussion Panel (RRDP) meetings which facilitate the identification across an extended geographical area of clinical trials suitable for individual patients.

This approach has been extended to clinical trials in the Teenage and Young Adult (TYA) patient cohort, with the Glasgow ECMC a participant in the UK ECMC TYA Network. This group is currently actively considering the development of a UK-wide national complex case TYA multi-disciplinary team (MDT) approach to enable availability of early phase trials across as wide a patient population base as possible.