Chamber and committees

A number of measures are in place to ensure child witnesses are protected within our justice system. For example, the court can take extra steps, called 'special measures', to help children and young people under 18 give the best evidence they can. Children who are witnesses in criminal courts are automatically entitled to special measures including a screen in the courtroom; a TV link to somewhere outside the courtroom; and a supporter who can sit with the witness while they give evidence. Other measures are available on application to the court. Further information on the support available to witnesses can be found at Help and support - mygov.scot . All criminal justice cases with child witnesses are referred to the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service Victim Information and Advice (VIA) service. VIA can provide information about the criminal justice system and key developments in the case affecting the witness, discuss any additional support that the witness may require to give evidence and help them make contact with appropriate support organisations.

In addition, from January 2020 Regulations have been in place to ensure that any child witness under the age of 18 giving evidence in the most serious criminal cases in the High Court, will be allowed to have it pre-recorded, sparing them the trauma of giving evidence during a trial, unless it is shown that this would significantly prejudice the interests of justice in the individual case. Last year, the Scottish Government also funded the commencement of the national roll out of a ground-breaking approach to interviews for vulnerable child victims and witnesses in criminal cases. The new Scottish Child Interview Model for Joint Investigative Interviews, conducted by highly trained police officers and social work staff, will deliver an interview process that secures the child’s best evidence at the earliest opportunity and minimises the risk of further traumatisation.

The Fuel Poverty Strategy was published on 23 December.

The Strategy sets out a range of comprehensive actions that will be taken to tackle the drivers of fuel poverty and meet the Scottish Government’s commitment to eradicate it as far as reasonably possible by 2040 as required by the

2019 Fuel Poverty Act.

Work to deliver the actions within the Strategy will be overseen by the new statutory Scottish Fuel Poverty Advisory Panel, membership of which was also announced on 23 December.

The latest report from the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change shows the very real threat and heightened risk the climate emergency poses to the planet - but it also makes it clear that with immediate, concerted international action to reduce emissions, global temperature rise can still be limited to 1.5°C in the longer term.

Scotland is leading the way. We will end our contribution to climate change by 2045 at the latest, reducing emissions by 75% by 2030 along the way – a world-leading target. In December 2020 we updated our Climate Change Plan which sets out how we will deliver on this ambition and published Scotland’s indicative Nationally Determined Contribution in July 2021 outlining the actions we are taking to help meet the goals of the Paris Agreement. The global evidence provided by IPCC reports, as well as the independent expert scientific advice provided by the Climate Change Committee on what this evidence means for Scotland, will be part of the evidence base that informs development of Scotland’s next Climate Change Plan and Climate Change Adaptation Programme.

NHS boards are required to make every effort to ensure the safety of patients' belongings while they are in hospital, and to have appropriate security arrangements in place.

An extension of military aid to NHS Lanarkshire has been approved for the period 7 January until 4 February 2022, by the Scottish Government and the Ministry of Defence.

As you are aware, our NHS is currently facing the most difficult circumstances in its history due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. This is exacerbated at present due to the potential risk posed by the Omicron variant to our healthcare system. This means Health Boards are having to make very difficult decisions about prioritising care, and I know this has an impact on everyone who is waiting for support for their health at this time.

We recognise that this includes people experiencing chronic pain, and that is why we are providing funding to enhance the capacity of pain management care through the Chronic Pain Winter Support Fund. We will shortly announce the outcome of this funding call. The projects we fund will boost the support available for people with chronic pain at the national and local level to help them maintain their health and wellbeing over the months ahead.

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05156 on 10 January 2022. 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

I refer the member to the answer to question S6W-05035 on 3 December 2021. 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 Chief Pharmaceutical Officer is putting together a workforce forum to look at the workforce challenges and bringing together stakeholders from pharmacy education and pharmacy service provision to set a strategic workforce plan for the profession.

The Scottish Government will also continue to work with our key partners to ensure that the balance is maintained across the whole pharmacy workforce in the hospital, community, and GP practice sectors.

The Scottish Government workforce integrated plans commits to increasing the pharmacy pre-registration training places by 120 over the next 4 years and we are currently increasing training places available for pharmacy technician training, which will bring more staff in to the profession.

There are approximately 240 students each year who graduate from the two Schools of Pharmacy in Scotland. There has been an increase in the overall numbers of students studying pharmacy with more Scottish domiciled students undertaking the course. The two Schools of Pharmacy in Scotland are encouraging applicants from parts of Scotland where there are gaps in the pharmacy workforce and working with schools to promote pharmacy as a career.

Since 2018, the number of NHS pre-registration pharmacists places funded nationally has increased from 170 in 2018 up to 231 in 2020-21. In 2021-22, funding of £6,096,489 was provided to NHS Education in Scotland (NES) for the Pre-registration Pharmacy Scheme, for 231 places. By 2024-25 this will have increased by a further 89 places to bring the total to an additional 120 pharmacist trainees over 5 years staying in Scotland to complete their pre-registration training.

In order to meet future workforce demands, a five year integrated initial education programme for pharmacists in Scotland has been developed. The first students to graduate from the new programme will qualify in 2027 with co-terminus graduation and registration. This will better prepare newly qualified pharmacists for practice, strengthen the clinical workforce, particularly in primary care, and manage trainee numbers to meet workforce requirements.

The Scottish Government is committed to having a pharmacist independent prescriber in every community pharmacy. As of December 2020 there were a total of 1585 pharmacists qualified prescribers or currently undertaking an independent prescribing qualification. As demand for pharmacy technicians grow and a skill mix is increasingly required in different pharmacy settings, increasing the pipeline of pharmacy technicians has become a priority. We are currently working with key stakeholders to develop a national pharmacy technician apprenticeship scheme.

As part of the overall 2021-22 community pharmacy financial package, a total of £2.751m provides each community pharmacy contractor with a monthly contribution of £180 towards staff training beyond pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.